Kester (Des Plaines, IL), a supplier of interconnecting materials and related services for the electronic assembly and component assembly markets, announced that it is working with FEINFOCUS (Garbsen, Germany), a provider of high resolution X-ray microscopy and fully automated systems, to co-host two non-commercial seminars focusing on lead-free technology.

Designed to assist electronics assembly manufacturers with the reliable and cost effective implementation lead-free assembly operations, the seminar covers the main issues with lead-free soldering in surface-mount technology, wave soldering and rework operations. The seminar offers technical and practical information on how to prevent process issues usually associated with lead-free soldering. Successful case studies are also discussed showing solutions to issues normally encountered with lead-free assembly.

The seminar will provide every attendee with a Lead-Free Assembly Technical Manual containing detailed technical presentations, white papers and a subscription to the Lead-Free Connections Newsletter, mailed quarterly. The newsletter will offer process information and tech-tips to achieve solid lead-free processes. They can be used to compliment a company's training needs or knowledge base.

The first seminar is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 4, in Dallas, TX. The second seminar is Thursday, Feb. 5, in Austin, TX.

This series of seminars is part of the Kester University, which offers solder technology training programs coupled with consulting services to assist the electronics industry with training and process issues. For information, contact: kesteruniversity@kester.com or call Shirley Wood: (847) 699-5589.

www.kester.com

www.feinfocus.com

Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.

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Beginning March 1, 2004, Wolf Electronix (Orem, UT), an electronics contract manufacturer (CM), will begin assembly of surface-mount and through-hole components with complete box-build capabilities—including cable harnessing and testing—in Mexicali, Mexico. The 30,000 sq. ft. facility will house the surface-mount and through-hole equipment, along with automated optical inspection (AOI) machinery.

The expansion allows Wolf to reduce labor costs up to 50% on low-mix high-run projects; thus proving an alternative for U.S. companies desiring to keep work in North America while remaining competitive. For the complete box-build, an estimated savings of up to 20% could apply.

Wolf was the first CM in the state of Utah to be awarded an ISO 9002 registration for their quality management system and currently have 9001:2000 registrations at the Utah and Colorado facilities. Wolf now is the first CM headquartered in the state of Utah to expand into Mexico.

"We desire all companies in the U.S. working with a CM to have the overseas labor rates while enjoying closer proximity and ease of communication," said Jim Trent Jr., president of Wolf. " I encourage every company to have the project quoted and compare."

Channels are already in place to facilitate the flow of product from the Mexico facility.

www.wolfelectronix.com

Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.

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The electronics interconnection group at National Physical Laboratory (NPL, Teddington, UK) is making progress in its current research projects.

The use of AC signals instead of DC in surface monitoring of process residues, such as flux, is yielding startling results. The new methods, dubbed surface insulation impedance (SII), show that some fluxes appear to provide variations in loss of signal in an AC environment orders of magnitude higher than predicted by traditional DC surface insulation resistance (SIR) techniques. Ongoing work continues to validate the findings, which could have important implications for AC circuit reliability. For more information, contact: alan.brewin@npl.co.uk.

Over 170,000 electronic component joints have been built with two isotropic conductive adhesive materials at NPL. These samples are now in seven different accelerated environments comprising damp heat, dry heat and thermal cycling. The next steps will involve analysis of joint conductivity, shear and drop test data to compare the reliability performance of the adhesive joints to that achievable with solder. Contact martin.wickham@ntlworld.com for further information.

Work to improve solderability wetting balance tests by including a pre-heating process for the component is showing significant rewards. The use of pre-heat with focused IR energy allows for a lower solder globule or bath temperature and better representation in the test to the reality of wave of reflow soldering conditions. The improved method is likely to reward users with a better prediction of defect rates if parts are used in production. For more information, contact: alan.brewin@npl.co.uk.

www.npl.co.uk

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