ITASCA, IL — Kester will provide lead-free resources, technologies and products in booth 1660 at the upcoming APEX 2008 exhibition and conference, scheduled to take place April 1-3, 2008, in Los Vegas.

Kester’s booth will be the best source for Lead-free Information at APEX. Kester will be featuring numerous products from its Lead-Free Solutionsä (products and services) portfolio to help companies in the transition to lead-free. Among products being featured will be low-cost Ultrapureâ K100LD lead-free bar and wire solder alloy and its EM907 paste along with Kester’s technical services to help manufacturers assemble lead-free.

K100LD is a patent-pending, low-cost alternative to traditional lead-free alloys that is available as bar solder or wire solder. The material offers the lowest copper dissolution of any lead-free bar on the market, even amongst all common alloys, including Sn63, SAC305 and other lead-free options.

K100LD represents an improvement over competitive alloys, including other variations of Tin-Copper-Nickel (SnCuNi). K100LD is a low-cost (silver-free) lead-free alloy primarily containing tin and copper with the inclusion of metallic dopants to control the grain structure and the Copper dissolution rate. K100LD has a slower rate of Copper dissolution than competitive SnCuNi alloys, which minimizes pot maintenance, maintains consistent soldering performance and improves reliability. K100LD has a copper dissolution rate 20 percent slower than the competitive SnCuNi alloy and even Sn63Pb37. K100LD compares favorably to other low-cost, lead-free alloys in terms of wetting and flow characteristics, providing users with optimal soldering performance and minimal defects.

Besides offering the lowest dissolution of copper from boards and components of any lead-free alloy, K100LD offers numerous benefits, including anti-drossing technology, bright, smooth solder joints with no visible shrinkage effects, excellent through-hole penetration and topside fillet with virtually no bridging, and reduced leaching of solder pot materials. Additionally, K100LD is compatible with all types of board and component metallizations, is compatible with other SnCuNi alloys, and its lead level is specified at less than 0.05 percent, ensuring RoHS compliance.

In addition to K100LD, Kester will showcase its EM907 No-Clean Lead-Free Solder Paste, which is designed to exceed customers’ expectations for high-yield lead-free manufacturing. EM907 is specifically for the higher thermal demands of assembling with higher melting temperature lead-free alloys, such as the family of SnAgCu (SAC) alloys. Featuring a long stencil life, the solder paste offers lead-free joints that closely resemble those achieved with Sn/Pb solder paste. EM907 is capable of extended downtimes in printing, and maintains excellent print quality at high print speeds — up to 6 in/sec (150 mm/sec). This product also has excellent cold and hot slump behavior, thus preventing bridges and solder ball formation.

As always, Kester's global lead-free team of technical engineers will be present to answer all lead-free questions that companies may have about lead-free assembly. Be sure to stop by booth 1660 for more information.

For more information on Kester’s participation at APEX 2008, or Kester’s full line of products and services including SE-CURE™ and InnovaBond™ products, contact Kester by phone at (+1) 847-297-1600 or 800-2-KESTER (53-7837), by fax at (+1) 847- 699-5548, or by e-mail at customerservice@kester.com. Kester’s Web site may be found at http://www.kester.com/http://www.kester.com.