Lead free solder - exposed in a UK national newspaper
Arfa Daily wrote:
"Robert Baer" wrote in message
news:vIidndjK9McujWranZ2dnUVZ_qbinZ2d@localnet...
Arfa Daily wrote:
"Jay Ts" wrote in message
ting.com...
Allodoxaphobia wrote:
Arfa Daily wrote:
At 30th tonnes, the potential environmental impact of the lead in
solder, even if you *did* dump it all in the ground, is minuscule.
And, where do these pin-heads think the lead came from, in the first
place?
It came from deep within the ground, in the form of lead ore,
which I think is much less of a health hazard than metallic lead
decomposing in a landfill and seeping into the water supply.
In Europe, there are places where the Romans smelted lead 2000
years ago, and 8" or so below the topsoil, the dirt is still so
toxic that health officials (in Britain at least) don't allow
people to dig there, even wearing protective gear.
BTW, I'm not a pinhead, just someone who cares about my health,
that of others and a quality environment for us to all live in.
I tried lead-free solder, and gave up on it, at least for prototyping.
I was feeling a little bad about returning to traditional solder,
until the OP posted the article. Thanks - I feel vindicated. I hope
that someday there is a better alternative to lead-based solder,
but evidently it hasn't happened yet.
Jay Ts
Basically, there isn't a lead-free alternative that works the same, or
even close, but you're missing the point(s). Firstly, there isn't *quite*
such a huge amount or disposal problem as they would have you believe.
Second, the lead in solder is pretty firmly 'locked into' the alloy, such
that it doesn't readily come out of the solder into water. Yes, I know
that acid rain can have some effect on that equation, but that's nothing
like as bad as it once was. Finally, all electronic equipment in Europe
at least, is now subject to the WEEE directive, which dictates the way it
is treated at end of life, covering recycling and disposal of the remains
that can't be recycled. There is no reason at all that leaded solder
could not be recovered and recycled, in the same way as lead free solder.
80% of the world's metallic lead production goes to automotive battery
manufacture. Lead recovery and reuse from that product at end of life,
has been mandated and successfully carried out, for years.
I think that this is the reason that most people who have to use
lead-free, get so wound up about it. As far as I am concerned, the
legislation that mandates its use, is ill-considered, not thought
through, unnnecessary in the light of the legitimate WEEE directive, and
effectively replaces a mature and reliable technology, with one that has
the potential to be directly dangerous to human life, if it ever finds
its way into avionics, medical, and military applications, which so far,
have managed to secure exemptions.
Like any sensible person, I don't want to deliberately pollute the planet
for those who come after me, but in recent years, many badly informed
decicisions on this sort of thing, have been made by departments 'jumping
on the banwagon' to justify their own existence. The whole thing isn't
helped by celebrities and ex famous politicians serving their own public
eye needs through 'green' issues. It has actually reached the point where
I am now sick to death of hearing the words "green" and "eco" and "carbon
footprint" and "geenhouse gas" and "cimate change" and "global warming"
every single time I turn on the radio or TV. So here's a new word.
Eco********. Covers what a lot of this bull actually is ...
Arfa
Try tin/silver, *no* copper.
Nice shiny (sexy looking?) surfaces, easy to solder, have seen no
problems in 2 years where circuits get a lot of temperature cycling.
My usual supplier was doing small samples of just about every type that he
carried. I'll have a look and see if he still is. What's the melting
temperature of that mix, and what's the price like ?
Arfa
MP of Sn96.5 Ag3.5 is 430F/221C.
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