Kester, Metcal and KIC Present Lead-free Assembly Seminar
Kester (Des Plaines, IL), Metcal (Menlo Park, CA) and KIC (San Diego, CA) will present a series of Lead-free Technology Seminars scheduled to take place throughout 2004. The next seminar will take place April 6-7 in the San Jose, CA area.
Kester, a supplier of solder and related materials and services to the electronics assembly, micro-component and industrial soldering industries, Metcal, a lead-free soldering solutions provider, and KIC, a provider of lead-free thermal process solutions, understand the challenges associated with the implementation of lead-free assembly. This implementation is rapidly progressing in Asia and throughout the WEEE Directive in Europe, mandating the elimination of lead in many electronics goods by 2006.
The conversion from a leaded process to a lead-free process is not a simple transition. A solid understanding of the alloys, fluxes, board and component finishes, and how they impact the process will be required. Another critical aspect of converting to lead free is the shrinking process window caused by the higher solder melting temperatures butting against the temperature tolerances of the most sensitive components. Learning how to manage this shrinking thermal process window will be an important topic discussed in the seminars.
From combined experiences, the companies have developed this series of seminars to assist North American assemblers with the implementation of lead-free technology. These non-commercial seminars include surface-mount technology, ball grid array (BGA), inspection and documentation. They also offer attendees the technical ability to switch to lead-free reliably, effectively and in time to meet their customers' expectations.
The upcoming seminar will take place at the Four Points Sheraton, 1250 Lakeside Dr., Sunnyvale, CA, 94085; (408) 738-4888, and will explain how to implement lead-free reliably. Additional topics will include alloy selection, flux selection, wave process, surface-mount assembly, inspection and documentation, BGA profiling and rework, reflow optimization and issues and answers. Attendees are encouraged to bring their boards for rework solutions.
To register for the Lead-free Solutions seminar, visit www.metcal.com.
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