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Leadfreemagazine.com
is brought to you by a consortium of leading companies
in the industry: Aqueous Technologies, BTU International, Creative
Automation, DEK, ESSEMTEC, EVS International, Kester, KIC, Kyzen, MVP, Ovation Products, Polyonics,
Practical Components, TYCO, and VJ Electronix |
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Components
By Kevin Laphen
Practical Components
10867 Portal Drive
Los Alamitos, CA 90720-1037
E-mail: klaphen@practicalcomponents.com
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Why are Dummy Components and Test boards Important to Lead-free Conversion?
Converting your processing to lead-free can be a complicated process. Critical lead-free issues include new alloys and material evaluations, solder and reflow profile changes, inspection changes, tin whiskers, lead-free on advanced packages like chip scale and flip chip, and all the reliability issues.
Discrete and IC packages, particularly their solder pins, balls and bumps are currently the main culprits of lead content, together with the solder paste used with them.
Experimenting and perfecting your conversion with dummies is the perfect cost-effective solution.
Nearly all the current components are available as lead-free dummies. Dummy components are the exact mechanical equivalent of fully functional, electronically active components. In cases where only mechanical characteristics are required, dummy components can be used instead of live, functioning components. Because there is no expensive die inside the package, the cost for performing mechanical testing is significantly lower.
Make sure your dummies are equal to the live component. The original component manufacturer or leading sub-assembly companies should manufacture them to ensure the components meet industry standards and specifications.
To ensure real world results, dummies should be supported by factory reliability data and engineering support.
What Lead-free Processes Can Dummy Components Be Used for?
Numerous processes, including machine setup and evaluation; assembly workflow evaluation; soldering training, practice and certification; soldering rework training and certification; prototypes; demonstrations; testing; placement capability studies; thermal profiling; solder paste wetting and spread; solder paste slump performance; solder pin-in-paste performance; wave flux hole fill performance; reflow process capabilities; effectiveness of cleaning processes; surface insulation resistance (SIR); surface finish interaction factors; lead-free underfill performance; and more.
What kind of Component Packages Are Available for Lead-free?
Lead-free dummy SMD components are available in all popular IC fine-pitch packages including the new package on package (PoP), CVBGA 0.4 mm pitch, dual row MLFs, thin array plastic packages (TAPP), BGA, flip chip, CSP, QFP, LQFP, TSOP, TSSOP, SSOP, PLCC, and resistors and capacitors as small as metric 0402 case size.
Many through-hole components are also available in lead-free formulations.
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