Florian Graf, Head of Sales & Marketing, SMT Thermal Discoveries

Peak Solder -- When... if ever?

One of the pleasures of getting old was cited by Swedish director Ingmar Bergman who said:
"Getting old is like climbing a mountain. The higher you get, the more tired and breathless you become, but your views become more extensive."

Solder continues to hold center stage in the EMS world. Journals and newsletters inevitably have articles on the subject. New alloys, new fluxes, new defects and new ways to detect and fix them. In the late 1990s when the lead-free movement began, I did some research and found that there was near zero evidence of risk yet the EU persisted in banning lead solder. A positive result was that it caused me to envision ways to make electronics assemblies without solder. That was in 2007.

A dozen years later, there has been little movement in that direction, despite potential that much cheaper and more reliable electronics could be made without solder Fortunately there are cracks forming in the dam of resistance as solder failures persist. Will there be a peak solder? For those with interest in knowing more the link provided will take one to "Solderless Assembly For Electronics -The SAFE Approach" which can be read online.