Industry experts will shine a spotlight on recent revisions to key electronics manufacturing industry standards and guidelines during IPC's professional development program at Electronics Midwest.

An expected recast of the RoHS (restriction of hazardous substances) environmental directive will likely carve away exclusions and possibly add new substances to the current list of six banned substances.

The EIPC Summer Conference in Nuremberg, with the theme "Progress in PCB Fabrication: How to add value through advanced DFM, material and technology," will provide attendees a better understanding about the high-technology field in which they are working.

Lead-free solder technology has resulted in stresses on PTHs due to higher temperature excursions and cracks in solders that are more brittle than their tin-lead ancestors. Since most devices exhibit a mean time to failure that is cut in half with every 10 degrees C temperature increase, managing temperature is critical to product life expectancy.

Bosch (Division Automotive Electronics), Freescale Semiconductor, Infineon Technologies, NXP Semiconductors and STMicroelectronics today announced that they have formed a consortium to jointly investigate and standardize the acceptance of alternatives for high-lead solder for attaching die to semiconductor packages during manufacturing.

I-Connect007's team of editors, guest editors, videographers and video editors worked throughout the show to capture the keynotes, the industry's top technologists and business leaders, bringing our readers and viewers the world's most comprehensive event coverage and content.

China's amendments to its 2003 new chemical substances environmental management regulation goes into force October 15, 2010.

On April 7th, Technology Forecasters Inc. (TFI) President Pamela J. Gordon and Design Chain Associates (DCA) President Mike Kirschner will co-lead a 90-minute webinar entitled Design for Environment and Competitive Advantage.

A team of researchers at Yale University has developed a new kind of magnetic, lead free solder that could be used to manufacture electronics more cheaply and efficiently.

IPC Europe announces the IPC International Conference on Reliability and Quality of Lead-Free Electronics in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, May 20-21, 2010.

This paper examines the thermal properties of various halogen-free laminates used in handheld electronic products and correlates these properties with manufacturing requirements. Thermal properties investigated include z-axis CTE, time to delamination at 260°C and 288°C and temperature to decomposition.

Solder-free and 3-D assembly will help bridge the performance and density gaps needed to extend Moore's Law, as lithography on silicon runs out of steam. It will offer America the chance to restore her electronic manufacturing mojo and provide for her security. Please, America, don't miss this chance to leap-frog the rest of the world!

The effect of post-reflow cleaning processes on creep corrosion are discussed in this paper from Alcatel-Lucent.The authors examine a laboratory MFG test that replicates field creep corrosion. Comparisons of creep corrosion susceptibility between OSP and ImAg PWB surface finishes are also made.

I-Connect007's team of editors, guest editors, videographers and video editors worked throughout the show to capture the keynotes, the industry's top technologists and business leaders, bringing our readers and viewers the world's most comprehensive event coverage and content.

Lead-free is changing the way military boards are specified. Product designers are finding that, as more boards use components that have lead-free solder, they must re-evaluate every aspect of their designs.

The list of replacements for eutectic tin-lead keeps growing, and now, over three years after implementation of the lead-free mandate, new alloys are still being developed. How do you cut through the clutter and find the right alloy?

As 2010 approaches, I-Connect007's European Editor, Pete Starkey, decided to take a look back at the year's top technical articles--compiling a list of the most popular articles across the site.

At the moment, the search for the Holy Grail--a solder that is a direct replacement for tin-lead--has lost a few participants, but the quest goes on within solder manufacturers. However, a replacement seems as elusive as the original.

The IPC (Association Interconnecting Electronics Industries) will be holding two conferences regarding compliance with the current environmental laws November 10-11, 2009, at the Marriott Hotel in Irvine, California.

IPC has co-joined two conferences the week of November 9-12, 2009. Speakers will address the on-going and ever-changing environmental issues facing the industry, as well as materials compliance issues that electronics manufacturers must master to build the products of tomorrow.

This paper examines the thermal properties of various halogen-free laminates used in handheld electronic products and correlates these properties with manufacturing requirements. Thermal properties investigated include z-axis CTE, time to delamination at 260°C and 288°C and temperature to decomposition.

Solder-free and 3-D assembly will help bridge the performance and density gaps needed to extend Moore's Law, as lithography on silicon runs out of steam. It will offer America the chance to restore her electronic manufacturing mojo and provide for her security. Please, America, don't miss this chance to leap-frog the rest of the world!

With proper planning, stiffeners can be designed to aid assembly through the designed manufacture of a flex circuit that can be handled as if it were a rigid circuit board. Such constructions can be accomplished by using any one of several methods.

Corner cracks are observed less often than barrel cracks, but with high-rel boards, we can't be too careful. Unlike barrel cracks, which can fail catastrophically, knee cracks tend to propagate over time. The damaged pad actually resembles a funnel and the warp and weft of the glass give the funnel an uneven, puckered shape.

The effect of post-reflow cleaning processes on creep corrosion are discussed in this paper from Alcatel-Lucent.The authors examine a laboratory MFG test that replicates field creep corrosion. Comparisons of creep corrosion susceptibility between OSP and ImAg PWB surface finishes are also made.

Lead-free solder technology has resulted in stresses on PTHs due to higher temperature excursions and cracks in solders that are more brittle than their tin-lead ancestors. Since most devices exhibit a mean time to failure that is cut in half with every 10 degrees C temperature increase, managing temperature is critical to product life expectancy.

IPC's Technet offers a snapshot of the issues of the day as hundreds of engineers attempt to sort out the industry's latest technological challenges. Harvey Miller, PCB007 columnist and President of Fabfile Online, has agreed to gather a few of the latest Technet exchanges for our Tech Tuesday readers.

Lead-free is changing the way military boards are specified. Product designers are finding that, as more boards use components that have lead-free solder, they must re-evaluate every aspect of their designs.

The list of replacements for eutectic tin-lead keeps growing, and now, over three years after implementation of the lead-free mandate, new alloys are still being developed. How do you cut through the clutter and find the right alloy?

As 2010 approaches, I-Connect007's European Editor, Pete Starkey, decided to take a look back at the year's top technical articles--compiling a list of the most popular articles across the site.

Solder-free and 3-D assembly will help bridge the performance and density gaps needed to extend Moore's Law, as lithography on silicon runs out of steam. It will offer America the chance to restore her electronic manufacturing mojo and provide for her security. Please, America, don't miss this chance to leap-frog the rest of the world!

With proper planning, stiffeners can be designed to aid assembly through the designed manufacture of a flex circuit that can be handled as if it were a rigid circuit board. Such constructions can be accomplished by using any one of several methods.

Corner cracks are observed less often than barrel cracks, but with high-rel boards, we can't be too careful. Unlike barrel cracks, which can fail catastrophically, knee cracks tend to propagate over time. The damaged pad actually resembles a funnel and the warp and weft of the glass give the funnel an uneven, puckered shape.

Lead-free solder technology has resulted in stresses on PTHs due to higher temperature excursions and cracks in solders that are more brittle than their tin-lead ancestors. Since most devices exhibit a mean time to failure that is cut in half with every 10 degrees C temperature increase, managing temperature is critical to product life expectancy.

IPC's Technet offers a snapshot of the issues of the day as hundreds of engineers attempt to sort out the industry's latest technological challenges. Harvey Miller, PCB007 columnist and President of Fabfile Online, has agreed to gather a few of the latest Technet exchanges for our Tech Tuesday readers.

The list of replacements for eutectic tin-lead keeps growing, and now, over three years after implementation of the lead-free mandate, new alloys are still being developed. How do you cut through the clutter and find the right alloy?

As 2010 approaches, I-Connect007's European Editor, Pete Starkey, decided to take a look back at the year's top technical articles--compiling a list of the most popular articles across the site.

"Good quality and high reliability are not an accident: They are there by design!" These were the opening words of Artetch Circuits' Martin Morrell as he introduced the SMART Group seminar on high-technology, high-reliability PCBs at the UK's NPL on November 17, 2009.

At the moment, the search for the Holy Grail--a solder that is a direct replacement for tin-lead--has lost a few participants, but the quest goes on within solder manufacturers. However, a replacement seems as elusive as the original.

DMRPCB's Robert Tarzwell is now offering printed electronics kits that will offer fabricators a better understanding of how to manufacture printed electronics circuit boards. He's also teaming with Taiyo America and other partners to help push printed electronics into the mainstream.