Nihon Superior (Singapore) Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Nihon Superior Co Ltd, Japan, a supplier of advanced soldering and brazing materials to the global market, has been manufacturing the patented silver free Eutectic SN100C alloy for more than 10 years now. The firm invented the famous SN100C lead free solder, which is used by many major OEMs and EMS companies around the world. In a conversation with Srabani Sen of Electronics Bazaar, Watanabe Daisuke, managing director of Nihon Superior, tells more about the solder phenomenon.
Nihon Superior’s technological prowess has helped it develop into a global company. It has established manufacturing and sales centres across Japan as well as in Asia and Europe, and has forged business partnerships with overseas companies. “We are committed to earning our customers’ highest level of trust by taking full responsibility for every product we deliver to them, and we are ready to meet their rising demands for diversification, increasingly sophisticated technologies, and environmental protection,” informs Watanabe Daisuke.
EB: Since when have you been operating in India?
We started marketing in India three years ago but we have become more active here since last year. We do more direct marketing in India.
EB: How important is the Indian market for your firm?
We are giving priority to marketing in India because it is a growing economy. With the increase in processing power and the trend toward smaller and more compact electronic modules, the solder materials market is a burgeoning one in India with major demand coming from the electronics, aerospace, automobiles, EMS, solar and SMT industries—and all these are fast growing sectors in India. Our business in the country is growing by 100 per cent every year, and we are hopeful that even next year it will double. We don’t have an office in India at the moment. However, we are planning to set up a warehouse in Bengaluru and an office in Delhi.
As India becomes more conscious about the polluting aspects of lead, we hope that lead based solders will be banned just like leaded petrol has been by the government. And as the entire world has shifted to lead free solders, I am hopeful that the Indian government too will soon mandate 100 per cent lead free solders in the Indian electronics industry, which will be good for our business.
EB: Your big break came with the introduction of the SN100C alloy. Can you tell us how this was developed?
Yes, this was a very interesting development. We were trying to develop a lead free solder, which was much more difficult than we imagined. We believed the tin-copper binary eutectic system could be improved by the addition of a third element. We concentrated on nickel as it has a similar atomic radius to that of copper and we thought it might substitute for the copper in the crystal structure. The real discovery was when we realised that only a small amount of nickel was needed, and that is, when SN100C was created. SN100C has the best wetting characteristics of any solder in the world. Its wetability and solderability outperforms any other alloy.
EB: Which of your products are most in demand?
SN100C (030) is a high reliability no-clean flux-cored lead free solder wire. The wire provides good separation of the solder from the tip with a reduced incidence of icicles. It also provides numerous benefits including less tip and pad carbonising, less flux splatter, less flux residue cracking, fast soldering and melting, a good spread, and substantial cost advantages. Additionally, the wire provides fewer shrinkage defects, reduced copper erosion and a stable inter-metallic layer.
SN100C P500, on the other hand, is a general purpose, high reliability, no-clean lead free solder paste. Due to its high fluidity close to its melting point and fast wetting, SN100C P500 can be used as a drop-in replacement for SAC solder paste in reflow profiles that peak around 240°C. However, it brings to reflow soldering the advantages that have made SN100C such a popular choice in wave soldering, which is smooth shiny fillets with no shrinkage defects, high ductility and stable inter-metallic layers with consequent superior performance under vibration and impact loading.
EB: Where do you see the next big opportunity coming from in the solder business?
The solder business is very dynamic at the moment. Currently, we have eight overseas offices. The business is still expanding, especially in South East Asia, and as we expand, we will continue to open sales and support offices.
EB: How do you reach your clients in India?
We have to create awareness about our products in India but internationally, we participate in many exhibitions, which helps us in promoting our company. In India, through exhibitions like Productionica, Electronica and EFY Expo, we are able to reach out to our customers. Advertising in magazines is another way. Also, we have started the practice of visiting our customers personally to create awareness about what we are doing in India and abroad, and what new products we want to bring to the Indian market.
EB: Where are halogen free solders mainly used?
They are used mainly by computer hardware companies whenever soldering is required for ultra fine wires (0.1 mm) like in the case of flexible PCBs, mobile phones and telecommunication operations, where you need to do soldering at a very minute scale. Nihon is doing continuous R&D to place itself in such niche areas where other firms do not venture. Our motto is to sell complete solutions to the customers, not just a solder. We have the latest equipment at our back-end facilities in Singapore and Japan, in order to support our customers’ requirements, and we plan to set up such a facility in India as well.
EB: Are you facing any challenges while doing business in India?
We think prices in India are a challenge for us because the Indian customer is price sensitive.
Indian customers are more into exports, for which they need to know about overseas demands and improve their quality first. We cannot sell at cheaper rates than Indian companies as we provide total solutions to customers. We are more technology oriented.
