Researchers Getting the Lead Out of Electronics 178
alphadogg writes "Researchers at the University of Maryland say they have discovered a material to replace lead, a potential environmental hazard, in electronics products. The material, bismuth samarium ferrite (BSFO), was found by researchers in the university's A. James Clark School of Engineering. It can be used in products such as biomedical imaging devices and inkjet printers, and if implemented commercially could keep lead out of landfills and the ecosystem, they say. While manufacturers have developed replacements for lead in many products, until now no commercial replacement existed for lead zirconate titanate (PZT) — the material of choice for transducers, actuators, sensors and microelectromechanical systems used in common electronic devices, the university says."
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Reality check... (Score:5, Interesting)
Lead: Found in damn near every kind of mining ore. Very common.
Bismuth: 2x more abundant than gold. Not considered economical to mine for it; Usually had as a byproduct.
So sure, if you want your production costs to go up up and away, killing your competitive edge, use the eco-friendly BiFeO3. Everyone else, keep pushing recycling and consumer awareness. -_- Oh -- and the icing on the cake? Guess who produces most of the world's bismuth? China, the country best known for producing lead-laden products of much doom.
Re:Lead solder replacement (Score:5, Interesting)
As a technician, RoHS is the bane of my existence. It doesn't flow right, it doesn't wet right, and it doesn't cool right.
Because RoHS solder is not a true eutectic alloy it tends to separate when thermal conditions aren't precisely right. As a consequence, many manufacturers had huge runs of products that stayed soldered just long enough to get out the door and frequently out of warranty.
I hope someone comes up with a better substitute soon because I am sick and tired of cracked solder, cracked solder, and cracked solder.
Re:What about radiation shielding? (Score:3, Interesting)
New metal -- wait, what? I think you meant new alloy. And no, this new material shouldn't be any good for shielding; If anything, it would degrade more quickly in a radiation-rich environment than any of its base metals because of the oxygen. But I am not a chemist -- I'm just taking an educated guess here.
Re:Toxicity? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Lead solder replacement (Score:1, Interesting)
I frequently solder prototypes for my work, and I refuse to use lead-free solder. It is very difficult to work with, not so much because of structural problems, but because it doesn't melt easily. Because it takes a lot of heat to melt, I'm afraid of destroying my components, and it takes much longer to solder with. I also think it doesn't adhere to copper as well. With lead, you just heat the copper a bit, and the lead solder moves like a fluid where I need the solder.
Re:Why? (Score:4, Interesting)
Why, other than catering to the irrational and unfounded fears of the public, are we removing it from electronics?
Isn't that pretty much a politicians' job description these days?
The environmental lobbies have already pushed through enough regulations to put many U.S. industries out of business and left consumers with no choice but to purchase much more shoddy products manufactured with far less environmental controls from foreign sources. But, I guess that's okay. It's over there, right? It's not like pollution in a foreign country affects us.
Oh, wait..
Vacuum tubes come to mind as a good example. I currently design, build, and service vacuum tube musical instrument amplifiers. The tubes being made in China, Russia, and other countries in eastern Europe are crappy-sounding, unreliable, and vary wildly in specs from production-run to production-run, and even within a single run. It's so bad that old-production tubes that have sat in some dusty warehouse for 2 or 3 decades or more sell for unbelievably-high prices.
USD$400 for a pair of RCA 6L6's!?!? That's *if* you can find them somewhere?
http://www.kcanostubes.com/products/106/NOS-RCA-6L6GC-Blackplate-Matched-Pairs.htm [kcanostubes.com]
That's just nuts! The *whole amplifier* these things came in didn't cost that much new at the time!
I'm also going to keep on using regular 60/40 rosin-core solder in my builds and repairs until and unless they develop a true replacement that doesn't have the 'tin whisker' and other problems associated with current RoHS-compliant solders. If they outlaw it, I guess I'll be an outlaw.
I can see a future jailhouse conversation:
"What did they get ya for man?"
"Possession and distribution."
"Meth? Crack? Heroin?"
"Nah, 60/40 solder."
"Stay away from me, man!"
Cheers!
Strat
Does it work? (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Lead solder replacement (Score:3, Interesting)
While the same formulas won't hold for a metal, the same ideas will be true. Another example. When you sweat, your skin is cooled by the fact the water is vaporizing (evaporating) off of your skin. But of course your skin is far from 100C, however some of the water will still vaporize.
I don't know the specifics for lead, but there will still be some fraction of the lead that will vaporize off at well below 2000 degrees. If that fraction is big or so small that it doesn't matter is another point all together.