2 Apr
2014
2 Apr
'14
5:41 a.m.
On Apr 2, 2014, at 4:42, Vincent Slyngstad <vrs at msn.com> wrote:
Yes, the lead-free stuff is dreadful in every possible way
(except for the fact that it's not full of toxins). It's not
eutectic, so it doesn't "flow right" when soldering; it
requires a higher temperature iron; the resulting joints
all look like cold-soldered ones whether they are or
not; and the results are much more brittle.
If you aren't using your RoHS setup for production, you
don't need to worry about "tainting" it. If you are, however,
just do everything fully leaded with your normal setup.
RoHS parts (not including BGAs) all work just fine with
leaded procedures.
- Dave
Dumb question:
is the kit Pb-free? I just want to know which tools to
use on it (I don't want to mess up my RoHS iron's mojo, or needlessly
taint the kit, even if going RoHS on Omnibus is kind of a hollow gesture
given how lead-laden the rest of the machine is).
The boards were ordered with the default finish, which is tin-lead. The parts are
current Mouser parts, and I suspect are ROHS compliant, though I haven't rigorously
checked. Hopefully it isn't a big deal -- as you point out, the rest of the machine
is tin-lead. I prefer it anyway -- it is easier to solder and from what I've read it
is more reliable over time frames measured in decades.