Notice: NEW EPA STUDY ON LEAD FREE SOLDER OUT FOR REVIEW

Main Article: RELIABILITY UPDATE FOR SN100C - Part 2

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NEW EPA STUDY ON LEAD FREE SOLDER OUT FOR REVIEW

Have you seen the study from the U.S. EPA testing concerning the effect of converting the current Sn/Pb assembly process to SAC and Sn/Cu on the environment?

The results indicate the SAC alloys have a greater impact on the environment than even Sn/Pb with Sn/Cu alloys having the least impact. They analyzed the complete life cycles of mining, producing, using and disposing of these alloys.

It seems the silver is adding much pollution and cost due to its mining issues. IF you assume complete conversion of 63/37 alloy to a 3% SAC alloy, the annual increase in silver consumption could be as high as 3500 tons (investment potential looks promising)! Will silver be the next chemical targeted for elimination??

The executive summary highlights the results (pgs. 15-18 are the key). It is a draft and you can go to the link below and submit comments on the results.

The full report is located at:

http://www.epa.gov/dfe/projects/solder/index.htm

RELIABILITY UPDATE FOR SN100C

This report is the third of a five part series highlighting the results of recent reliability testing comparing the Nihon Superior SN100C nickel stabilized tin/copper alloy to tin/lead and SAC alloys. The full report is available by contacting Jim Wertin at jwertin@fctassembly.com

One of the primary concerns in the industry today is whether converting to a lead free process from tin/lead will have an impact on the reliability of the assembly. Much testing has been performed in the last 10 years on lead free joints in anticipation of the potential switch by the industry but there are still concerns about the applicability of the results. Most of the testing has been to procedures developed over time for tin/lead alloys and the issue is whether there will be the same correlation between test results and actual product life cycle of lead free products in the field. As reliability is a complex issue, and not just thermal cycling, a number of tests were performed to attempt to simulate the environment in use.

The testing included vibration, thermal shock, HALT testing, salt fog, temperature/humidity, thermal cycling at multiple ranges performed for the JG-PP Lead Free Solder Project, and hand solder repair with mixed alloys with cross sectioning and thermal cycling.

Salt fog, and temperature/humidity testing results will be discussed in this report.

The Salt Fog and temperature/humidity was performed by ACI (American Competitiveness Institute). The results for Salt Fog testing to ASTM Method B117 are shown below:

No failures were found after the test for any of the assemblies.

The Temperature/Humidity test was also performed by ACI to Mil-STD810F, Test Method 507.4 and the results are below:

Again, no failures were found for any of the assemblies after the Temperature/Humidity testing.

SN100C has been patented by Nihon Superior and is offered worldwide through licensed manufacturers including FCT Solder for North America. We offer SN100C for wave solder and lead tinning, reflow solder paste applications, and SN100CL for lead free hot air solder leveling (HASL) of P.C. Boards.

We will be including in future newsletters, many of the advantages our current customers have discovered in switching to SN100C as their lead free alloy of choice and we welcome your comments and questions. We look forward to working with you to make your transition to lead free as successful as possible. 

For more information about our products, please visit our web sites at www.finelinestencil.com for stencil products and www.fctassembly.com for solder products.

All files for stencils, templates and PCB carriers should be sent to sales@finelinestencil.com to assure immediate attention.

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