The industries exempt from RoHS – aerospace, defense and medical equipment – continue to struggle with their need mitigate tin whisker formation in lead-free components. As more and more component manufacturers discontinue their leaded versions, the exempt industries are looking for ways to switch to lead-free parts without risking tin whiskers growth and product failure.
This year, the Surface Mount Technology Association will present a series of workshops on the topic of using lead-free products under high-stress conductions at its annual conference held September 26 – 28 in Rosemont, Ill. in conjunction with the Assembly Tech Expo.
Courses will include Lead-free Reliability, Lead-free for Harsh Environments, Lead-free Manufacturing/Troubleshooting, Lead-free vs. SnPb, Reality of Reliability of Lead-free, and other courses of a similar nature. The titles reveal an obvious theme – exempt industries now recognize they will have to adopt lead-free parts and learn how to use these parts in such a way that tin whisker development and be managed.