HENKEL has launched a lead-free solder paste, available through Prime Electronics , that offers outstanding resistance to humidity.
The Multicore LF318 is a halide-free, no-clean, pin-testable formulation that promises broad process windows for both printing and reflow.
The product has been developed to appeal to multinational manufacturers wishing to use a single solder paste that offers reliable, repeatable performance within the assembly environment, under any climatic conditions.
LF318 paste achieves a consistently high degree of coalescence upon reflow even after 72 hours at 27°C and 80% relative humidity, and in testing to IPC ANSI/J-STD-005 and JIS-Z-3284 standards displays excellent resistance to slump.
The main benefits of specifying LF318 are evident during printing and assembly: low paste wastage - the result of superior tack life and an open time greater than 24 hours - and resistance to component movement during high-speed placement, through its high initial tack force of 2.0g/mm2.
Suitable for reflow in air or nitrogen, LF318 displays excellent solderability on a wide range of surface finishes, including Ni/Au, immersion Sn, immersion Ag and OSP copper.
After reflow, only soft, non-stick, colourless residues remain, easing visual inspection and permitting reliable in-circuit testing without clogging test probes, even after many hundreds of tests following double reflow
Multicore LF318 solder paste is classified ROLO according to ANSI/J-STD-004, and available in lead-free alloys 96SC (SAC387) and 97SC (SAC305).
For assembly processes that do not require the use of a lead-free solder paste but would benefit from similar humidity resistance advantages to those of LF318, a tin-lead version of the solder paste, Multicore MP218, is available with similar properties.