HP 15CLE - how successful?

[Daniel Kekez]

(09-28-2014 09:15 AM)walter b Wrote:  I wonder if companies making airplane or military products are soldering lead-free as well. If not, why not?

Military and aerospace products are exempt from the Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directives that require consumer products to use lead-free solder. Some countries have also exempted medical and telecommunications infrastructure from the requirement. When building high-reliability products, there is a reluctance to introduce changes in the manufacturing process when there is the risk failures that might not be apparent until years after delivery.

One failure mode is tin whiskers that can grow on lead-free solder joints. These are small tin hairs or tendrils that form over time on lead-free joints in the presence of mechanical stress, leading to short circuits. NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre has an extensive site dedicated to tin and other metal whiskers.