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June 2000

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Subject:
From:
Bev Christian <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
TechNet E-Mail Forum.
Date:
Fri, 2 Jun 2000 10:01:37 -0400
Content-Type:
text/plain
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Cara,
Just for your edification, the CSA Lab in Toronto has a chicken gun for
firing frozen chickens at airplane windscreens to mimic larger, unfrozen :)
birds flying into planes in the sky.  They do testing for companies from all
over the world.  Don't ask me about the physics of comparing a small frozen
chicken to, say, a big mushy, live Canada Goose!

Visual inspection you should be able to do yourself.  You may want to use
X-rays or pry/cut some parts off boards to look for solder balls under some
components.

"I'm still not clear on if I can have my production boards tested in a lab
or if I need to use the IPC boards."
Well it depends on what you are trying to do.
1) You could stick completed circuit packs into an Omegameter or equivalent
to get an idea (usually known as a process indicator) of the total,
composite amount of ionic/ionizable stuff on your boards.  If you use a
water wash flux the telecommunication industry (and others) require a value
of 1.5 SOD or less.  That industry takes this as a hard fail.  If it is a
no-clean flux there are no hard and fast rules, as the values obtained will
be a result of weak organic acids (acceptable, up to an undetermined point)
and any halides, etc, that are there.  There is no easy answer here.  You
would have to run many boards and set your own green, yellow, red light
standards.  Even pure WOA past a certain point are a problem if they are
going to gum up edge connectors and make for electrical opens.
2) If you really want to know what that Omegameter number is due to, then
you are going to need ion chromatography.  Celestica, Nortel Networks, EMPF
(Philadelphia) and CSL (the Terry and Doug Show, Kokomo) can do that.  I am
sure there are others.  They can send you an off-line note or others can
speak up for them.
3) Well you could put your boards in a humidity chamber under load and wait
for failure and/or examine for dendritic growth, but this is sort of like
looking for a needle in a haystack.  You're going to have to "know" where
the flux residues are going to congregate, where the most significant
voltage differences are, the spacings and how are you going to relate this
to the expected life of your product?  Good luck on that!  No, I highly
recommend that you go with industry standard coupons so your results can be
compared with stated pass/fail results.  Also, the coupons can be relatively
easily examined, even the one where there are parts on the board.  I cannot
remember the number for that board, but Doug can speak up, as he uses these
a lot.

regards,
        Bev Christian
        Director of Electronics Manufacturing
        XLTEK


-----Original Message-----
From: Cara.Startek [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, June 02, 2000 9:31 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [TN] IPC test labs


Hello all (specifically SIRGuru),

Thanks for the advice.  I am actually looking to verify the performance and
gauge the impact of introducing a new flux to our wave solder system.

I was indeed seeking labs that run certified IPC lab testing.  I simply want
to determine if the fluxes work on our boards with no problems.  This is not
really that simple, compare to hurling a dead chicken 56feet (16.8m) from a
hill top into a full moon...!?!  :-)  I have obtained Bellcore and IPC
qualification data from all of the fluxes that I am interested in.  I have
narrowed my pool of fluxes through specifying VOC free, halide free
,no-clean or water wash and low residue.

The first phase of the testing is to determine if solder balls, bridging,
other defects are reduced using the new fluxes, compared to the current
flux.  Any fluxes that do not perform well will be eliminated.  The next
phase we plan on using IPC standard boards and/or our own boards.  These
boards will be tested in a lab (specifically to determine if there is any
corrosion) and in our test department.  I'm still not clear on if I can have
my production boards tested in a lab or if I need to use the IPC boards.
Again any fluxes that do not perform well in this phase will be eliminated.
The final phase will be to run the remaining fluxes for a least a week and
test and monitor any problems that arise.  If anyone can offer any further
insight into this plan it is more than welcome.

Crossing the boarder causes no problem, converting the Canadian dollar
does...  :-)

Your input is very helpful.

Regards,

Cara Startek
Process Engineering
http://www.leitch.com


        -----Original Message-----
        From:   Douglas Pauls [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
        Sent:   Thursday, June 01, 2000 5:31 PM
        To:     [log in to unmask]
        Subject:        Re: [TN] IPC test labs

        In a message dated 06/01/2000 11:59:09 AM US Eastern Standard Time,
        [log in to unmask] writes:

        >
        >  Background:  I am currently conducting a flux evaluation for a
Wave Solder
        >  process.  I am testing many fluxes and would like to send the
test boards
        >  out to an IPC certified lab to have SIR and corrosion tests
performed.

        Cara, IPC does not certify laboratories. They have a lab qual
document
        (QL-653), but most commercial labs will be certified to either
ISO9002 or
        AL2A protocols.  Now, if you are talking about laboratories that are
        "capable" of running the IPC tests, there are several good ones
around.  I
        know of a good one in Central Indiana (grin), but hesitate to
mention the
        name for fear of setting of the guardians of non-commercialism.

        More importantly, what are the goals of your testing?  What test
vehicle do
        you want to use.  If you are looking for the characteristics of the
flux,
        then much of the data is probably already available from your
vendor.  Ask
        them for their J-STD-004 qualification data and that should have
SIR, copper
        mirror, halide content, etc.  Ask for the Bellcore Chapter 13 data
if you are
        in the telecom business (as Bev Christian indicated).  If you are
testing
        multiple fluxes, then having them furnish the data may allow you to
do
        comparisons without spending any cash.  On the other hand, you can
rest
        assured that the test samples for J-STD-004 qualifications are
processed
        under optimal optimal conditions.

        If you are looking for how well you can use the flux, then you may
want to
        use a different test vehicle or different test approaches.  If you
want to
        try it on actual hardware, then you should use some form of burn-in
testing,
        rather than SIR testing.

        >
        >  Question #1:  Is it possible to have these tests performed on
general
        >  boards, or do they have to be IPC standard boards?  If they must
be IPC
        >  standard, where can I obtain the boards?

        Depends on the test goals and what you are trying to do.  Different
boards
        for different goals.  Are you trying to convince a customer?  What
do THEY
        need to see?

        At the risk of setting off the flamethrowers, we carry most of the
standard
        IPC boards in a variety of laminates and metal finishes.

        >
        >  Question #2:  Are there any labs in Ontario (Canada) that perform
these
        >  tests?  I have been looking on the net and all of the suitable
labs are in
        >  the US.

        Does crossing the border create a problem?

        Doug Pauls
        Technical Director
        CSL

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