FEATURES

• Cover Story
  Cleaning Up after Pb-Free
  Lacking field data for no-clean Pb-free solders and confidence in accelerated aging tests? An expected increase in contaminants means effective cleaning is the only way to guarantee an assembly won't fail due to residues.
  Leigh Jansen

• Process Management
  Concurrent Manufacturing in an EMS Environment
  The changes and precautions to take down the line during implementation of Pb-free manufacturing. This review covers printing, placement, soldering, inspection, materials management, compatibility and marking.
  Amey Teredesai and Tony Batalha

• Soldering Materials
  Pb-Free Solder Assembly for Mixed-Technology Boards
  While assemblers push for a single alloy throughout all soldering processes to avoid cross-contamination, tests show no joint degradation related to the mixing of SN100C and SAC alloys.
  Karl Seelig

• Wire Bonding
  Increasing Process Reliability in Fine-Pitch Wire Bonding
  A two-year study involving millions of bonds on LQFPs and BGAs identifies close ties between the performance of the wire bonder capillary and subsequent failures.
  Yair Alcobi

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  A platform for all electronics.
  Mike Buetow

• Talking Heads
  RVSI's Kevin Maddy.
  Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

• Focus on Business
  Data mining in EMS.
  Susan Mucha

• Global Sourcing
  Qualification methods for CSPs.
  Robin Norvell

TECH TALK

• On the Forefront
  R&D's new model.
  E. Jan Vardaman

• Screen Printing
  Using DPMO to rate equipment performance.
  Clive Ashmore

• Better Manufacturing
  HALT and HASS testing.
  Peter Grundy

• Soldering Tips
  The new GEIA Pb-free guide.
  American Competitiveness Institute

• Wave Soldering
  Guarding your pot.
  Gerjan Diepstraten

• Test and Inspection
  Pin-in-hole reflow inspection.
  Dr. David Bernard and Bob Willis

• Countdown to Pb-Free
  Recommendations for thermally challenging products.
  Joe Smetana and Thilo Sack

• ESD Basics
  Eliminating ESD in the air.
  David E. Swenson

• Process Doctor
  Resolving sulfate contamination.
  Terry Munson

• Equipment Advances
  ECT's new board tester.

• Technical Abstracts

DEPARTMENTS

Industry News
Market Watch
Assembly Insider
Nepcon China and SMT/Hybrid/Packaging Product Preview
Ad Index
Classifieds

On the cover: Due to a lack of Pb-free aging data, cleaning may make a comeback. (Cover photo courtesy Humiseal/Chase Specialty Coatings.)