Kevin,

My first question would be just how much 'hard gold' are they putting on the
traces?  You mention soldering and flexing...  I'm thinking gold
embrittlement?

As Joyce has indicated, you may very likely have problems soldering.

Tell them to take their 'offer' and give you the ENIG you asked for [but
demand certification and do you own checks!]

     What is the 'advantage' this offers to your product???

My pearls for the day


Steve Creswick
Sr Associate - Balanced Enterprise Solutions
http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevencreswick
                         616 834 1883



-----Original Message-----
From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Glidden, Kevin
Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2012 12:12 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [TN] PCB finish: ENIG vs. hard gold

Hi everyone,

We have a PCB supplier who is offering "Hard Gold" as an alternate to ENIG
finish, due to PCB size and processing capabilities.  The application is
Class 3 (mil/aero).  The circuit is thin FR4 and subject to SMT reflow w/
Sn63Pb37 (non RoHS) solder alloy, and moderate flexing in end application.

Can anyone offer info on the differences between the two finishes, and/or
their suitability?  Is there an IPC spec (or specs) that outline "hard
gold"?

Thanks,

Kevin Glidden


______________________________________________________________________
This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service.
For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask]
______________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________
This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service.
For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask] 
______________________________________________________________________