Monday 27 March 2017

What Are Lead-Free Alloys and Why Use Them?

More and more electronic device manufacturers are considering going lead-free for health and safety reasons. Lead-free alloys are used in the soldering process to eliminate oxides and other types of impurities. A high-quality lead-free alloy is considered a next-generation development that can replace SAC305, SnPb, and other low-silver SAC alloys for rework, lead tinning, and wave soldering processes. Some products have been engineered for enhanced copper dissolution performance, especially during lengthy hot exposure times common in lead tinning and rework. Likewise, they were further enhanced by adding other materials that can increase wetting speed, minimize drossing, and improve joint cosmetics.

Lead-free alloys are manufactured and sold by reputable providers of high-performance materials for wave solder, PV, SMT, die attach, and industrial assembly solutions. Lead-free alloys offer the best value soldering performance that can reduce cost of ownership and guarantee the consistency of wave solder supply. They deliver high purity, minimal oxidation, and excellent solderability. The performance of a lead-free alloy is comparable to a higher Ag alloy like SAC305 when exposed to thermal fatigue resistance, pin-pull performance, and lap shear performance. Its yield is comparable to Ag alloys, too, in terms of superior performance for SMT and hole-fill-related defects.

Oxides cause too much drossing, while increasing solder’s viscosity. High-viscosity solders can cause soldering defects, like bridging and a poorly formed joint. You can prevent these problems from occurring by using a lead-free alloy.  When used in long rework exposure, lead-free alloys will prevent erosion in copper components. Some types of lead-free alloys stabilize or minimize copper content in a wave solder bath, as long as it is required by process conditions Lead-free alloys offer very good drainage and ensure excellent performance across many different flux technologies.

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