Electronic Products & Technology

PERM council addresses lead-free concerns in electronics

EP&T Magazine   

Electronics Electronics

The IPC Pb-free Electronics Risk Management (PERM) Council is meeting in Toronto this week to discuss lead-free conversion issues related to the safety, performance, reliability and affordability of electronics in the aerospace, defense, medical and other high-performance markets. The meeting is hosted by Celestica, a global leader in the delivery of end-to-end product lifecycle solutions, and long-time IPC member-company.

Comprising international members representing industry, government and academia, the IPC PERM Council develops and coordinates risk management approaches for the transition to lead-free electronics. Specific meeting topics include the prediction of fatigue life of lead-free solder joints in long-term service; tin whisker testing and modeling; test vehicles for lead-free process qualification; lead-free technology research gaps; nano solders research and development; and standards activities for lead-free compliance.

In addition, IPC President & CEO John Mitchell will address the group to convey the importance of government relations (GR) and advocacy to secure U.S. federal support for lead-free reliability research. IPC’s GR team can help support the PERM Council by developing a government affairs strategy that would include identifying programs of record in the Department of Defense (DoD) that might be a potential fit for U.S. federal assistance for lead-free electronics research.

“IPC is grateful to Celestica for not only being our host, but also for its long-term participation in and support of the PERM Council since its inception in 2004,” says Mitchell. “IPC PERM Council members like Celestica provide critical leadership in furthering research coordination, training, global advocacy and more.”

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“We are proud of our engineering, process and technology leadership in the area of lead-free electronics and are committed to actively supporting initiatives such as PERM,” adds Shawn Blakney, senior director, technology and innovation at Celestica. “As a trusted partner to our customers in high-reliability markets, our involvement in IPC and PERM enables us to support our customers in managing and mitigating risks in lead-free electronics.”

IPC is a global industry association based in Bannockburn IL, represents 3,500 member companies which represent all facets of the electronics industry, including design, printed board manufacturing, electronics assembly and test.

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