Victor -

IPC-2221 addresses gold edge card plating thickness in paragraph 4.4.4 and
table 4-3.  For class 2 (most commercial boards) the plating requirement is
0.8um (minimum) Au over 2.5um Ni, for Class 3 it is 1.3um (minimum) Au over
2.5um Ni. When I do gold fingers I tend to specify 2.5-5.0um Nickel/
2.0-3.0um Au. So if the nickel underneath meets spec your boards should be
fine.

Soft Gold is purest (24k) with no iron, cobalt, or nickel co deposited,
generally used for wire bonding. Hard gold is 23+k but uses co-deposits to
prevent ware on switch pads or card edge connector fingers. Flash or
Immersion gold is plated chemically,  is supposed to self limit the plated
thickness at less than 0.5um, it is generally used as a solderability
protective finish for flatness.


Jeffrey A McGlaughlin, CID
Engineering Designer
Battelle Memorial Institute
Columbus Ohio
http://www.battelle.org <http://www.battelle.org/>
[log in to unmask]

-----Original Message-----
From: Victor Hernandez [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2003 2:08 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [TN] Printed Wire Board / Printed Circuit Board and Options Cards -
G old Finger Thickness Round Robin Test



Fellow TechNetters,

   I did not receive any viable leads on my initial topic of inquiry.
Therefore, I have restated my inquiry to see if some

one will response this time.   With cost cutting ventures from overseas I
see product with Gold Finger thickness in
LOW range of 2 - 3 microns.   My concern here is the wear ability factor and
is the consumer aware of these facts.
I also hear of SOFT / HARD / FLASH GOLD.   Where can I find information on
what
                        ONCE UPON A TIME INDUSTRY STANDARD.

Victor,

 -----Original Message-----
From:   Hernandez, Victor G
Sent:   Wednesday, July 24, 2002 8:16 AM
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        Gold, Soft/Hard, Insertion Documentation

Follow Tec Netters,

    Where can I locate information on insertion documentation for hard and
soft gold.

Victor G. Hernandez
Component/Material Failure Analysis Eng.
PS4-1, Rm. 132
Ofc:     512-725-3471
Pgr:     512-907-0005

---------------------------------------------------
Technet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e
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 or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to
[log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL)
To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to
[log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest
Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/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
-----------------------------------------------------



---------------------------------------------------
Technet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e
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 or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL)
To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest
Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/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
-----------------------------------------------------