Save on nitrogen costs for SMT

Maximizing efficiency and reducing costs is a priority for majority of manufacturing & processing companies, regardless of if they package food or utilise surface mount technology (SMT) for electronics manufacture. If you use nitrogen gas as part of SMT manufacturing process, perhaps for selective soldering, wave soldering or even or reflow ovens, you should consider the savings you can make on your nitrogen costs.

Nitrogen Gas Supplier

The first area to focus on is your nitrogen gas supplier or more specifically, how you are currently supplying nitrogen to your application. If your nitrogen is being supplied via gas cylinders, LN2 microbulk or dewar tanks, choosing a local nitrogen gas supplier could help you save on some delivery costs. However, this is unlikely to be significant as the majority of suppliers operate from large scale gas separation plants, often based beyond city limits or not so ideal depot locations. In any case, delivery costs should not be viewed in isolation as there are several hidden costs built-in to your supply agreement that eat into your profits.

Your Gas Contract

Next, you should consider the type of contract that your nitrogen gas supplier has you on & how long you are locked in for. Many bulk gas suppliers tie customers into multi-year contracts, which then limits your ability to challenge or have the flexibility to switch over to a better deal or more sustainable alternative.

Hidden Costs

To really take control of your nitrogen costs you need to understand what they are. A quick look at your next invoice will reveal some costs you may not be aware of. Many nitrogen gas suppliers don’t only charge you for the nitrogen gas they delivery but also for things such as cylinder/tank rental and upkeep or environmental charges. Cylinder rental costs will vary depending on what deal you are on & how many cylinders you rent, but around $50 a month for rental is not unusual. So that’s $600 a year just on renting the cylinders your nitrogen is supplied in. With the addition of environmental taxes & a minimum of 2 price increases per annum, nitrogen costs can really start to mount up.

Why buy nitrogen?

Fortunately, there is a far more convenient, reliable & sustainable method of supplying nitrogen gas for SMT, which gives you complete control over your nitrogen costs & supply regardless of whether your surface mount technology requires high volumes or not, a nitrogen generator is by far a more cost effective solution.

SMT with a nitrogen generator

The easiest way to save on your SMT nitrogen costs is to become your own nitrogen gas supplier by investing in a nitrogen gas generator. With a nitrogen generator from Peak Gas Generation you will never need to pay for nitrogen supply deliveries again. Invoices, orders, deliveries, hazardous containers and health & safety issues will all be things of the past. Also, when you generate your own nitrogen, it is available on site and on-demand – meaning you never need to worry about running out of gas at an inopportune moment. All Peak nitrogen generators are capable of supplying high quality nitrogen gas continuously & consistently to meet your application needs effectively.

After the initial purchase cost of your nitrogen generator, the only other costs to be factored into your budget are electricity & cost of annual maintenance. At Peak Gas Generation we give you total control over your maintenance costs as well as your nitrogen costs. We have several different maintenance packages available so, if you want to utilise your in-house team and just want supported with spare parts, or if you want one of our nitrogen generation expert engineers to be on-site within 24hours, any time of the year, we have a package to suit your specific needs.