John J have heard something about Pb-free problems, but supposed it was improved and going to be good and robust technology. You reopened my eyes.
With this 13 degrees C is it true? What if my products are specified for -30 degrees (and often mounted outdoors). To avoid problems with new technology we (small firm) decided to move the production to contract manufacturer and supposed Pb-free technology is no longer our problem. Our standard warranty period is 3 years, and many devices sold 10 years ago are still in use and I hope will be working for next 10 years (and more). Should we change our warranty to say that Pb-free technology problems are out of warranty ? Off-topic: I have 14 years old 27" TV (working well). If Pb-free technology is a kind of programmed dead time and any new TV after year or two will be dead it makes 7 times more TV/year to sell. This suggest who can be interested in this legislation. Best Regards Piotr Galka ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Barnes" <[email protected]> To: "Jim Eichner" <[email protected]>; <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2006 5:35 AM Subject: Re: Off-topic: lead free solder and reliability > Jim, > Since late December 2004 I've been doing an extensive study on designing > lead-free, RoHS-compliant, and WEEE-compliant electronics. To date I > have collected over 125 books and well over 5,400 papers/reports/ > magazine articles/web pages on these subjects. I have links to over > 2,350 of these documents that are available for free via the Internet, > in my now-344-page Bibliography at > http://www.dbicorporation.com/rohsbib.htm > > I've run across quite a few studies on the failure modes, reliability, > and longevity of lead-free electronics. Personally, I think that we are > going to be darned lucky if some of these lead-free electronic products > outlast the manufacturer's warranty period-- regardless of whether they > are: > * In continuous use. > * In intermittent use. > * Sitting idle. > OR > * Still in the original, unopened box! > > Some problems that are showing up with lead-free solders and platings, > that have been almost unknown for over 40 years with lead-bearing > solders and platings, are: > * Tin whiskers, causing short circuits. > * Tin pest (tin plague, tin leprosy, tin disease), causing opens when > the solder turns to dust at temperatures below 13 degrees C. > * Sensitivity to physical shock, causing opens when a product is > dropped even a short distance onto a hard surface. > * Kirkendall voids, causing opens. > * Conductive anodic filaments (CAF), causing shorts *inside* printed > circuit boards. > > I bought myself a new computer shortly after Christmas, and I don't plan > to buy any more new electronics for myself or my businesses -- unless I > absolutely have to -- until at least July 2007. By then we may know > whether lead-free electronics are worth a darn in any environment. Or > maybe the Europeans will repeal the RoHS Directive after enraged > consumers have lynched some of the legislators who enacted that > misbegotten law... > > John Barnes KS4GL, PE, NCE, NCT, ESDC Eng, ESDC Tech, PSE, SM IEEE > dBi Corporation > Robust Electronic Design, Inc. > http://www.dbicorporation.com/ > > (Author of Robust Electronic Design Reference Book, Volumes 1 & 2) > > - > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society > emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ > > To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] > > Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html > > List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > > Scott Douglas [email protected] > Mike Cantwell [email protected] > > For policy questions, send mail to: > > Jim Bacher: [email protected] > David Heald: [email protected] > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > > http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas [email protected] Mike Cantwell [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: [email protected] David Heald: [email protected] All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc
