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64 SMT Magazine • December 2016 of these two alloy types. The major differences in processing these alloys which impact rework operations are the fluxes being used, the clean- ing materials being used and the longer solder- ing dwell times which may or may not require the addition of the nitrogen in to the rework/re- pair operations. The higher reflow temperatures of the lead-free solders requires that the device in proximity to the rework location needs to be protected from thermal damage. There are also a couple of newer proposed methods up for consideration which did not make this version of the standard and will have to wait for Version "D" or beyond. These in- clude: • Flex circuit repair • New micro blasting method for coating removal • New method for solder mask replacement Keep a watch out on the IPC website as this re- vised standard makes its way to being available or speak with your training services provider. SMT Bob Wettermann is the principal of BEST Inc., a contract rework and repair facility in Chicago. REWORK AND REPAIR STANDARD GETTING UPDATED Figure 2A: Example of a damaged flex circuit. Figure 3: Coating removal using micro blasting technique. Figure 2B: Example of a repaired flex circuit.