Chair: Frank Grano, Sanmina-SCI

The focus of this project was two-fold: (1) to develop a document that defines the assembly process, and by doing so, (2) determine the component specifications that are needed for lead-free soldering to be successfully implemented. 

As part of the ongoing industry effort to develop a lead-free soldering process, there is a need for component standards that accurately reflect the "real world" conditions that will be encountered during soldering operations. Before these standards can be developed, a process must be fully defined that covers all aspects assembly - SMT, rework, wave solder, manual rework, etc. This includes the soldering temperatures for all component types covering the solder joint, package materials and the PCB.

The team identified dozens of standards that require modification, with efforts focusing on IPC-610 (workmanship standards) and J-STD-020 (MSL document).

Statement of Work
           Draft version 1 (January 14, 2004)

Articles & presentations

Industry Voices: New Lead-free Processes Require Industry Collaboration, Frank Grano (Sanmina-SCI), Advanced Packaging, June 2004.

Additional resources

RoHS compliance definition

EMSF Guidelines for PCB Suppliers Transitioning to Lead-Free Solder (updated December 2003) (PDF)

EMSF Position on IPC J-STD-020B (December 20, 2001)

IPC Specification Tree

Lead-Free Reflow Profile Study, Nabel Ghalib & Quyen Chu, Jabil Circuit; Girish S. Wable, SUNY-Binghamton, IPC-JEDEC 4th International Conference on Lead-free Electronic Components and Assemblies, October 2003 (Frankfurt, Germany)