FEATURES

• Fume Extraction
  Airing it Out
  Thanks to higher soldering temperatures and more aggressive fluxes, fumes from lead-free solders are more harmful than those of tin-lead. What precautions are you taking?
  Karl Schuepsthul

• Business Opportunities
  The Remanufacturing Equation
  Remanufacturing - restoring products to a like-new condition - is a $50-billion market, and a source of new business for assemblers. A study of three tech products shows a potentially hefty market, at the right discount.
  Mark Knight and Jonathan D. Linton, Ph.D.

• Pb-Free Solder Pots
  A Study of Lead-Free Hot Air Leveling
  Questions have arisen over copper dissolution into lead-free alloys, particularly the use of alloys that may require added solder pot maintenance. An investigation into controlling lead-free HAL, plus maintaining the pot and separating copper intermetallics.
  David Suraski

• Texas Prototypes
  For NPI, Texas Prototypes Doesn't Mess Around
  From a quiet start as an NPI arm of a tier one EMS provider, Texas Prototypes has spun off and branched out, and its band of engineers provides everything from product launch to lifecycle management.
  Lisa Hamburg Bastin

• Cover Story
  Controlling Pb-Free Processes through AOI
  Will AOI prove effective in identifying differences in the appearance of lead-free solder? To wit: does a billboarded chip look the same? What about an insufficient solder joint? A look at how lead-free PCBs impact in-line systems.
  Thorsten Niermeyer

• Underfill Selection
  Preventing Voids in CSP and BGA Underfill Encapsulants
  In a CSP or BGA underfill process, several potential sources of voids exist. Sidestepping voids starts with picking the right material, be it the paste or the underfill.
  Karl Loh and Edward Ibe

PERSPECTIVES

• Caveat Lector
  New models for old problems.
  Mike Buetow

• On the Forefront
  Why your area array could use a good colonoscopy.
  Dr. H.J. Zapfardt

• Talking Heads
  IMI's Arthur Tam.
  Mike Buetow

• EMS Insight
  "Why I bucked the outsourcing trend."
  Pamela J. Gordon, CMC

• IPC Standards
  J-STD-001D and IPC-A-610D: A little closer.
  Jack Crawford

• Problem Solved
  Considerations for shifting to high-mix without retooling an entire line.
  Peter Bollinger and Shawn Robinson

DEPARTMENTS

Industry News / Market Watch
Assembly Insider
Ad Index
Product Spotlight

On the cover: SEEING IS BELIEVING - Optimizing AOI for lead-free processes. (Photo courtesy Agilent Technologies)