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. 

The last year has been a great year for lead-free and RoHS information, and the numerous conferences, seminars, papers, technical articles and web-casts have been a little overwhelming. A substantial amount of very good information is now available to the assembler wishing to transition. This was not the case a year ago when solder alloy confusion still reigned. This article reviews the current status of lead-free and gives the latest information for those companies still making the transition. This article originally appeared in Global SMT & Packaging magazine 6.2 - Feb 2006.

Download the full article (free) in PDF format.  

Peter Biocca is a Senior Market Development Engineer with Kester in Des Plaines, Illinois. He is a chemist with 24 years experience in soldering technologies and flux development. He has presented around the world in matters relating to process optimization and assembly.

He has been working with lead-free for over 8 years and has assisted hundreds of assemblers with their lead-free implementation.

He has been involved in numerous consortia including iNEMI in the United States. He is an active member of IPC, SMTA, ASM and iNEMI. He is the author of numerous technical papers and articles many of which have been delivered globally. He is also a Certified SMT Process Engineer.