NINA-B3 series - System integration manual 
UBX-17056748 - R13  Handling and soldering  Page 46 of 72 
C1-Public 
4.3.2  Cleaning 
Cleaning  the  modules  is  not  recommended.  Residues  underneath  the  modules  cannot  be  easily 
removed with a washing process. 
•  Cleaning with water will lead to capillary effects where water is absorbed in 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. Water will also 
damage the sticker and the ink-jet printed text. 
•  Cleaning with alcohol or other organic solvents can result in soldering flux residues flooding into 
the housings that are not accessible for post-wash inspections. The solvent will also damage the 
sticker and the ink-jet printed text. 
•  Ultrasonic cleaning will permanently damage the module and the crystal oscillators in particular. 
For best results, use a "no clean" soldering paste and eliminate the need for a cleaning stage after 
the soldering process. 
4.3.3  Other remarks 
•  Only a single reflow soldering process is allowed for boards with a module populated on them. 
•  Boards with combined through-hole (THT) components and surface-mounted (SMT) devices may 
require wave soldering. Only a single-wave soldering process is allowed for boards populated with 
the modules. Miniature Wave Selective Solder processes are preferred over the traditional wave 
soldering processes. 
•  Hand soldering is not recommended. 
•  Rework is not recommended. 
•  Conformal coating can affect the performance of the module, so it is important to prevent the 
liquid from flowing into the module. The RF shields do not provide protection for the module from 
coating  liquids  with  low  viscosity,  and  so  care  is  required  in  applying  the  coating.  Conformal 
coating of the module will void the module warranty. 
•  Grounding metal covers: Attempts to improve grounding by soldering ground cables, wick or other 
forms of metal strips directly onto the EMI covers are made at the customer's own risk and will 
void  the  module’s  warranty.  The  numerous  ground  pins  included  in  the  module  design  are 
adequate to provide optimal immunity to interferences. 
•  The module contains components that are sensitive to ultrasonic waves. Use of any ultrasonic 
processes,  such  as  cleaning,  welding,  and  so  on,  can  damage  the  module.  Use  of  ultrasonic 
processes on an end product integrating this module will void the warranty.