DSM Engineering Plastics and FCI plug in the highest performance in halogen free reflow soldering applications.FCI, a globally leading supplier of interconnect products, has approved halogen-free V-0 Stanyl ForTii for their FPC Connectors product line of Optical Disk Drives and is currently expanding the usage on various other connectors and sockets.
FCI was looking for a halogen-free housing material for its range of FPC connectors that would meet the stringent material requirements of SMT technology. After testing multiple LCPs and polyamides, Stanyl ForTii was selected for its unique properties which include high retention forces on terminal, minimum chance of warpage before and after reflow process, outstanding toughness and stiffness and compliance to the second best moisture level (MSL 2) according IPC/JEDEC J-STD 020D. Stanyl ForTii is also the material of choice for other SMT connectors and sockets.
Optical disc drives (ODDs) are an integral part of computers and stand-alone consumer appliances such as CD, DVD or latest Blu-ray disk drives. A crucial part of such an optical disc drive is the pickup head, consisting of the laser, a lens for focusing the laser beam, and photodiodes detecting the light reflected from the surface of the disc. The electrical connection to this critical component is made by Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) Connectors.
Motomu Kajiura, Assistant Manager, Product Engineering, at FCI Japan says: - For our latest halogen free, UL94-V0 compliant SFV series we have chosen Stanyl ForTii. Thanks to its excellent thermal and mechanical properties, we were not only able to fulfill our customers’ requirement for a flame retardant, halogen free solution, but could also increase robustness and reliability of our surface mount FPC connectors, making them less susceptible to potential housing cracking. FCI and DSM have been cooperating closely to develop this solution. FCI benefited from latest polymer developments and DSM could further expand application coverage with their newest polymer. Together we are able to support the launch of halogen free ODDs by major OEMs in the Electronics industry.
Masaru Ueno, Business Development Manager Japan for DSM Plastics, who worked intensively with FCI, comments: - With Stanyl ForTii we did not only offer FCI a great material solution, we were also able to improve the application performance further ensuring easy and safe drop-in replacement of applied materials that meet Halogen Free requirements.
Jimmy Kong, Application Development Engineer at DSM Engineering Plastics adds: - Stanyl ForTii provides a solution to our customers challenge in moving towards halogen free plastics. It is easy to process, can be used for so many different applications and fullfills the most aggressive processing and assembly conditions of reflow soldering.
