Keith Sweatman Co-Authors Paper for SMTAI Technical Sessions

Nihon Superior Co. Ltd., a supplier of advanced soldering materials to the global market, announces that Keith Sweatman will present the paper titled ”Enhancing the Impact Properties of Tin-Copper and Tin-Copper-Nickel Lead-Free Solders with Trace Additions of Zinc, Indium and Gold” at the upcoming SMTA International exhibition.

The presentation will be held during Session MFX6, titled ”Alternate Alloys,” and will take place Wednesday, October 1, 2014 from 2-3 p.m. in Room 49 at the Donald Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. The paper was written in cooperation with Takatoshi Nishimura, Nihon Superior Co., Ltd. and Dekui Mu, University of Queensland.

Lead-free solders based on the tin-copper-nickel system are now well established in the electronics manufacturing industry as a cost-effective alternative to tin-silver-copper alloys where their particular combination of properties provides an advantage. While their compliance and stable intermetallic ensure that they have good resistance to impact loading, increasing demands for even better performance are prompting the investigation of ways in which their mechanical properties can be further enhanced. This paper reports the preliminary results of a study into the effect of trace additions of zinc, indium and gold to tin-copper and tin-copper-nickel eutectic alloys on the microstructure and the resistance to shear impact at speeds of up to 4m/sec.

Sweatman is a graduate in metallurgical engineering who has been involved in the solder industry and soldering technology for more than 40 years. He has been an active participant in several HDPUG and iNEMI consortia projects relating to lead-free solder performance and reliability and is a regular speaker at IPC and SMTA conferences. In connection with the establishment at University of Queensland, Australia of the Nihon Superior Centre for the Manufacture of Electronic Materials, he has been appointed Adjunct Senior Fellow in the Department of Mechanical and Mining Engineering.

For more information about Nihon Superior, visit the company on the Web at www.nihonsuperior.co.jp/english.

Nihon Superior was founded in 1966 when it began marketing unique flux products imported from the US. The company made its mark on society by gathering the most advanced soldering and brazing technologies and products from around the world, and supplying them to companies in the metal-joining industry. A turning point for the company came when it started developing its own soldering materials and with the success of its unique SN100C lead-free solder alloy Nihon Superior has become a major player in the global market. To support the growing demand for its products, Nihon Superior has established manufacturing and sales centers in Japan, China and other Asian countries, and the United States, and formed business partnerships with companies in other markets.