As usual, politics is king. The EU may be new as a political body, but the politicians involved with it have had centuries to develop their craft in their individual countries. Make people think you are doing something without doing any real research... This has been beaten to death, the EU is not going to change their minds just because it's silly. And don't hold your breath, I would not be surprised to see Oregon or Vermont enact similar legislation :) -- George Patrick Tektronix, Inc. Central Engineering, PCB Design Group P.O. Box 500, M/S 39-512 Beaverton, OR 97077-0001 Phone: 503-627-5272 Fax: 503-627-5587 http://www.tektronix.com http://www.pcb-designer.com It's my opinion, not Tektronix' -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Brooks,Bill Sent: Friday, September 10, 2004 15:05 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] Lead free I talked with our ME's here and they inform me that the current process of using tin/lead solder WILL BE COMPATIBLE with the new 'lead free' parts that are being manufactured... So why change processes if you don't need to deal with the EU...? The ME's say they have real issues with inspecting high temp solder joints that do not wet or wick like tin/lead solders... I would expect more trouble with the ductility of other alloys too, so if your surface mount board is undergoing thermal excursions and getting stressed at the solder joints due to CTE mismatches the other alloys are more likely to crack due to work hardening... and less ductility. How much real research has been done into these alternative alloys? Do you want to ride in a Space Shuttle with lead free solder joints? Or put a pace maker in your chest that has lead free solder joints? Are they truly reliable? Who's really driving the move to lead free? I still maintain that leaded car batteries are a much greater threat to the environment than cell phones with solder on the small parts they carry inside. Look at how many cars there are that have to change their batteries every 5 years or less... Bill Brooks PCB Design Engineer , C.I.D., C.I.I. Tel: (760)597-1500 Ext 3772 Fax: (760)597-1510 http://pcbwizards.com -----Original Message----- From: Dehoyos, Ramon [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2004 11:13 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] Lead free Since Japan is almost 100% lead free, what have they chosen as their best alloy? or Europe? Just a thought. Ramon -----Original Message----- From: David Bergman [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2004 1:28 PM To: Dehoyos, Ramon Subject: RE: [TN] Lead free Hi Ramon, It will be interesting to see what Technet response is to this. My personal opinion is that the industry is narrowing on the SAC alloy (Tin/Silver/Copper). I also believe that the SAC 305 (3% Silver 0.5 % copper, balance tin) will be the leading alloy. There is a significant amount of R&D work looking at lower temperature alloys including Bismuth and Zinc, but none of these are mainstream options yet. Dave David W. Bergman, CAE Vice President, Standards, Technology and International Relations IPC 2215 Sanders Road #250 Northbrook, IL 60062-6135 Phone 847-790-5340 Fax 847-504-2340 Mobile 847-867-1388 email [log in to unmask] www.ipc.org IPC IS MOVING: On Friday, September 17, IPC will be moving to a new office location: 3000 Lakeside Drive, Suite 309 S, Bannockburn, IL, 60015. All phone, fax, web and e-mail service will be down from the close of business on the 16th until Monday, September 20th. The new main telephone number will be 1-847-615-7100 and the new main fax number will be 1-847-615-7105. Direct phone numbers are not yet available. A complete listing of all new direct phone numbers will be available when confirmed by the phone company at www.ipc.org/move. -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dehoyos, Ramon Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2004 12:15 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [TN] Lead free Technetters: Last time I checked there were more than a dozen different types of lead free solders. Has the industry chosen the best one? Or is it still experimenting with different types? Regards, Ramon --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a 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/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a 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/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 -----------------------------------------------------