Lead free solder

[djmiddelkoop]

Due to envirement issues here in Europe, solder with lead will be forbidden in 2006.

This means not only for the manufactures but for us DIY a great impact.
No more shiny joints, higher temperature for soldering and change of sound. This can be better because of the silver added.

Lead free solder is:
96.5% Sn 3.5% Ag
95.5% Sn 3.8% Ag 0.7% Cu

But my concern is more for the joints, as it will be more difficult to make a good joint judging by looking at it, so it is told.

Does anybody has any experience with this, and what should we do, change to the new solder or stick with the old lead 60/40 ?

[slowmotion]

Hi djmiddelkoop,

I have used lead free solder for a good while now,
and haven't had any problems at all.
I use a tin/silver solder from Multicore and an Ersa soldering station.

cheers, Jan

[Pjotr]

Hi,

The higher soldering temperature is a nightmare, especially with teflon isolated wire. You may not heat teflon over 300-325 deg. C otherwise there is a risk of very toxic fluor fumes.

For professional work I am enforced to move to lead free solder but we have some problems to solve for SMD. Conventional feed-through mounting is no problem with wave soldering.

For DIY I will stick to lead/tin solder as long as I have it available, still have 4 x 250 gr. rolls on the shelf

Cheers

[Christer]

Solder w. composition 95.8% Sn, 3.5% Ag and 0.7% Cu, like
Multicore TSC-96, melts at 217 deg. C and is, as far as I understand,
a eutectic solder.

[Pjotr]

Hi Christer,

The problem is not only the melting point but also in the flux needed. There are still some problems to be solved.

In the near future also only water-based fluxes are allowed.

Believe me, the company that does the PCB assembling for us has a lot of headaches about this issue.

[johnnyx]

I agree.
I use lead free solder at work, and the joints look dull, like a bad joint. I think the flux is more harmfull than rosin based fluxes, but I may be wrong, my not being a chemist. I do prefer the lead solder. At one of our stately homes, now open to the public, I watched a demonstration of lead work, used in the restoration process. They were bending sheets of lead to make a flower box, and poured molten lead into sand moulds for decorative trims. I asked them about the precautions they took, they said it's not as bad as you think, so long as you don't eat it..............

[Christer]

Originally posted by Pjotr
Hi Christer,

The problem is not only the melting point but also in the flux needed. There are still some problems to be solved.

In the near future also only water-based fluxes are allowed.

Believe me, the company that does the PCB assembling for us has a lot of headaches about this issue.

Actually the TCS-96 is called Ecosol and is claimed to contain a
more environmental-friendly flux, I think. Whether friendly enough
or good enough, I don't know.

I am sure it causes the industry a lot of headache. I think I read
that the japanese industry have already mostly turned over to
lead-free solders because of the upcoming European requirements.

[jackinnj]

on one of the ham radio newsgroups there was a post relating electrolytic corrosion with lead-free solders. some engineer was trying to figure out why the circuit didn't work, and now you know the rest of the story...

[slowmotion]

Originally posted by Pjotr
Hi,

. You may not heat teflon over 300-325 deg. C otherwise there is a risk of very toxic fluor fumes.


Cheers

Hi,

do you have more info on this?

cheers, Jan

[Pjotr]

Originally posted by slowmotion

Hi,

do you have more info on this?

cheers, Jan

Do a google search on: teflon safety material data sheet

From one of this sheets:

GENERAL HAZARD: Teflon will emit Hydrogen Fluoride and Perfluorocarbon olefins above 500 ºF.

Hydrogen Fluoride is very toxic when burned. So at least do not smoke when soldering PTFE (Teflon/Tefzel) isolated wire.

Can remember something in the newspapers some 10 years ago that a lady was taken to the hospital after using her magnetron oven. A few days later she died. They traced the cause down to overheated teflon isolation used in the magnetron oven.

Cheers