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NEMI Kicks Off New Lead-Free Assembly Project and Sponsors
Industry Forum on Same Topic at IPCWorks® Conference

Open Forum Seeks Industry Input on Issues Relating to Lead-Free Assembly

Herndon, VA · August 10, 1999 · The National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (NEMI) will sponsor an open forum on lead-free electronics assemblies at IPCWorks® ’99, a program of IPC · Association Connecting Electronics Industries. Scheduled for Monday morning, October 25, the meeting will provide discussion of the state of lead-free assemblies in the worldwide market, review the plans of NEMI’s Lead-Free Assembly Project, and solicit participants’ comments and input on the project plan. In addition, the first meeting of the new NEMI Lead-Free Assembly Project is scheduled for Thursday, October 28, immediately following IPCWorks (participation limited to project members).

Earlier this year, NEMI formed a task force to investigate process and material considerations of lead-free electronics assembly. This action was motivated by the findings of the 1998 NEMI Roadmap (released in the first quarter of this year) which indicated that policy initiatives in Europe and environmental goals announced by leading Japanese electronics firms could impact the use of lead in electronics.

"In many of the overseas markets, we are seeing political as well as market pressures to eliminate lead in electronics assemblies," says Jim McElroy, executive director and CEO of NEMI. "If North American electronics companies are to successfully compete in those markets, the industry is going to have to address the technological challenges of replacing lead with substitutes that will satisfy performance requirements in an environmentally sound and cost effective manner."

A number of companies, including AIM Solder, Celestica, Compaq, Delphi/Delco, Hewlett Packard, Indium Corporation, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, Nortel Networks, Plexus, Solectron, Visteon, and several others, participated in the NEMI lead-free task force. The group has investigated past efforts, particularly by NCMS, and developed a program plan to address lead-free electronics manufacturing solutions.

"We have received valuable input and direction from this task force and hope to broaden our perspective even further with the open forum planned for IPCWorks," continues McElroy. "NEMI’s role is to provide a framework in which companies can focus on the key issues that affect the electronics industry. We facilitate cooperative efforts among companies in order to deploy technologies and accelerate development of infrastructure and standards for the benefit of the industry as a whole."

Activities of the lead-free task force have resulted in the formation of the NEMI Lead-Free Assembly Project. Project participants are scheduled to hold their first meeting during IPCWorks in Minneapolis. The objectives of this project are:

to have the capability for North American companies to produce lead-free products by 2001, with an eye toward total lead elimination by 2004 (timing of actual deployment is, of course, left to the participating companies to determine)
to demonstrate production-ready parts, materials and processes for lead-free soldering printed wiring board (PWB) assemblies
to select an alloy, most likely from the SnAgCu families, to be used as one of the main alternative lead-free solders
to cooperate with component, board and equipment manufacturers to allow for the smooth transition to manufacturing processes that may require temperatures up to 260°C
to develop criteria for the industry to evaluate lead-free processes
to modify or develop appropriate JEDEC and/or IPC standards for lead-free electronics manufacturing

About IPCWorks

IPCWorks ’99 is a technical conference of IPC. IPC is a US-based trade association representing nearly 2,600 member companies which represent all facets of the electronic interconnection industry, including design, printed wiring board manufacturing and electronics assembly. This year’s conference, co-sponsored by NEMI and other organizations, features an International Summit on Lead-Free Electronics Assemblies. Meetings are scheduled October 23-28 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Minneapolis, MN. For further details, visit www.ipc.org.

About NEMI

The National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative was formed in November 1994 to facilitate long-term North American leadership in electronics. The industry-led consortium is made up of more than 50 electronic equipment manufacturers, suppliers, associations, government agencies and universities. NEMI's goal is to help its member companies become global leaders in volume electronics manufacturing. The consortium also works with government, universities, and other funding agencies to identify infrastructure weaknesses and set priorities for future industry needs and R&D initiatives.

For further information, contact:
Cynthia Williams
207-871-1260
cwilliams@nemi.org

Ron Gedney
NEMI
703-834-2084
rgedney@nemi.org