-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- smt007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueSupply Chain Strategies
A successful brand is built on strong customer relationships—anchored by a well-orchestrated supply chain at its core. This month, we look at how managing your supply chain directly influences customer perception.
What's Your Sweet Spot?
Are you in a niche that’s growing or shrinking? Is it time to reassess and refocus? We spotlight companies thriving by redefining or reinforcing their niche. What are their insights?
Moving Forward With Confidence
In this issue, we focus on sales and quoting, workforce training, new IPC leadership in the U.S. and Canada, the effects of tariffs, CFX standards, and much more—all designed to provide perspective as you move through the cloud bank of today's shifting economic market.
- Articles
- Columns
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - smt007 Magazine
Lenovo Develops Innovative Low Temperature Solder Process
February 23, 2017 | LenovoEstimated reading time: 3 minutes
Lenovo has announced a new patent-pending Low Temperature Solder (LTS) process developed to improve PC manufacturing by conserving energy and increasing reliability.
Ever since having to abandon the use of lead-based solder more than 10 years ago due to environmental concerns, the electronics industry has been searching for a solution to reduce heat, power consumption and carbon emissions by improving the tin-based solder process which replaced the older lead-based process. The newer tin-based process required extremely high temperatures consuming more energy and adding significant stress on components.
With a new LTS process, Lenovo proves it continues to be at the forefront of innovation, introducing a game-changing manufacturing process that is not only applicable to Lenovo products, but can be universally applied to all electronics manufacturing involving printed circuit boards with no cost or performance impact to customers.
The true innovation is in the science and testing required to develop and validate the new LTS process. Lenovo investigated thousands of combinations of solder paste material composed of a mixture of tin, copper, bismuth nickel and silver, specific compositions of flux material and unique profiles of time and heat temperatures that combine to enable this process. As is typical in standard electronics assembly using surface mount technology (SMT), the solder and flux mixture is first printed on the face of the circuit board. The components are then added and heat is applied to melt the solder mixture, securing and connecting the components to the board. With the new LTS process, soldering heat is applied at maximum temperatures of 180°C, a reduction of 70°C from the previous method. Throughout testing and validation, Lenovo used existing materials to compose the solder paste and existing oven equipment for heating, thus Lenovo can implement the new system without increasing production costs.
After validation of the procedure, Lenovo discovered a significant reduction in carbon emissions as a result of using the new process. The procedure is already in production for ThinkPad E series and the 5th generation X1 Carbon recently announced at CES. Throughout 2017, Lenovo intends to implement the new LTS process on eight SMT lines and estimates savings of up to 35% on carbon emissions. By the end of 2018, Lenovo aims to have 33 SMT lines with two ovens per line using this new process, giving an estimated annual saving of 5,956 metric tons of CO2. To put this into perspective, the equivalent reduction in CO2 emissions is equal to the consumption of 670,170 gallons of gasoline per year.
Through the new process, Lenovo also expects better reliability for its devices due to lower heat stress during the "oven bake" procedure. In the early stages of deployment, Lenovo has observed a 50% decrease in printed circuit board warpage and a reduction in defective parts per million during the manufacturing process.
"By implementing the new LTS process, Lenovo is continuing to show its commitment to upholding sustainable business practices across its PC business," said Luis Hernandez, vice president, Lenovo PC and Smart Devices Integrated Development Center. "Our focus on innovation extends beyond R&D and product design, to the way our products are manufactured. We are dedicated to advancing our business goals while reducing our impact on the environment and we’re proud this process achieves that."
Lenovo continues to prove itself as a leader in innovation, technology and sustainability. Its commitment to supporting a transition to a lower carbon economy is further demonstrated by the savings the new LTS process brings. Furthermore, in 2018 Lenovo intends to offer the new procedure for use on an industry-wide basis free of charge.
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a $45 billion global Fortune 500 company and a leader in providing innovative consumer, commercial, and enterprise technology. Our portfolio of high-quality, secure products and services covers PCs (including the legendary Think and multimode Yoga brands), workstations, servers, storage, smart TVs and a family of mobile products like smartphones (including the Moto brand), tablets and apps.
Testimonial
"Advertising in PCB007 Magazine has been a great way to showcase our bare board testers to the right audience. The I-Connect007 team makes the process smooth and professional. We’re proud to be featured in such a trusted publication."
Klaus Koziol - atgSuggested Items
Indium Corporation Promotes Two Leaders in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) Markets
08/05/2025 | Indium CorporationWith its commitment to innovation and growth through employee development, Indium Corporation today announced the promotions of Andy Seager to Associate Director, Continental Sales (EMEA), and Karthik Vijay to Senior Technical Manager (EMEA). These advancements reflect their contributions to the company’s continued innovative efforts with customers across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).
MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions Unveils Unified Global Website to Deepen Customer, Talent, and Stakeholder Engagement
07/31/2025 | MacDermid Alpha Electronics SolutionsMacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions, the electronics business of Elements Solutions Inc, today launched macdermidalpha.com - a unified global website built to deepen digital engagement. The launch marks a significant milestone in the business’ ongoing commitment to delivering more meaningful, interactive, and impactful experiences for its customers, talent, and stakeholders worldwide.
KOKI to Showcase Analytical Services and New HF1200 Solder Paste at SMTA Guadalajara 2025
07/31/2025 | KOKIKOKI, a global leader in advanced soldering materials and process optimization services, will exhibit at the SMTA Guadalajara Expo & Tech Forum, taking place September 17 & 18, 2025 at Expo Guadalajara, Salón Jalisco Halls D & E in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Weller Tools Supports Future Talent with Exclusive Donation to SMTA Michigan Student Soldering Competition
07/23/2025 | Weller ToolsWeller Tools, the industry leader in hand soldering solutions, is proud to announce its support of the upcoming SMTA Michigan Expo & Tech Forum by donating a limited-edition 80th Anniversary Black Soldering Set to the event’s student soldering competition.
Koh Young Appoints Tom Hattori as President of Koh Young Japan
07/21/2025 | Koh YoungKoh Young Technology, the global leader in True 3D measurement-based inspection solutions, announced the appointment of Tom Hattori as President of Koh Young Japan (JKY).