On May 25-26, Henkel Corp., Engent, KIC, Speedline Technologies and Siemens Dematic presented a two-day Hands-On Lead-Free Technology Workshop at Engent's facilities in Norcross, GA. The program provided participants with information concerning lead-free materials and an understanding of upcoming process requirements and changes.

Unlike other lead-free seminars, about half of the agenda included hands-on training on the production floor. Attendees had a chance to visit and tinker with lead-free assembly at stations set up for screen printing and placement; reflow profiling; wave soldering; rework; and analytical tools for process validation.

Brian Toleno of Henkel, Dr. Daniel Baldwin of Engent, MaryBeth Allen of KIC and Keith Howell of Speedline also gave detailed presentations covering the challenges that lead-free technology brings to reflow and wave solder profiling and oven setup; alloy and equipment selection; compatibility studies for underfills, chipbonders and conformal coatings; and materials and process validation.

Each attendee was able to bring home a lead-free board they built, learning firsthand the impact of lead free on setup, assembly and visual inspection.

The course appealed to electronics professionals on all levels. James Seagle, process engineer at Z-World, and his colleague, Guy Martindale, senior process engineer, came to the event with very different agendas. Seagle, who has spent 11 years in electronics assembly and has attended many lead-free seminars, wanted the chance to apply his understanding of lead-free manufacturing. 

"The hands-on approach of this workshop was very beneficial to me," said Seagle. "While the technical data presented in other seminars has been good, this workshop let me test my knowledge and take it to another level on the production floor."  

Martindale, on the other hand, came to Z-World from the board fabrication industry and, coincidentally, his first day on the job was spent in the lead-free workshop. "This is a crash-course for me," he said. "But, there is no better way to learn something than by experiencing it.  I think the production aspect of this workshop was invaluable."

Details will be announced soon regarding the location of the next workshop in the fall. Those who are interested in attending can contact Doug Dixon: (626) 968-6511;  doug.dixon@loctite.com.