NEO-F10N-Integration manual
Cleaning
Do not clean with water, solvent, or ultrasonic cleaner:
• Cleaning with water will lead to capillary effects where water is absorbed into the gap between
the baseboard and the module. The combination of residues of soldering flux and encapsulated
water leads to short circuits or resistor-like interconnections between neighboring pads.
• Cleaning with alcohol or other organic solvents can result in soldering flux residues flowing
underneath the module, into areas that are not accessible for post-cleaning inspections. The
solvent will also damage the sticker and the printed text.
• Ultrasonic cleaning will permanently damage the module, in particular the quartz oscillators.
The best approach is to use a “no clean” soldering paste to eliminate the cleaning step after the
soldering.
Repeated reflow soldering
Repeated  reflow  soldering  processes  or  soldering  the  module  upside  down  are  not
recommended.
A  board  that  is  populated  with  components  on  both  sides  may  require  more  than  one  reflow
soldering cycle. In such a case, the process should ensure the module is only placed on the board
submitted for a single final upright reflow cycle. A module placed on the underside of the board may
detach during a reflow soldering cycle due to lack of adhesion.
The module can also tolerate an additional reflow cycle for rework purposes.
Wave soldering
Base  boards  with  combined  through-hole  technology  (THT)  components  and  surface-mount
technology (SMT) devices require wave soldering to solder the THT components. Only a single wave
soldering process is encouraged for boards populated with modules.
Rework
We do not recommend using a hot air gun because it is an uncontrolled process and can damage
the module.
Use of  a hot air gun can lead to overheating and severely damage the module. Always avoid
overheating the module.
After  the  module  is  removed,  clean  the  pads  before  reapplying  solder  paste,  placing  and  reflow
soldering a new module.
Never attempt  a  rework  on  the  module  itself,  e.g. by  replacing individual  components. Such
actions will immediately void the warranty.
Conformal coating
Certain  applications  employ  a  conformal  coating  of  the  PCB  using  HumiSeal®  or  other  related
coating products. These materials affect the RF properties of the GNSS module
Conformal coating of the module will void the warranty.
Casting
If casting is required, use viscose or another type of silicon pottant. The OEM is strongly advised to
qualify such processes in combination with the module before implementing this in the production.
Casting will void the warranty.
Grounding metal covers
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