hi, this is pretty fuzzy to me, but it seems to me that there was (early 1970's) an electroless nickel/phosphorus and electroless nickel/boron finish that was touted as being solderable. could this be enjoying a lead-free renaissance? phil -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Barmuta, Mike Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 7:15 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] Nickel Lead Finish Hi Ken: Yes you should be concerned. As others have said Ni can be very difficult to solder to. We've been down this Ni final finish road before. In one case we had to tin the leads to get acceptable results, in another we changed suppliers to get the finish we wanted. What type of flux are you using in your solderpaste for the SM assembly process? If it's no-clean you will probably have trouble. If it's WS then you "might have a chance. However in either case it will require longer dwell times above liquidious. Are you sure the supplier will not be putting a solderable finish over the nickel? If possible I would specify a matte tin over Ni finish. This would provide much better solderability, still be RoHS compliant for the component manufacturer and the lead in your solder would prevent whisker formation. The only issue may be acceptance of a pure tin finish from your customers in aerospace. If they won't accept it then change to a component supplier that can give you the finish you want. Regards Michael Barmuta Staff Engineer Fluke Corp Everett WA 425-446-6076 -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bloomquist, Ken Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 6:11 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [TN] Nickel Lead Finish We were just notified by one of our capacitor manufacturers that they were going lead free and their replacement finish will be nickel. These are surface mount parts. If my memory serves we had trouble soldering nickel leads some years ago on some TO-5 parts. We are a class 3 manufacturer and will continue to use lead in our solder. Should we be concerned about the solderability of the nickel lead finishes? Thanks, KennyB --------------------------------------------------- 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 847-615-7100 ext.2815 ----------------------------------------------------- This message (including any attachments) contains confidential and/or proprietary information intended only for the addressee. Any unauthorized disclosure, copying, distribution or reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may constitute a violation of law. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by responding to this e-mail, and delete the message from your system. If you have any questions about this e-mail please notify the sender immediately. Ce message (ainsi que les eventuelles pieces jointes) est exclusivement adresse au destinataire et contient des informations confidentielles. La copie, la communication ou la distribution du contenu de ce message sans l'accord prealable de l'expediteur sont strictement interdits et peuvent constituer un delit. Si vous n'etes pas destinataire de ce message, merci de le detruire et d'avertir l'expediteur. Si vous avez des questions se rapportant a ce courrier electronique, merci de bien vouloir notifier l'expediteur immediatement. --------------------------------------------------- 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 847-615-7100 ext.2815 ----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- 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 847-615-7100 ext.2815 -----------------------------------------------------