Military conference looks at lead-free challenges

The defense and aerospace industries are faced with the shift to lead-free components even though there are technically exempt from RoHS laws. Problem is, the components industry is converting to lead-free parts and discontinuing their leaded production. For the defense and aerospace industries, this means many of the components they’ve been buying are now lead free. The challenges that come with adopting lead-free components will be addressed at two presentations during the Military Technologies Conference and Exhibition which will be help on March 27 and 28 in Boston.

The first presentation, “A Protocol for Reliability Testing of Aerospace and High-Performance Lead-Free Electronic Assemblies,” will be presented by representatives from Raytheon and Boeing. They are part of a team set up by the Aerospace Industries Association and the Government Electronics Industries Association with the goal of defining a default method for reliability testing of products containing lead-free solder. The team also set out to establish a protocol for designing, conducing and interpreting results from reliability tests. The presentation will report on the team’s progress.

The second presentation, “Methodology for Evaluating Data for Reverse Compatibility Solder Joints,” will be presented by a team from the Navel Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division. The presenters will look at the issues involved when lead-free components are used to repair legacy military electronics.

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