Lead-free circuit boards force tech overhaul
"This is the biggest change in the electronic packaging industry in the last 100 years," says Robert Rietkerk, a sales manager at AIM. "It's happening as we speak." Avago Technologies is already providing lead-free components for cellphones, sensors, and LEDs to top-tier companies such as Motorola, Nokia, and Siemens. "We've been in the planning process for a long time," says Allen Chien, an Avago program manager.
Although larger manufacturers can weather the financial storm, smaller companies are left scrambling. Lead-free solders must be processed at higher temperatures, meaning companies must purchase new equipment to meet the requirements. A typical solder machine, says Rietkerk, costs somewhere between $30,000 and $150,000. What's more, tin metal costs up to 10 times as much as lead.
The increase in manufacturing cost could trickle down to consumers, slowing shipments and pushing up prices. According to a 2005 Global Sources survey of 359 companies in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea, approximately two thirds of these companies are expecting product prices to jump as much as 10 percent.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the transition to lead-free solders presents a "significant opportunity for risk reduction" through the decreased use of lead, which is associated with a variety of health problems. The lead-free mandate could also help reduce the 220 million tons of electronic waste dumped into landfills each year in the United States alone. Ultimately, no matter which edge of the sword drives governments to make the shift, it's going to be a lead-free summer for solder.
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