The IPC Board of Directors adopted the following position statement in December of 1998:

The US electronic interconnection industry, represented by the IPC, uses less than 2% of the world's annual lead consumption. Furthermore, all available scientific evidence and US government reports indicate that the lead used in US printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing and electronic assembly produces no significant environmental or health hazards. Nonetheless, in the opinion of IPC, the pressure to eliminate lead in electronic interconnections will continue in the future from both the legislative and competitive sides. IPC encourages and supports research and development of lead free materials and technologies. These new technologies should provide product integrity, performance and reliability equivalent to lead-containing products without introducing new environmental risks or health hazards. IPC prefers global rather than regional solutions to this issue, and is encouraging a coordinated approach to the voluntary reduction or elimination of lead by the electronic interconnection industry.

Since its inception the position has been alternatively ridiculed and praised, raged at and ignored and generally misunderstood. It hasn’t changed the minds of the masses, hasn’t changed the course of technology, hasn’t saved the world. The one thing it has done is established a direction for IPC that hasn’t wavered since 1998. Our goal has been to assist the industry as it works towards the orderly conversion to lead free soldering.

IPC held its first conference on the subject (occasionally referred to as the Woodstock of Lead Free) in October of 1999. Since that time the subject has been a primary subject of interest in our APEX and Printed Circuits Expo technical papers and educational courses. We have partnered with associations such as Soldertec Global and JEDEC to host nine lead free international conferences with hundreds of papers and thousands of attendees. The goal was basic – help the industry stay informed as to the state of the industry and encourage networking and technology exchange on the conversion.

We didn’t stop there. IPC participated in industry consortia efforts such as NEMI and started some of our own. IPC’s Solder Products Value Council formed during this time; this group is evaluating the business aspects of solder as well as actively performing reliability research on lead free alternatives. They have already released on one white paper. Working in conjunction with EMS companies Flextronics and Solectron, the SPVC will have tin/silver/copper reliability data available by the end of this year.

We are under 750 days from the deadline of the EU’s ROHS directive. Astonishingly, I still occasionally hear someone say they don’t believe it will go into effect. It will be interesting to see if these individuals companies are in business in 2007. Fortunately, the majority of the industry is taking the change seriously. One can tell because of the detail of the questions now being asked. Most frequently “what is the definition of lead free?” is one that you would have thought would have been answered early in the process. Surprisingly, it is still up for debate, although most feel that 0.1 % will be the target number. “ How and where do you test it?” is the next most asked question. Current clarification of “homogeneous” and “mechanically separated” makes one dizzy, as the legislators try to wrestle with the logistics of the ROHS implementation. The implications are critical. Do you test at the system level, the assembly level, the component level, or the coating level? Too high up the chain and the need for conversion becomes lost in waste dilution. Too low down the chain, and the potential for hordes of customs agents with little beam like devices (energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence)
blasting everything in sight comes to mind. These topics are actively being discussed at the Technical Adaptation Committee and it is expected that the decisions will be finalized by late 2004. The next question “How do I get my exemption?” is another question being asked frequently as the deadline looms. The ROHS has a number of exemptions, some in force due to separate legislation, such as End of Life Vehicles for the automotive industry, and others by internal reference (military) and others by Annex exemption. The Annex exemptions in some cases have timelines which buy a few years more until the eventual need to convert to lead free. While these exemptions are listed, companies still need to document that they meet the exempt categories so there is now a flurry of applications taking place to confirm exemptions as the deadline looms.

While the industry might not agree with the “Why” (as noted in the IPC’s Board position), it continues to explore the “How” while keeping an eye on the “When” and clarifying the “What.” Most manufacturers’ eyes are open, and they are actively engaged in the conversion process. The better ones are involved in information exchange with their peers as they recognize the need for standardization in this process. And speaking of standardization, IPC’s technical committees have been working overtime in order to document and establish requirements for this changing market. This task is no small challenge. Trying to establish requirements while the industry is still determining what performance level they are seeking is testing the metal (pun intended) of many standard veterans. Fortunately, with the assistance of some early adopters, IPC’s most critical standards should have lead free incorporated by the end of 2004. After that it will be a matter of keeping the documents up to date with the field data that is collected as the lead free implantation becomes a global reality.