Environmentally friendly assembly of robust electronics without solder

Purpose Tin‐lead solder has been the primary method for connecting electronic components to printed circuit boards since near the time of its inception. Over the last 60 years, solder has proven a viable assembly method over that time and there is a deep understanding of the technology won over years of practice. However, the European Union has banned the use of lead in electronic solder, based on the misguided assumption that lead in electronic solder represented a risk to human health. Aims to describe a new approach to manufacturing electronic assemblies without the use of solder. Design/methodology/approach The paper discusses how the new era of lead‐free solder has resulted in a host of new problems for the electronics industry, many of which had not been experienced when elemental lead was included in the solder alloy. Findings Electronics assembly technology literature is rife with articles and papers citing the problems or challenges of lead‐free assembly and proposing new or improved solutions or investigative tool to better unearth the problems of lead‐free. The new process has come to be known as the Occam process, named to honor the fourteenth century English philosopher and logician, William of Occam, whose rigorous thinking and arguments in favor of finding the simplest possible solution served as the inspiration and catalyst for the new approach. Originality/value The paper describes a new approach to manufacturing electronic assemblies without the use of solder.