94 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK CSL 529 Aldo Avenue, Santa Clara, CA 95054 Tel: 408-727-0893 Fax: 408-727-1321 Email: mahesh@csl-plating.com www.csl-plating.com CADMIUM REPLACEMENT COATING FOR MILITARY/AEROSPACE CONNECTORS With the last remaining loopholes closing rapidly, the opportunity for connector manufacturers to find an optimum cadmium replacement is here. Even those that produce or distribute aerospace and military-grade connectors are under mounting pressure to meet the tightening requirements of the European RoHS directives, which are pushing towards elimination of cadmium altogether. “The first European RoHS standard came out in 1996, but excluded the military and some aerospace applications,” says John Schnepf, president, Corsair Electrical Connectors, Inc. (Irvine, CA). “Since then, however, the stance of RoHS against cadmium content in electrical and electronic equipment has continued to intensify. The EPA is not quite there as far as the requirements are concerned, but you can see the trend. It is coming.” According to Schnepf, Corsair and other connector manufacturers are more than willing to eliminate cadmium or any other contaminants from products. The issue, however, is finding a suitable alternative to cadmium and nickel-cadmium at a reasonable price point that delivers the equivalent (or better) conductivity, corrosion protection, compatibility, wear resistance, lubricity and low coefficient of friction. “There are any number of platings that meet the corrosion resistance requirements of cadmium,” explains Schnepf. “However, most do not meet the electrical requirements for conductivity, or meet the conductivity requirement, but not the corrosion resistance. A few of the more recent alternatives do well in both areas, but still do not meet RoHS standards due to use of Hexavalent Chrome and even Cyanide in the plating process.” Dangers of Cadmium Cadmium, and in particular nickel-cadmium, can be electroplated relatively thinly and evenly on fine and coarse threads and complex geometries, making it ideal for use on connectors. Cadmium’s advantageous properties include excellent corrosion resistance even in salt atmospheres, lubricity, wear resistance, conductivity, EMI shielding, and galvanic compatibility. However, Cadmium is particularly dangerous when airborne in dust form. It can cause lung disease, kidney failure, and death. Any maintenance process that releases cadmium into the air exposes personnel and the environment to this hazardous material. The Cadmium plating process often incorporates the use of cyanide in the process and Hexavalent Chromium as a sealant. In 1993, cadmium became one of six hazardous substances restricted by Europe through its RoHS directive and the EPA has classified cadmium as a Group B1 compound (probable human carcinogen). please turn to page 186
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