Without knowing too much about the chemistry of solder, things to consider:

     Would this change the intermetallic capabilities of the solder connections?

     What is the conductor finish on your bare boards?  Would they be compatible
     with this change?

     Soldering equipment in your factory.  Would you need to change some of it?

     What about dwell times and temperature?  Would this change require
     retraining of your solderers?

     Jan Pelchat
     Sr. QAE
     Benchmark Electronics
     Hudson Division


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: [TN] lead free solder
Author:  "Landes; Jeff" <[log in to unmask]> at 0UTG0ING
Date:    7/23/98 5:13 PM


Hi all,

One of our engineers suggested that we throw away all of our spools of
tin/lead solder (citing health concerns) creating a lead free office.   He
suggested we use "kester saf-alloy" for hand soldering.

I'd like to throw out some questions:

What is the current line on  human safety using tin/lead solder (hand
soldering, no wave solder here)?

Does lead easily absorb into the skin?

Does some become airborne with flux fumes?

What general reliability or process concerns does the industry have about
using lead free solders?



Your  info is appreciated.

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