The following article is a series of "from the trenches" stories taken both from the perspective of an electronics manufacturer and an environmental compliance consultancy.

Since the implementation of EU RoHS in 2006, the electronics industry has seen a proliferation of Pb–free alloys for wave soldering, mini–pot rework, BGA and CSP solder balls and, more recently, solder pastes for mass reflow.

The solder surface produced on bare printed circuit boards by hot air solder leveling (HASL) has been used extensively as a solderable finish for many years.

Because the implications of switching to using lead–free materials for printed wiring board (PWB) assembly have particular impact on the equipment and capability for wave soldering, it is attractive to consider the applicability of using the pin–in–hole intrusive reflow technique as an alternative within the production environment.

Vapor phase, or condensation heating, has progressed through many variations since its invention in 1973[1].

Corrosion of solder pots and solder pot components in wave soldering equipment has been reduced with the introduction of corrosion–resistant coatings and improved lead free solder alloys.

As industry moves to lead–free soldering, tin has replaced lead in a majority of the new solder formulas and also in component coatings and leads.

This article analyzes different thermocouple products and their suitability for modern lead–free manufacturing.

Generally, flexible printed circuit boards (FPCBs) have been fixed on a carrier plate (jig) using single–sided polyimide film tape, film–based double–sided tape or resin–coated carrier plate, but these types of holding methods produce inconvenience and problems.

This paper details the experience of one medium sized assembler set on achieving a customer–driven mandate to go lead–free for the assembly of high–end printer boards.

Just because a material is free of the RoHS list of excluded substances, doesn’t mean it can withstand processing at the elevated temperatures of lead–free.  

When the electronics industry first began to discuss the mandatory move to lead–free manufacturing, it was widely believed that the transition would also enable more reliable solder joints.

In this study, all the exemptions proposed by the electronic industry are reported, all the official exemptions granted by the EU Commissioner are stated, and all the exemptions voted ‘YES’ by the EU TAC but not officially published in the OJ of EU are presented.

The electronics industry’s transition to lead–free soldering has been characterised by misapprehensions.

Another year has begun, and with the impending July 1st 2006 deadline for the RoHS Directive rapidly approaching, some companies are experiencing the stresses involved in meeting their obligations.