Product category:
PCB Assembly Equipment and Tools
News Release from: Blundell Production Equipment | Subject: CMS 400
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 22 March 2004
Bath treatment is key to lead-free
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Blundell Production Equipment is urging users of wave soldering machines to seriously consider making early changes to their equipment to accommodate lead-free solder alloys.
Blundell Production Equipment is urging users of wave soldering machines to seriously consider making early changes to their equipment to accommodate lead-free solder alloys The deadline for the European electronics industry to change to lead free is not until July 2006, but the scale of wave soldering machine modifications and renewals is likely to overwhelm manufacturers if too many users leave the changes until the last minute
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 21 Oct 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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Wave-soldering machines gain lead-free upgrade
A one-day on-site upgrade can convert the CMS 400 wave-soldering machine to operate safely with lead-free solder.
Wave soldering machine handles lead-free solder
Blundell Production Equipment has launched a fully lead free version of its CMS 400 wave soldering machine.
The main issue to be addressed is that of solder-bath tin erosion.
Lead-free solder is rich in tin (Sn) - indeed, lead-free alloys contain up to 98% tin.
Tests have shown that this has a highly corrosive effect on stainless steel, from which the majority of solder baths are made.
Of particular concern is the effect on the solder nozzles and ducting over which the molten solder flows, and on which the corrosive effects of the tin-rich solder alloys are the most damaging.
According to Managing Director Paul Blundell, doing nothing is not an option if the conversion to lead-free solder is to be successfully implemented.
It is not just a simple matter of draining the solder bath and filling it with lead-free solder.
The effects on the stainless steel must be taken seriously.
Potential damage to the internal components of the solder bath could cause the nozzles to melt into the solder, contaminating the alloy and posing a safety hazard if the solder bath starts to leak.
These are risks that reputable manufacturers cannot afford to take.
The answer, according to Blundell, is to replace the entire solder bath with a new one made from specially treated material.
Blundell is subjecting all of its solder baths and parts therein to a chemical treatment that permeates the metal and is impossible to scratch off or to damage, and the company is offering a pot change service for all users of its CMS 400 machines.
The installed base of wave soldering machines is large.
Some machines in use are no longer manufactured or supported.
These machines will have to be replaced with new ones.
Again, Blundell can help by supplying a new machine, manufactured entirely with lead-free-compatible materials.
Blundell will have a lead-free CMS 400 wave soldering machine on display at the Nepcon exhibition in Brighton on 26th and 27th June 2004.
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