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IPC COMMUNITY 58 WINTER 2024 holm lab. The results were surprisingly good. • The samples were thermally stressed six times in a laboratory oven set to 260°C for 2.5 minutes each time (IPC-J-STD-003D Table 4-6) • The samples were then dipped two times for 10 seconds in molten solder according to IPC-TM-650 2.6.8E Test Condition A 288°C ± 5°C • A 10 mm x 20 mm microsection was taken and inspected for defects Our tests indicated, "No deviation against IPC-A-600 could be seen, and no evidence of material degradation could be seen. The mate- rial's CTE properties seem good since there is no evidence of pad lifting. The material seems to be able to handle the heat well since there is no evidence of resin recession." Image displaying the appearance of a thermally stressed hole wall. No resin recession, no pad lift- ing. We have seen no deterioration of reliability as a result of delamination. (Source: NCAB) Moving Forward: Further Testing of Recyclable PCB Material So, what's next? We have done tests but hav- en't yet sent any boards for assembly, which is our next step. We plan to assess the mate- rial's performance and reliability in real-life scenarios and to do long-term reliability tests. In conclusion, to confirm reliability, we need more data. (such as copper and gold) for reuse and new PCBs, the resulting residue of resin and fiber- glass particles is less useful and useless for PCB production. Globally, much of this organic residue is managed as waste in landfills. However, in some countries, this residue becomes a source for generating heat and electricity. The ideal approach would be reusing these residues for new products, and several projects are inves- tigating how that can be done. The goal is to separate glass fibers from the resin so they can be used as raw materials for new PCB base materials. Promising Advances: Separating Fiberglass from Epoxy Resin Shengyi, a major laminate factory in China, has developed an FR-4 fiberglass base mate- rial suitable for being separated into its con- stituent parts, allowing the fiberglass base material to be separated from the epoxy resin that makes up the laminate. So far, this has only been achieved in a lab and is not ready for an industrial scale. So, when we talk about a recyclable PCB, we should refer to the separation of fiber- glass from resin in the organic residue, and the extent to which we can reuse it to produce new PCBs. Testing the New Material: Assessing Reliability and Characteristics Let's look into this. How reliable is the new Shengyi base material compared to FR-4 base materials—the traditional and most common types—and what are the characteristics of this material? While the published characteristics must also be qualified, it is worth noting that this material has very similar characteristics to a high-end low-halogen (FR-4.1) material. In spring 2023, NCAB ordered samples of this recyclable FR-4 type base material and con- ducted a series of common tests in our Stock-