Steve Gregory said:
>I have paid as much as .125 cents a gram for paste over the past few years,
>but I didn't really look at what the Tin market was doing...I've been told
>(from sales guys) that's the biggest thing that affects the price of solder
>paste, what the price of Tin is doing on the metals market...but that's the
>most I've ever paid.
Steve, tin has been about 2.5 USD per pound for the last couple of years,
with only temporary spikes above $3 since 1990. That makes it a fairly
stable commodity, and the major converters have their own mine sources or
contracts to buffer spot price changes.
Lead is cheap, averaging about 10% the value of tin.
See:
http://metalprices.com/index_mt.htm
For typical 63/37 Sn/Pb solder alloy, current metal value is about $1.66
per pound. $1.66/lb ÷ 454 g/lb so $0.0037 /g is metals cost. My estimate is
that paste sells for typically 20-40 times metals value.
OTOH, electronic soldering grade bar solder is sold (in Texas, USA) at less
than 2X metals price. Its cost should relate pretty closely to the metals
market, although this market has been quite stable for the past decade.
I assert that the fluctuations of the commodity markets should have very
little impact on the pricing of tin-lead solder paste. For bar, yes. The
high added value of the paste must be related to powder blowing,
formulation and mixing, packaging, and distribution. The paste has a shelf
life, etc. whereas bar is pretty durable.
Check my figures, I have just been doing a refresher these last few weeks
on 9th grade algebra with my teenaged boy (moderate success claimed), but
my calculator could be off today.
Regarding my survey of solder paste costs, I have heard from about half a
dozen TN'ers. Thanks. I would like these data points
- price paid
- type of paste (please include powder size, alloy if other than type 3 and
eutectic Sn/Pb)
- monthly usage
- geographic location
- source (mfg or distributor)
I will summarize the responses, leaving out names or brands, and post to
TechNet later this week. My suggestion is that you should NOT post it to
the list.
I will include more details (as provided) to ONLY the respondents by
private email. My intent is not to provide research for any marketing
purpose.
regards,
Jerry Cupples
Interphase Corporation
Dallas, TX USA
http://www.iphase.com
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