iNEMI Tin Whisker User Group publishes updated set of recommendations.HERNDON, VA -- iNEMI's Tin Whisker User Group announced a major update of its publication, "Recommendations on Lead-Free Finishes for Components Used in High-Reliability Products." The group consists of eight large manufacturers of high-reliability electronic assemblies: Agilent, Alcatel-Lucent, Celestica, Cisco Systems “Cisco” redirects here. For other uses, see Cisco (disambiguation). Cisco System,Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO, HKSE: 4333 ) is an American multinational corporation with 54,000 employees and annual revenue of US $28.48 billion as of 2006. , Delphi Electronics & Safety, Hewlett-Packard, IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) , Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA[3]) is an American vendor of computers, computer components, computer software, and information-technology services, founded on 24 February 1982. and Tyco Electronics Tyco Electronics was the largest unit of Tyco International Ltd., and the world's leading supplier of passive electronic components. On June 29, 2007 Tyco Electronics became a wholly independent publicly-traded company, along with Covidien, from the breakup of the Tyco conglomerate . It is the consensus of these companies that pure tin electroplating electroplating: see plating. electroplating Process of coating with metal by means of an electric current. Plating metal may be transferred to conductive surfaces (e.g., metals) or to nonconductive surfaces (e.g. presents a risk in high-reliability applications. The guidelines the group has developed are intended to minimize the risk of failures from tin whiskers See metal whiskers. . Joe Smetana, principal engineer, advanced technology for Alcatel-Lucent, and chair of the iNEMI Tin Whisker User Group, said, "Three standards were released in 2005 and 2006 addressing tin whisker testing, environmental acceptance requirements and mitigation practices. The User Group strongly endorses the use of these documents as part of a comprehensive strategy of mitigation practices, tin whisker testing and plating process controls, all of which are necessary to reduce the risk of failures associated with tin whiskers." The latest version of the publication includes new recommendations regarding issues such as corrosion, mechanical stress, use of tin over brass or tin over steel, thermal-cycled end use environments and non-columnar grain structure. Members also expanded their discussion of bright tin, making formal recommendation regarding its use. Other recommendations that have been changed or updated/expanded include: * The group's stance on annealing annealing (ənēl`ĭng), process in which glass, metals, and other materials are treated to render them less brittle and more workable. of matte tin over copper, saying it can be accepted when accompanied by supporting test data. * The group's updated position on bias, noting recent data that indicates electrical bias is no longer a concern. * Changed information about Alloy 42, warning that users should be cautious in using tin finishes on alloy 42 (Fe-42Ni) lead-flames in applications where there is significant thermal cycling, and noting possible mitigation practices. * Further clarified statements about the use of fin-bismuth finishes. The revised recommendations can be downloaded from the iNEMI website at http://thor.inemi.org/webdownload/projects/ ese/tin_whiskers/Pb-Free_Finishes_v4.pdf |
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