IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1509763
IPC COMMUNITY 78 FALL 2023 P ress-fit technology as an interconnec- tion to printed boards (PBs) started in the telecommunication industry in the 1970s. With press-fit technology, the electro-mechanical connection between compliant pin and printed boards is achieved through a single insertion process, eliminat- ing the use of auxiliary materials (e.g., flux, solder alloy, cleaning agents) and heat treat- ment, which makes it no surprise that not only is this technology widely used in automotive, industrial, aerospace, and many other appli- cations, but it continues to grow. Until May 2020, the only available press-fit standard on the market was the IEC 60352-5, An Introvted Physici in a Prs-fit World which was initially developed within the con- text of telecommunication equipment or sim- ilar applications. As a physicist who has spent much time for my Ph.D. utilizing various surface analysis tech- niques, plating conditions, and environmental exposures to investigate the underlying mech- anisms behind metal whisker growth, many of my main projects for the automotive industry were focused on the development and testing of new surface finishes for whisker mitigation of compliant press-fit pins. However, the IEC standard at that point didn't call out any kind of whisker testing, not to mention environmental conditions By Dr. Erika Crandall, Senior R&D Product Development Engineer, TE Connectivity STANDARDS Erika Crandall finds her niche in the Cold Joining Press-fit Task Group