Hi Dennis,
I think a lot of suppliers are hurting too, but I guess maybe you know that.
At my last company there was a hope that a premium could be asked for new
products relating to lead-free, non-halide et al. I don't think that it'll
last even if they do manage to attract that premium, there's too much
competition out there (out here?) to maintain it, although if the 'R' word
really comes to fruition maybe not as many competitors as there were. It'll
be disappointing if a premium couldn't be taken, after all to get the new
technologies developed costs serious money, although the grunts doing the
work rarely get to see the spoils (whoa! hold up that's another forum....).
As far as materials are concerned it's not as though anyone has yet come up
with a unique and really attractive solution to the issues. At least not for
the ones we're discussing in this forum. In the case of alloys the doors
have been thrown wide open (as demanded by some of the major OEM's) and
materials supply companies have been allowed almost uninterrupted access to
proprietary alloy info.
With regard to the organic chemistry there are only so many options
available i.e. perm any 10 combinations from 150. There have been some
interesting polymers developed over the past couple of decades but I haven't
seen much in the way of commercialisation (does anyone remember polyaniline
and the like conductive polymers, dissolved in conc. H2SO4 and not much
else - a really useful formulation....).
On the high temp resin, non-halide substrate field there have been some neat
developments (I was going to say that it isn't rocket science, but I'm not
sure that wasn't where the original ideas came from....) maybe there'll be a
premium hammered home there but .... I can't see it.
Best regards,
Andrew Hoggan
BBA Associates Ltd
www.bba-associates.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Leadfree [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Dennis Fritz
Sent: 01 August 2001 01:03
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [LF] Industries With Worker Elevated Blood Lead Levels
With all the debate about components being able to take reflow temperatures
of 235, or higher, don't forget about the good old circuit board itself.
The old standard test was "time to delamination" at 260. Now, testing is
going on to see if boards can be made from "FR-4" (what a catch all of resin
combinations to suit a UL testing protocol) can last several minutes at 280,
288, or 300 degrees. Presents a challenge for suppliers of resin, makers of
laminate, and suppliers of process chemistries such as copper oxide
replacements.
But, I think the process development is quietly going forward in board
fabrication to be ready for elevated lead free assembly temperatures. At
least, several projects under Interconnection Technology Research Institute
(ITRI) in Austin Texas will help find out if there are gaps.
In today's depressed board market, many shops will be afraid to ask a
premium
for higher temperature boards, just to keep the customer base they are
"surviving on" here in 2001.
Dennis Fritz
MacDermid, Inc.
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