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Nihon Superior Co., Ltd.(Osaka, Japan) ensures the supply
of their lead-free solders to the European market with the help of
BALVER ZINN Josef Jost GmbH Co. & KG(Germany) and DKL Metals Ltd. (UK)
Adopting SN100CL for Leveling in EU where the WEEE/RoHS directive mandates
the elimination of lead from most electronics |
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While OSP (Organic Solderbility Protectant) finishes are
probably the most widely used in the Japanese electronics industry, in Europe,
the majority of printed circuit boards (PCB) have a solder coating applied
by the process of dipping and hot air leveling. This process is commonly
known as Hot Air Solder Leveling (HASL), and it is called "Leveler Process" in
Japan.
A factor in this difference is that whereas in Japan the "Just in Time" system,
is widely practiced, in Europe many PCBs have to be stored for a period of
a year or more before use. Where such a long shelf life is required the
HASL process is used because of the exellent long term solderatvility that
it can provide.
Much interest in SN100 was generated when boards that had been HASL coated
with SN100CL in Japan were displayed at the Productronica Exhibition in Munich,
Germany, in November 2001.
The first company to adopt SN100CL as their standard alloy for HASL process
was the specialist printed circuit board manufacturer, Dunkel & Schurholtz
GmbH in Germany. The president of this company, Thomas Schurholtz was impressed
by the fact that he could run the SN100CL under virtually the same conditions
as he had been running the 63% tin/37% lead alloy that has previously been
the standard material for the HASL process, with even the high density multilayer
build-up technology boards in which his company specializes. He has even been
able to use the same flux so the SN100CL was virtually a "drop-in" replacement
for 63% tin/37% lead. A feature that Mr.Schurholtz particularly likes about
the SN100CL compared with Sn-Ag-Cu alloys that have been widely promoted for
use as lead-free solders is that it is not aggressive towards copper pads and
tracks.
Because Mr.Schurholtz has confirmed that it is completely compatible with
subsequent tin-lead soldering processes, since February 2002 SN100CL has been
the standard finish that Dunkel & Schurholtz supplies to all their customers.
Since May 2002, the largest manufacturer of complex high density interconnect
(HDI) printed circuit boards in Europe, Austria Technology & Systemechnik
AS, (AT&S), has been using SN100CL for large-scale commercial production.
They have three factories in Austria, a factory in India, and a recently built
factory in China. About three quarter of their business is with the telecommunications
industry to which they supply printed circuit boards. They are also major
suppliers to the automotive industry, industrial and medical electronics and
computers. As well as HDI boards, they make a complete range of boards from
single sided to standard multilayer boards with up to 22 layers.
AT&S identify protection of the environment as one their foremost goals,
and they saw SN100CL as the key toconverting their HASL process to lead-free
well ahead of the European Parliament’s July 2006 deadline. AT&S
have also been impressed by the fact that SN100CL is virtually a drop-in replacement
for 63% tin/37% lead, imposing very little in the way of extra demands on the
process or printed circuit board. Since the industry in which they operate
is very competitive, AT&S are particularly pleased that SN100CL is not
burdened with the extra cost of silver. |
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| Interviewed by Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, Ltd. |
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![[CASE6] Dunkel & Schurholtz GmbH Austria Technology & Systemechnik AS](images/voice06_title.gif){kind=small}
