Jan:
- Re your questions:  Yes, gold embrittlement is a problem, more so if there
is a big CTE differential between component and pwb and if the product will
see thermal cycling &/or vibration &/or mechanical shock during use.
- You are correct, the same visual cues applicable to Sn60/63 etc. don't
apply.  Looking funny does not a "bad" joint make.
- Yes, slowing the conveyor speed will work because it allows more time for
the solder bath to leach/clean/extract the gold, as does increasing the solder
temperature.
- Control to preheat to achieve maximum flux effectiveness.
- Using a higher wave (within reason) will simply provide a higher volume of
solder to extract the gold plating more rapidly.
- In general, when wave soldering, your connections should be OK if the gold
plating on the pwb's (before soldering) is less than 100 microinches.  If it
is more than 100 microinches conventional wisdom has been to double tin the
plated surface so that most of the gold is removed by the tinning processes.
- You might check the technical reports available at the Electronics
Manufacturing Productivity Facility (EMPF) which can be accessed via
www.empf.org
- Hope that helps some.
Regards, Jim Moffitt, Moffitt Enterprises

################################################################
TechNet E-Mail Forum provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c
################################################################
To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body:
To subscribe:   SUBSCRIBE TechNet <your full name>
To unsubscribe:   SIGNOFF TechNet 
################################################################
Please visit IPC's web site (http://www.ipc.org) "On-Line Services" section for additional information.
For technical support contact Hugo Scaramuzza at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.312
################################################################