I can remember a time when most of Samtec’s connectors were offered in a Tin-Lead plating option, and we weren’t alone in that offering. Long before the days of REACH and RoHS, Tin-Lead was the standard plating offering.
In came the early 2000’s when the EU introduced the Restriction of Hazarodous Substances (RoHS), and Tin-Lead in electronics had to go in order to be sold within the EU.
This left manufacturers in the electronics industry, and the engineers within them updating parts, materials, and prints to ensure Tin-Lead didn’t make its way into the EU.
What did Mil / Aero Customers Do?
Even though many companies in the electronics industry were leaving the world of Tin-Lead behind, the Mil/Aero world still wanted Tin-Lead; and for good reason.
Due to the nature of the products within the Mil/Aero world the products are slow to be changed. After all, failure on a plane or satellite will carry far more cost / repercussions than a computer mouse failing.
It was discovered that matte tin, while free of lead, came with its own set of issues in the form of tin whiskers. A tin whisker can grow over time and lead to a short in your system. Gold contacts can also cause issues of their own and could lead to gold embrittlement.
With that in mind, the Mil/Aero world stuck with Tin-Lead and manufactures like Samtec continued to offer it.
Which Series are Offered in Tin-Lead?
Samtec has a large offering of products with -LTL (10 µ” of Gold in the contact area with Tin-Lead on the tails) and -STL (30 µ” of Gold in the contact area with Tin-Lead on the tails).
We will not list all of the offerings here because that list would be pretty long. Some of these series include:
Samtec can also offer non-standard plating options for almost all of our series through Application Specific Products (ASP). If you are unable to find a series offered in tin-lead that you are interested in, then please contact asp@samtec.com.
What Else Does Samtec Offer for Mil / Aero Customers?
Samtec understands that the Mil / Aero world needs plenty of rugged options to ensure performance in their environments. Because of this, Samtec introduced Severe Environment Testing (SET) to prove that our connectors can withstand the harshest environments.
Samtec offers rugged options on our connectors such as jack screws, positive latching, friction locks, shielding, board locks, weld tabs, screw downs, and guide posts.
For more information concerning these offerings, please contact mil-aerogroup@samtec.com or check out the latest Military / Aerospace Guide here.
Does your Tin-Lead solder in the -SLT plating specification contain at least 3% Lead per requirements in IPC J-STD-001ES?