The US-based industry group HDPUG has issued an updated version v3.0 of its Lead-Free Assembly Guidelines. Its 54 pages includes comprehensive information on how to optimise lead-free soldering processes.

Contributors to the Guidelines include Celestica, Alcatel-Lucent, Freescale, IBM, Meadville, Nihon Superior, Phillips Medical and Sun Microsystems. The document contains a compilation of best-known design and manufacturing methods as well as material selection recommendations based on industry experience with Pb-free assembly to date.

This version of the report addresses many of the issues associated with transitioning high reliability and currently legislation exempt products. This results from work published last year by Alcatel Lucent, Endicott Interconnect Technologies, Flextronics, Siemens, Celestica, IBM and Sun Microsystems on SMT reflow process parameters for high reliability performance on large and complex boards.

The new Guidelines are available from the HDPUG website for $350.