In a recent post I mentioned Alphalevel in among a list of surface finishes.
I have upset the people at Cookson and recieved a direct complaint.

My reason for the comment was this.
The first features about Alphalevel came out in magazines a few years ago. I
was very excited by the prospect of this new product. Even now think it is
an exciting idea.
We get our boards from two suppliers. I went to the one with whom we had a
strong relationship at the time and asked if we could get them to look at
giving us this product in the future and if they could provide some samples
as soon as possible. This fabricator is working on an international stage
and supply to countries all over the world. They regularly contribute to
this NET.

At this time a representative from the large UK supplier who planned on
fabricating boards with Alphalevel came to visit and we discussed the new
finish. They informed us that within a few weeks the process would be up and
running.

Our trusted supplier said they would help us evaluate the process if we
really wanted to. They have a great deal of international experience and
understanding of the technologies available. They would have the boards
finished at another company in a differnt European country with whom they
had strong links.

Our supplier pleaded with us to abandon any notion of a silver based finish
as their experience over the years had always shown problems with this type
of chemistry.

Stories of black pads and unsolderability were the reason on the older or
other silver based technologies. We persisted and obtained samples of
Alphalevel.
If the process works, yes you have a good product.

While we obtained samples from Europe, the Large UK company who introduced
Alphalevel were struggling to get their line running. There was a long delay
before Alphalevel boards were coming off the line. Talking to technical
staff in other companies at the time there were reports of BLACK PADS and
serious problems with the chemistry.
I gave up on this as a finish, but recently I was at a conference, and a
major design and assembly house here in the UK were privately complaining of
the problems with their Alphalevel as supplied by this UK fabricator.

I'm sorry if I upset you Cookson, it was just a comment in a posting about a
different subject. We rely on Cookson for a good deal of other products.
Do people feel that negative comments about brand names shouldn't be made on
the Net?

Thanks

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