Teddington, UK – The National Physical Laboratory is hosting a two-day Master Class on Solder Joint Reliability on Oct. 12-13.  Industry expert Werner Engelmaier, known as “Mr. Reliability,” will lead the class.

The class will be split into four half-day sessions: 1) Fundamentals in Solder Joint Reliability, 2) Failure Mode and Root Cause Analysis (Fatigue, Brittle Fracture, ENIG) & Acceleration Models, Reliability Tests and Screening Procedures, 3) Reliability Issues for Lead-Free Soldering, 4) Interconnect Failures and Design for Reliability for Plated-Through Holes/Vias, including Lead-Free Solder Impact.

Engelmaier’s background enables him to address the issues underlying electronic packaging from a system’s point-of-view, dealing with synergistic interdependence of material behaviour, processing aspects, thermal design, functional and environmental requirements.

He established the Product Reliability Main Committee of the IPC and has been Chairman since its inception. Author of over 150 technical publications, he holds two patents.

For more info: www.npl.co.uk/ei/news/

Carlsbad, CA– Asymtek and Emerson & Cuming will host a seminar in Taoyuan, Taiwan, to address new solutions for hand-held and computing manufacturing.  The free workshop, help August 19, will discuss how technology evolution impacts material selection and processing.

Industry speakers will discuss lead-free regulations and other factors affecting new processing technology, like thermal management solutions and jet dispensing rather than needle dispensing for optimum throughput requirements.  

The free seminar will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Sunrise Country Club, with a buffet lunch. For information, contact Patrick Lee, Asymtek regional sales manager at 886-2-2902-1860, plee@asymtek.com; or Andy Yang, Emerson & Cuming’s Greater China sales manager at 886-9-3219-2400, andy.yang@nstarch.com.

ASHBURN, VA– Cleaning tests were recently conducted by Kester and Zestron during a combined technical training workshop at Zestron’s Application Technology Center in Ashburn.

Excellent cleaning results were reportedly achieved as Zestron’s cleaning agents were able to fully remove solder paste and flux residues from Kester’s lead-free and eutectic products. The two parties then worked to optimize application parameters for the tested products.

Application recommendations based on the testing are now available through Kester.

New York -- Dover Electronics has acquired Colder Products Co. (St. Paul, MN). Colder will join the Components Group of companies within Dover Electronics, a subsidiary of Dover Corp.
 
Colder a designer and manufacturer of plastic quick disconnect couplings and specialized liquid and gas handling devices for low pressure plastic tubing connections. Colder sells its products in the life sciences/medical, specialty industrial and chemical/food dispensing markets. The company expects to generate sales of nearly $50 million in 2005.