On the other hand, we have been using press-fit into Immersion gold/Electroless Nickel, with press-fit connectors for 3 years with no problems. The press-fit connectors are Nickel/Gold plated and the gold on gold provides the lubricant. Most gold plated press-fit connector pins are underplated with nickel also. The trick is to control the hole size to give a good press fit, without distorting the fiberglass in back of the hole. It does work! And works well. [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Paul Gould [SMTP:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Monday, October 06, 1997 10:16 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TECHNET] Press Fit and Ni/Au Surface Finish Gus Morvillo wrote:- >I am looking into E Ni/ I Au surface finishes, and have heard of a concern >about press fit connectors and barrel cracking. Has anyone experienced this >problem? >Would there be a retention force issue, with one removal and re-insert? Hi Gus, E Ni/I Au is not recommended for press fit for two reasons. Firstly, solder acts as a lubricant to pin insertion and forms a gas tight seal which is why it is recommended for press fit. Secondly, Electroless Nickel is brittle and fractures which could result in stray metal causing subsequent connector shorts. Also, there is no gas tight seal formed which could lead to future corrosion. We produce many multi-layer backplane pcb's for global companies and they still specify tin-lead, either Reflowed or HASL. I have not seen any other alternatives mentioned or been asked to come up with one. Best Regards Paul Gould [log in to unmask] Teknacron Circuits Ltd Isle of Wight,UK ############################################################## TechNet Mail List 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 web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information. For the technical support contact Dmitriy Sklyar at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.311 ############################################################## ############################################################## TechNet Mail List 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 web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information. For the technical support contact Dmitriy Sklyar at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.311 ##############################################################