Is All Solder Created Equal?
- Thread starter MylesBAstor
- Start date
Most military systems specify lead solder due to whiskers and other issues with the lead-free solders (higher temp, brittleness, etc.)
RoHS is indeed a nuisance - but from a reliability point of view. Unlikely to have audible effects.
Nasa & bmw
I think NASA banned lead solder. NASA then had so many problems due the ban that they everyone just ignored the ban and used lead solder.
I think BMW had a monster problem involving 10s of thousands of cars due to the whisker problems in the electronics.
Amazing - the world jumps up & down about electronic lead, and Monsanto is allowed to destroy the world's agriculture with genetic seed engineering.
I think NASA banned lead solder. NASA then had so many problems due the ban that they everyone just ignored the ban and used lead solder.
I think BMW had a monster problem involving 10s of thousands of cars due to the whisker problems in the electronics.
Amazing - the world jumps up & down about electronic lead, and Monsanto is allowed to destroy the world's agriculture with genetic seed engineering.
It is interesting that the exemptions include aerospace, automotive and "servers, switches, routers, cell sites and other telecommunication equipment that constitute the global Internet and phone systems".
It's not a case of superlatives. I think if you go back and look at the history of heavy metals and pollution, you'd be surprised by their prevalence. As I said on another site, go back and look up the history of Cadmium poisoning. Or the preponderance of lead in our society and children eating lead paint. How soon we forget.
I believe we have touched on this issue before. If you want long-term reliability with your electronics, we need the old, tried and true solder that we know works. Pulling the lead out of solder is great if you don't mind replacing your electronics on a regular basis. There is a reason that critical technologies are exempt from the lead-free requirement, that's because informed people know that using lead-free solder will cause the electronics to fail over time due to growing tin whiskers.
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Not a chance. Nasa has never banned lead solder. They have always required it's use becasue of the combination of tin whisker issues and not enough long term reliability data on lead free solders.
Yes any place that performance was critical you could use the lead solder ROHS exemption. We use it on all the stuff we manufacture. We won't go near lead free solders.
You have to remember though that ROHS is not just about lead. There are several compounds and metals like cadmiium that are also covered under the standard.
Rob
Yes while we look back and laugh at the radium dial painters, the story of the cadmium/battery factories is no less a disaster.
Good point Gary, had actually included asbestos on another site but forgot here
Actually the biggest tragedy with asbestos miners/workers, etc. wasn't just that asbestos was an irritant and carcinogen that is trapped in the lung tissue. Actually the biggest issue was with those miners, workers (like in shipbuilding -- or even auto mechanics --since asbestos was used in brake linings) and people who came into contact with asbestos and smoked; studies showed that the mesothelioma rate for this group wasn't just additive between the two carcinogens but synergistic
That's true but you have the wrong cause. It wasn't that lead free solder was used.
I have actually seen them and it's amazing how fine, long and flexible they can be. In this day and age every component that is plated or has a silver metal finish gets scanned to make sure there is no 100% tin. This gets done on everything all the way down to the hardware used so nuts screws and bolts as well. They take it very seriously and with good reason.
Rob
http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/failures/index.htm
Thank you Rob.
Very good to know, and I do not mind being corrected when I am wrong.
Thank you again Rob, and I will try to stay out of all of the tin whiskers.
Best to you,
zz.
Very good to know, and I do not mind being corrected when I am wrong.
Thank you again Rob, and I will try to stay out of all of the tin whiskers.
Best to you,
zz.
I may be dreaming (or having a senior moment) but I swear I saw/heard/read that Wilson auditioned various types of solder for their speakers.....
Cheers,
Cheers,
Not to sidetrack the thread, but I think the problem of children eating lead paint is more a problem of parental control and maintenance of their homes than the paint itself, which happens to be better than other types of paint.
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Hmmm... Sounds like a guy who has not had a house of kids... Kids will put anything into their mouths, lick walls, etc. However, most of the exposure comes from pre-1978 houses with lead paint on the walls. Kids with wet/sticky hands touch the walls, then put their hands into their mouths. Another problem was that a lot of toys back then, and they still find them today, have lead in the paint, and kids chew on the toys. And so forth...
Al also has problems with sintering (spikes) and I am sure there are others (I am not a metallurgist).
Al also has problems with sintering (spikes) and I am sure there are others (I am not a metallurgist).
You took the words right out of mouth. Plus paint that flaked off walls and kids ate it. Particularly in those of lower socio-economic status.
While on the subject of lead toxicity:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/18/lead-paint-trial_n_3612546.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/18/lead-paint-trial_n_3612546.html
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