Cobar BV, a member of the Balver Zinn Group, announces that it has won a Global Technology Award in the Flux Materials category for the XF3 lead-free solder paste, developed to accommodate extended reflow profiles with or without the use of nitrogen. XF3 completes the family of Cobar products based on Nihon Superior’s patented SN100C-alloy. The award was presented by Global SMT & Packaging Magazine’s Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Trevor Galbraith during a Tuesday, August 19, 2008 ceremony that took place during the SMTA International exhibition and conference in Orlando, Florida.

XF3 demonstrates superior wetting performance on all common metal surfaces. It exhibits a robust printing window for printing at 10 – 200 mm per second. XF3 is classified as an IPC-J-STD 004 REL0 solder paste with safe residues that keeps reflow oven clean.

XF3 comes with different solder alloys:
• SnPb for products that are still RoHS exempt
• SAC alloys for mainstream lead-free products
• SN100C THE lead-free alternative with excellent solder and reliability properties

The Cobar Group, part of Balver Zinn, can now offer a coherent system of SN100C soldering materials to the customer, ranging from solder bars to cored solder wire, compatible fluxes, and solder paste. Cobar’s program covers a complete range of SN100C-based Hot Air Leveling products for the board manufacturing industry.

The Global Technology Awards program is sponsored by Global SMT & Packaging Magazine, and is an annual celebration of product excellence in semiconductor packaging and electronics assembly. Premier products based on the finest examples of creative advancement in technology in key areas are chosen by a distinguished panel of global industry experts.