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Lead presence testing

Views: 3296


Rob

#35687

Lead presence testing | 21 July, 2005

Hi,

Has anyone got any experience with Lead Check or any other type of swab system for checking the presence of lead on a component or assembly?

http://www.leadcheck.com/CircuitBoard.shtml

Cheers,

Rob.

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Jason Fullerton

#35811

Lead presence testing | 29 July, 2005

Per Bob Willis, the UK based guru of all things lead-free:

"The only thing those swabs do effectively is lighten your wallet."

Really, they don't work reliably at all. You are better off trying to do it by visual inspection.

I've tried out an XRF system and it passed my "Pepsi Challenge". 10/10, and I set up the test to try to make it fail. Pretty interesting technology but not cheap.

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Rob

#35915

Lead presence testing | 4 August, 2005

Cheers Jason,

Which model did you go for in the end, & what sort price was it?

Thanks,

Rob.

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#35958

Lead presence testing | 8 August, 2005

Rob

We agree with Jason's point about swab lead indicators. You need to be careful interpreting the results. Lead must be in sufficient measurable quantities as found in Sn 63/37 or Sn 60/40 solders.

Handheld units are: * Oxford (bought the X-Met company)[oxford-instruments.com] * Niton [niton.com] * Innov-X [innov-xsys.com]

Larger desktop units that are being touted for RoHS there are: * Oxford (selling Horiba's offering)[oxford-instruments.com] * Fischer [fischerimaging.com] * Elvatech (Ukrainian company)[elvatech.com] * Shimadzu [ssi.shimadzu.com][EDX EDX-700HS {Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer)] * Hepco [hepcoblue.com]

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Rob

#35995

Lead presence testing | 9 August, 2005

Cheers Dave,

Our quality department is now reviewing them. In the meantime there's a company down the road that charges the equivilent of $20 per sample.

Thanks again,

Rob.

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