Re: gEDA-user: Lead Free at home?

[David Hart <dhart155@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sun, 2005-08-14 at 11:22 -0400, Bob Paddock wrote:
> With the new European directives for being lead free, and to have products 
> easy to recycle etc. I was wondering how you where getting ready for it?
> 
> What should I be doing for the one-off toaster oven kind of projects I do at 
> home, to make them lead free?   Obviously I know don't use parts or solder 
> with lead.  :-)  What are the alternatives for low volume proto work?
> 
> I expect to be doing a lot more boards soon, and with more and more parts only 
> coming in lead free packages, figured it was better to start out being lead 
> free, rather than deal with switching later.

Of course, the IPC Leadfree web-site is probably the best source here in
the US:

    http://leadfree.ipc.org/

You will find the Leadfree e-mail list at:

    http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?PageID=4.3.1  Simply sign up by
following the links, or browse the e-mail archives.

And, the various lead free standards can be obtained (for a fee) at the
IPC:

    http://webvision.ipc.org/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?
APPNAME=IPCWEB&PRGNAME=TOCFRAME&ARGUMENTS=-N,-N,-A,-A,-N50

I hope this helps.

By the way, I recommend Virtex Assembly services
(http://www.virtexassembly.com), a contract design/fab/assemply house
specializing in prototype and pre-production designs.  They do
everything from circuit design, to board design, to fab.  They are on
the forefront of the lead free technology.  I've worked with their
Engineering Services Director for years, and give them high marks.  If
you have a difficult problem, they are the team to go to for a solution.

-- 
David Hart <dhart155@xxxxxxxxxxx>