ACE LTS200 Lead Tinning System Installed at Murrietta Circuits
Spokane Valley, Washington- ACE Production Technologies announces the installation of a LTS200 lead tinning system at Murrietta Circuits in Anaheim, California. Murrietta Circuits is a high reliability, turnkey supplier of Electronic Manufacturing Services. The KISS-LTS200 is an automated machine specifically intended for the hot solder dip lead tinning process, whereby aged components can be refurbished in preparation for re-qualification to "High Reliability" standards. Murrietta will provide contract Re-tinning services with their new ACE system. With this system, lead-free components, gold-tinned components, etc. can be "re-tinned" using the automated 2 solder pot system. The main advantage of this system is that it brings a level of
consistency, repeatability and automation, to the re-tinning process while allowing the user to maintain complete inventory control of critical components.
The KISS-LTS200 system utilizes a central fluxing station with 2 solder pots, one to each side of the fluxing station. One solder pot is typically dedicated to flushing off the original coating (or plating) while the second solder pot is usually dedicated to applying "virgin" alloy for the final coating. The system works in conjunction with programmable controls that hold palletized components in a known position throughout the process. The pallet holder and pallets are highly versatile, designed to accept virtually all leaded devices with minimal change-over time, including axials, connectors, DIPs, and more.
Re-tinning is an increasingly important aspect of the PCB Assembly process for high-reliability customers due to the obsolescence of many leaded components. Although lead-free components are readily available, their long-term shelf life is still questioned for long-term, mission critical applications due to the tendency for pure tin to grow "metallic whiskers" over time, potentially causing electronic shorts.
In addition, using lead-free components on a standard leaded process makes it extremely difficult to achieve true "Class 3 Solder joint quality" due to the large temperature difference needed to melt leaded vs. lead-free solder. To compensate for this problem, assemblers have to perform additional touch-up steps that add cost, time and may reduce the long-term reliability of the solder joint and/or the component.
Components first move to the central flux station, where the component leads are immersed to a specific depth. The pallet then moves to the first solder pot (scavenging pot), where the leads are dipped into the solder alloy and "scrubbed" to remove the existing coating. The pallet then returns to the flux station, where the component leads are refluxed before moving to the second solder pot for the final dip of fresh alloy, thus creating a homogenous intermetallic coating.
When fitted with two "lead free" solder pots, the KISS-LTS200 can also be utilized to convert tin-lead plated components to lead-free plated for RoHS compliance. In this process, one solder pot is used to dissolve the original plating into the sacrificial alloy of the first pot. The component leads are then refluxed and dipped into the second 2nd "virgin alloy" solder pot for the final lead-free coating.
Murrietta Circuits was founded in 1980 and specializes in the design, fabrication, assembly and testing of circuit boards, with today's most challenging technologies and applications.
About ACE Production Technologies Inc.
ACE Production Technologies is a designer and builder of simple, affordable selective soldering, lead tinning, and related systems suitable for lead-free electronics assembly. ACE's line of rugged, reliable selective soldering systems includes the KISS 101, KISS-102, KISS-103, and the KISS-104 models; all feature lead-free compatible solder pots and are ideal for low to medium volume assembly. For more information, visit www.ace-protech.com, or contact the company at 3010 N. Industrial Park, 1st Street, Spokane Valley, WA 99216; Tel. 509-924-4898, e-mail sales@ace-protech.com.
Press Contact:
Randy Allinson
Tel. 860-526-8903
E-mail: rallinson@snet.net
