TT electronics invests in solder recovery system

EVS equipment is already in place at TT electronics Perry, Ohio site, and the company is looking at installing the equipment at the Rogerstone mirror site in Malaysia. Andrew Cox, Managing Director of TT electronics Rogerstone said, “We are conscious of the need to reduce waste and operate a sustainable business, as well as manage our costs. The installation of these machines has reduced our solder usage. This not only reduces our environmental footprint, but also helps us manage our production costs in the light of recent increases in the cost of solder, especially lead free solder.” He added, “Lead free solder is about four times more expensive than the leaded equivalent, due to the higher silver content, so the economics are particularly compelling in our RoHS compliant process.” The two EVS 6000 systems installed by TT electronics will pay for themselves in 12-14 months. During electronics manufacture, a layer of oxide forms on the surface of the solder bath. When removing this layer of dross, inevitably good solder is collected with it. In trials, the solder recovery machines were able to recover 59% of the solder from the dross. TT electronics returns the remaining dross to its suppliers for further recycling.