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-----SOLDER PEEL-OFF Problem
2002
I work as a solder plating engineer and we currently have an open issue on solder peel-off. Manifestation is total peeling off of plated surface exposing the base metal. Peeled-off surface contains cu, meaning that plating did occur on the surface yet due to poor adhesion, the plate peeled-off. Several evaluations were conducted already, but only when oil was applied on the leads prior POST MOLD CURE that the same product attribute manifests. Right now, I have a theory that it's the presence of organic contamination prior solder plate caused the problem. All pretreatment and plating solutions are within optimum requirements. The absence of pretreatment would yield to a different product attribute (solder cracking, not peel-off) - is my theory logical? Btw, occurrence was intermittent(low ppm only). - could it be that conductive film was formed on the leads when oil ( WD-40 ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil link] ) was exposed to high temperature? Since this film is weakly adhered, peeling off happened after TFS.
Thanks....I'll be looking forward to your reply.
Mallory Chandler- Philippines
2005
Hello Mallory,
You can confirm your theory by analyzing the peeled surface and the expose surface through FTIR. If there is presence of organic, then I believe you need to further optimize your pre-treatment process - degreaser. If your problem is only to a particular product, check the composition of your base material compared to the base material of the product that does not peel off. Maybe your descale chemistry is not suited for your base material. Also pay attention to activation process. You can check if it is working properly by observing your belt at the unload. If there are flakes, you may have a problem with your activation process.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
- Philippines
hi, I'm also a plating engr and we experience same problem regarding peel off. The interlayer composition of the material we're plating is copper then top coated with pure nickel. What pretreatment process will apply to our material?
Thank you for your response.
Mae Kiray
- Clark, Pampanga
October 7, 2010
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