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The Shaughnessy Report: Conference Highlights Lead-Free Issues
March 14, 2008 |Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
CLICK HERE to listen to this column.A couple of columns ago we talked about Design For Profitability, or DFP. DFP is the science - or is it an art? - of wringing every bit of profit out of a product, at every level of development. The last time, we talked about how DFP is affected by miscues, misunderstandings and miscommunication on the front end.
But it's just as bad when things go awry on the back end, during the assembly process. At a lead-free conference this week, I found out how crazy things can get during assembly now that lead has a price on its head.
I'm here in Raleigh, NC, at the International Conference on Reliability, Rework, and Repair of Lead-Free Electronics. It's a two-day conference with tabletop exhibits, sponsored by IPC and JEDEC every year.
Attendees at the classes were primarily involved in assembly, rework and repair, and most had a decade or two of experience in assembly.
I wonder if these assembly veterans pine for the olden days, back when lead was their friend. In fact, lead was their best friend, deliberately introduced into solder for the sole purpose of lowering solder's melting point. Lead and solder went together like two peas in a pod.
So now, lead is - with a few exceptions - not allowed to be imported into the European Union. And the assembly community has learned to work with SAC305, SN100C, and a range of other lead-free solders.
But today's sessions addressed the myriad questions surrounding the use of lead-free solder and lead-free parts. First of all, what exactly does lead-free mean anyway? Scott Wilson of IHS told the group that the definition of lead-free differs across the industry. Some companies call their product lead-free if the product contains a small amount of lead and qualifies for an exemption.
Mark McKeen of STI said that one of the most important objectives of any OEM should be making sure the product outlasts its warranty. This may sound obvious, but Microsoft wasn't thinking long-term when its XBoxes started catching fire and the company had to recall 14 million XBox power cords.
Plus, if you're an OEM, how can you warranty your product if it's being manufactured somewhere else, with parts from somewhere else, without personally testing the parts inside it? Eventually, it all comes down to trust.
There were lots of questions about using lead solder with lead-free components. Yes, lead-free parts can be backward-compatible with tin lead solder. But according to Leo Lambert of EPTAC, you better have the right controls in place to mix and match.
Kris Roberson of BEST stressed how easy it is to cross-contaminate in a mixed-alloy environment. And Leo reminded everyone that there are "gazillions of dollars" riding on lead-free assembly, so we'd better get it right.
It's big money, all right. A cottage industry of reballing packages has taken off, thanks to the lead-free craze. And speaking of money, now is certainly the time to be an expert on lead-free.
So, the assembly process was disrupted, but the assemblers and reworkers are dealing with it and still making a dollar or two. Eventually lead-free will become second nature, but there will be other disruptions in the world of design or fabrication.
Contending with - and even profiting from - change is all part of Design For Profitability.