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NEMI Kicks Off New Lead-Free Assembly Project
at IPC’s "Get the Lead Out" Conference

Consortium Advocates Selection of an Industry-Wide,
Standardized Lead Replacement Alloy

Minneapolis, Minn. · October 26, 1999 · The National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (NEMI) kicked off its new Lead-Free Assembly Project this week at IPCWorks® ’99, a program of IPC · Association Connecting Electronics Industries. As part of this project, NEMI members plan to select and recommend an alloy to be used by industry as a "standardized" lead-free solder alternative. The project will also identify the impacts that eliminating lead will have on the manufacturing infrastructure and work closely with component, board and equipment manufacturers to facilitate the smooth transition of manufacturing processes.

This new project is based on recommendations of an industry task force formed earlier this year to investigate process and material considerations of lead-free electronics assemblies. According to NEMI’s 1998 roadmap (released in the first quarter of 1999), policy initiatives in Europe and environmental goals announced by leading Japanese electronics firms could impact the use of lead in electronics. The roadmap concluded that, to successfully compete in those markets, North American electronics companies need to address the technological challenges of replacing lead with substitutes that will satisfy performance requirements in an environmentally sound and cost-effective manner.

The task force investigated past efforts and developed a program plan to address lead-free electronics manufacturing solutions. This plan will be implemented by the Lead-Free Assembly Project.

"The consensus among the task force was that industry will benefit significantly by focusing on one standard solution for replacing lead in solder. Toward that end, the first task of the Lead-Free Assembly Project is to evaluate and select a replacement alloy and recommend that it become a standard solution," says Jim McElroy, executive director and CEO of NEMI. "There is no drop-in replacement for tin-lead solder. The most promising solutions for the types of high-reliability products made by most electronics manufacturers in the region are alloys made of some combination of tin, copper and/or silver. Use of these alloys will raise the melting point by almost forty degrees, which obviously has an impact on a number of the materials and steps in the assembly process, and affects companies throughout the supply chain. Each OEM and electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider could pursue its own lead-free solution, but we strongly feel that it is in industry’s best interest to cooperatively develop a single solution. It will save time; it will save money; and, in the end, will deliver a more reliable solution."

The objectives outlined by NEMI’s Lead-Free Assembly Project are:

to have the capability for North American companies to produce lead-free products by 2001, with an eye toward total lead elimination by 2004 (timing of actual deployment is, of course, left to the participating companies to determine)
to select an alloy, most likely from the SnAgCu families, to be used as a "standardized" lead-free solder alternative
to demonstrate production-ready parts, materials and processes for lead-free printed wiring board (PWB) assemblies
to cooperate with component, board and equipment manufacturers to allow for the smooth transition to manufacturing processes that may require temperatures up to 260°C
to develop criteria for the industry to evaluate lead-free processes
to modify or develop appropriate JEDEC, IPC or other related standards for lead-free electronics manufacturing

Project work is organized into four sub-groups. The Solder/Alloy Selection sub-group will compile a worldwide patent database of candidate alloys, collect material property data, and make an alloy recommendation based on this information. The Solder Reliability group’s task is to identify holes in the lead-free data currently in the public domain and work with other organizations · such as the High Density Packaging User’s Group (HDPUG) and the Integrated Electronics Engineering Center (IEEC) at Binghamton University · to recommend tests and lend support where needed. The Components sub-group will rank cost-effective lead-free component/PWB terminations (based on compatibility with the recommended lead-free solder system), and work with component/PWB manufacturers (through the Interconnect Technology Research Institute) to facilitate manufacture of high temperature rated components and PWBs. This group will also work with JEDEC, IPC and other related standards bodies to adapt standards to reflect processing parameters associated with use of lead-free solder and high temperature rated components/PWBs, and provide components and PWBs to assess reliability. Finally, the Environmental Legislation group will monitor and report on legislative initiatives throughout the world.

McElroy notes that NEMI’s members include some of the leading OEMs and EMS providers, as well as component, equipment and material suppliers. Combined, these companies provide the "critical mass" required to build consensus for a standard solution.

"NEMI’s role is to provide a framework in which companies can focus on the key issues that affect the electronics industry," McElroy continues. "We facilitate cooperative efforts among companies in order to deploy technologies and accelerate development of infrastructure and standards for the benefit of the industry as a whole."

About NEMI

The National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative was formed in November 1994 to facilitate long-term North American leadership in electronics. The industry-led consortium is made up of more than 50 electronics equipment manufacturers, suppliers, associations, government agencies and universities. NEMI’s members represent a combined total of more than $200 billion in 1998 revenues and employ more than 1.25 million people.

NEMI roadmaps the needs of the North American electronics industry, identifies gaps in the technology infrastructure, establishes implementation projects to eliminate these gaps, and stimulates standards activities to speed the introduction of new technologies. The consortium also works with government, universities and other funding agencies to set priorities for future industry needs and R&D initiatives.

For further information, contact:
Cynthia Williams
207-871-1260
cwilliams@nemi.org

Ron Gedney
NEMI
703-834-2084
rgedney@nemi.org