General RoHS Questions
Haibing writes: Question 1: My questions are centered around RoHS judgments. That is, how I can judge whether a contract manufacturer is RoHS compliant or not? Does a manufacturer need to have a...
View ArticleDr. Ron Giving Free WEEE/RoHS Workshop at Dartmouth
Folks, I am giving an updated version of my one day workshop on WEEE/RoHS compliant assembly at The Thayer School of Enginnering at Dartmouth on Wednesday, April 12, 2006 from 10AM to 4PM. It will be...
View ArticleHistory of 2/3rds of Defects from Stencil Printing
Folks, In my recent SMT column, “It Pays to be Data Driven,” I asked if anyone new the source of the well accepted industry adage that 2/3rds...
View ArticleQuestions for Tim Jensen
Folks, Tim Jensen, Product Manager, PCB Assembly Materials, would surely be considered one of the most knowledgeable people in lead-free soldering and solder materials. I was able...
View ArticleBeam it down from space
Solar PV in Space Have you recently thought about any creative ways to harness solar power? Tandem Cells, Portable Power, Concentrators, Solar Trackers, Internal Refelecters,...
View ArticleViscometry 101 (Ball Attach Flux - Cone & Plate or T-bar?)
Photo courtesy of www.chemistryexplained.com As you may have seen on product data sheets or specifications, each flux is...
View ArticleLead-Free Solder has Secondary or Less Impact on Tin Consumption
Folks, A few years ago, Prismark estimated that the world electronics usage of lead was 18,500 tons per year. Assume most solder at the time was tin-lead eutectic (63% tin,...
View ArticleWF-9945: Truly Halogen-Free Wave Flux
Indium Corporation has just released a completely halogen-free wave solder flux that performs in a Pb-free process similar to its halogenated counterparts. The reason that this is such a big...
View ArticleSurface Finishes 2: Soldering to Copper and Soldering to OSP
Soldering to copper has been around since the beginning of soldering itself. Copper wiring and copper pipes are where soldering began, and copper is still the most common wire...
View ArticleIs Sn/Cu Alloy a Good Choice for Solder Paste?
Folks I was chatting recently with Indium Corporation’s Mike Fenner about Sn/Cu alloys for solder paste. Mike has many years of experience and I value his opinions...
View ArticleDispelling 10 Myths about Nitrogen Reflow (part I)
In my twenty years in the electronics manufacturing industry, I have heard a lot of claims made about the use of nitrogen in inerted soldering processes: many of...
View ArticlePb-Free Solders are Not the Cause of Tin Whiskers
Tin Whiskers growing between pure tin-plated hook terminals of an electromagnetic relay. Image courtesy of nepp.nasa.gov ...
View ArticleINTERVIEW: Klaus Roehmer: PINK Vacuum Reflow
Figure 1: 15% Voiding with air reflow Figure 2: ~0% Voiding after vacuum reflow ...
View ArticlePatty and Pete: An Audit on Their Own
Folks, Patty was eating her lunch at her desk while reading Golf Digest. She had been training with weights, performing stretches, and getting lessons from a long drive pro in Grantham, NH. It was a 90...
View ArticlePb-Free Bar Solder Dilemma: Price vs. Performance
Many consumer electronics transitioned to Pb-Free 4-5 years ago. However, there are still a substantial number of electronics being built with Sn/Pb solder. As some of these products begin to...
View ArticlePatty, Pete and John Confront "The Big O"
Patty, Pete, and John prepare to do battle with “The Big O.” Patty and Pete were able to squeeze in 9 holes of golf, though it was really stressful...
View ArticleNanoFoil(r) Basics: Activation Part II
In my last post, NanoFoil Basics: Activation Part I, I talked about NanoFoil® activation properties (remember, I’m not using the term “ ignition” because it implies burning, NanoFoil activation is more...
View ArticleUnmistakable Bar Solder
I work for a company that manufactures solder, so I have a pretty keen eye for it. Even so, it’s still hard to tell...
View ArticleAre Solder-Related Tin Whiskers Implicated in Toyota Sudden Acceleration Issues?
Folks, After my recent post on the fact that there was no data linking tin whiskers to the Toyota sudden acceleration issues, there continue to be more posts saying things like “Tin Whiskers Implicated...
View ArticleNanoFoil®: Low-Void Solder Bonding Under Pressure
So, I figured while I’m at 30,000 feet in an airplane on free wi-fi (how long have we waited for this? Thank you AirTran®!), it would be a perfect time to make a few comments about bonding with...
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