You've asked the big question of my day. Board shops differ both on rhetoric and fact. It's been little different since I've been in the business dating back somewhat. Always, there is a demand for more and less - as I need to package more on real estate that must be smaller. Surprisingly, most board shops are pretty honest about this question - in terms of discussion/rhetoric. Maybe honest should be stated as innocent. Fact, on the other hand, is a bit more hard to verify and/or validate. Still, we move ever forward. There's a lot going on here. As usual, we seem to be going down a road at ever increasing speeds needing not a rush but a solution (chemical or otherwise). It's a bit driving a modern vehicle down a not so modern roadway. Everyone on every committee associated with all the great IPC guidelines, standards, and specifications constantly work hard to find solutions (chemical or otherwise) to this question. I can't help feeling they are a bit overwhelmed by the issue. Most of us innocents are so. This is what one seemingly important discussion is all about. Please provide your findings along with evidence concerning plating chemistry, processes, plating thickness throughout the hole, plating ductility, material Tg, and anything else you find as verification the design meets original intent and validation clearly showing the customer contract requirements are met. We all await, MoonMan --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt delivery of Technet send the following message: SET Technet NOMAIL Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > E-mail Archives Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------