Penang, Malaysia - SMTA is proud to announce special events for the South East Asia Technical Conference on Electronics Assembly Technologies, to be held November 18-20, 2009 at the Equatorial Hotel in Penang, Malaysia. Special events include a one-day tutorial and two plenary sessions.

Mukul Luthra, Waterfall Technologies, will facilitate a tutorial on Soldering Metallurgy - Science & Practice in SMT Processes on November 18th. The objective of this workshop is firstly to lay down the foundations and fundamentals of metallic alloy systems, metallurgy and alloy properties and how they impact the solder joint. Participants will learn how to resolve soldering issues encountered in Reflow and Wave processes. Real life examples of soldering issues under different scenarios will be presented. The workshop will also touch upon Tin Whiskers and some of mitigation practices being used in the industry.

Darren Brown, DEK, will present a Plenary Session on Screen Printing Processes for Alternative Energy on November 19th. This presentation will cover why alternative energy is important, differences from SMT, high volume manufacturing issues, and covers new and emerging sources such as photovoltaics, fuel cell, and solar cell energy.

Haley Fu, iNEMI, will present the second Plenary Session, iNEMI Lead-Free Alloy Alternatives Project Report, on November 20th describing the experimental program devised for evaluating the performance of a range of alternative alloys in thermal cycling. Also discussed is the team’s progress toward establishing standard test methods that could provide the industry with a basis for evaluating any lead-free solder from among the increasing number being offered.

Both plenary talks will be held on the exhibit floor and are complimentary to all attendees.