This article examines the role of alloying in the production and use of lead and tin. It describes the various categories and grades of lead and lead-base alloys along with their nominal compositions and corresponding UNS numbers. It also discusses the composition and properties of lead used in battery grids, type metals, and bearings. It, likewise, discusses the use of tin in various types of solder and in bearings and provides composition and property data for application-specific designations and grades. The article also discusses the effect of impurities in tin-lead solders and the amounts and combinations in which they are found.

This chapter presents an overview and survey of solder alloy systems. Extensive reference is made to phase diagrams and their interpretation. The chapter describes the effect of metallic impurities on different solders. The chapter concludes with a review of the key characteristics of eutectic alloys and of the factors most effective at depressing the melting point of solders by eutectic alloying.

Phases are distinct states of aggregation of matter and one of the primary leverage points for understanding and applying materials. This chapter discusses the phase nature of metals and alloys, the concept of solid solutions, and the use of phase diagrams. It also describes some of the metallurgical effects of freezing or solidification, including the segregation of solutes and the formation of metal glasses.

This chapter begins by presenting a generic eutectic phase diagram and identifying critical points, lines, and features. It then describes the composition and properties of aluminum-silicon and lead-tin eutectic systems, the characteristics of eutectic morphologies, the solidification and scale of eutectic structures, and the competitive growth of dendrites and eutectic colonies or cells. It also examines the different types of precipitation structures that form during slow cooling cycles.

Phase diagrams are graphical representations that show the phases present in the material at various compositions, temperatures, and pressures. This chapter begins with a section describing the construction of phase diagrams for the simple binary isomorphous system. A binary phase diagram can be used to determine three important types of information: the phases that are present, the composition of the phases, and the percentages or fractions of the phases. The chapter then describes the construction of one common type of binary phase diagram i.e., the eutectic alloy system. The major eutectic systems include the aluminum-silicon eutectic system and the lead-tin eutectic system. The chapter discusses the construction of eutectic phase diagrams from free energy curves. It also provides information on peritectic, monotectic, and solid-state reactions in alloy systems. The presence of intermediate phases is also described. Finally, a brief section provides some information on ternary phase diagrams.

This chapter presents several materials and processes related to soldering technology. It first provides information on lead-free solders, followed by sections devoted to flip-chip processes, diffusion soldering, and modeling. Scanning acoustic microscopy and fine-focus x-ray techniques are also discussed. The chapter describes several evaluation procedures and tests developed to measure solderability and standards for process calibration. The chapter also describes the characteristics of reinforced solders, amalgams used as solders, and other strategies to boost the strength of solders. Further, the chapter considers methods for quantifying the mechanical integrity of joints and predicting their dimensional stability under specified environmental conditions. It discusses the effects of rare earth elements on the properties of solders. The chapter concludes with information on advanced joint characterization techniques.

Nonferrous metals are of commercial interest both as engineering materials and as alloying agents. This chapter addresses both roles, discussing the properties, processing characteristics, and applications of several categories of nonferrous metals, including light metals, corrosion-resistance alloys, superalloys, refractory metals, low-melting-point metals, reactive metals, precious metals, rare earth metals, and metalloids or semimetals. It also provides a brief summary on special-purpose materials, including uranium, vanadium, magnetic alloys, and thermocouple materials.

This chapter describes the origins of solders and soldering, covering the composition of solders and applications of soldering.

This chapter discusses the compositions, properties, and applications of nonferrous metals, including zirconium, hafnium, beryllium, lead, tin, gold, silver, and platinum group metals. It also addresses fusible alloys and provides melting temperatures for several compositions.

Compared with other deformation processes used to produce semifinished products, the hot-working extrusion process has the advantage of applying pure compressive forces in all three force directions, enhancing workability. The available variations in the extrusion process enable a wide spectrum of materials to be extruded. This chapter focuses on the processes involved in the extrusion of semifinished products in various metals and their alloys, namely tin, lead, lead-base soft solders, tin-base soft solders, zinc, magnesium, aluminum, copper, titanium, zirconium, iron, nickel, and powder metals. It discusses their properties and applications as well as suitable equipment for extrusion. It further discusses the processes involved in the extrusion of semifinished products in exotic alloys and extrusion of semifinished products from metallic composite materials.

This article discusses the composition, properties, and behaviors of copper and its alloys. It begins with an overview of the characteristics, applications, and commercial grades of wrought and cast copper. It then discusses the role of alloying, explaining how zinc, tin, aluminum, silicon, and nickel affect the physical and mechanical properties of coppers and high-copper alloys as well as brasses, bronzes, copper-nickels, and nickel silvers. It also explains how alloying affects electrical conductivity, corrosion resistance, stress-corrosion cracking, and processing characteristics.

Brazing and soldering processes use a molten filler metal to wet the mating surfaces of a joint, with or without the aid of a fluxing agent, leading to the formation of a metallurgical bond between the filler and the respective components. This chapter discusses the characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of brazing and soldering. The first part focuses on the fundamentals of the brazing process and provides information on filler metals and specific brazing methods. The soldering portion of the chapters provides information on solder alloys used, selection criteria for base metal, the processes involved in precleaning and surface preparation, types of fluxes used, solder joint design, and solder heating methods.

Copper is often used in the unalloyed form because pure copper is more conductive than copper alloys. Alloying elements are added to optimize strength, ductility, and thermal stability, with little negative effect on other properties such as conductivity, fabricability, and corrosion resistance. This chapter covers the classification, composition, properties, and applications of copper alloys, including brasses, bronzes, copper-nickel, beryllium-copper, and casting alloys. It also examines wrought copper alloys and pure coppers. The chapter begins with an overview of the copper production process and concludes with a discussion on corrosion resistance.

This chapter covers the friction and wear behaviors of copper alloys. It describes the compositions and forms of copper available and their suitability for applications involving friction, different types of erosion, and adhesive and abrasive wear.

This appendix is a collection of tables listing coefficients of linear thermal expansion for carbon and low-alloy steels, presenting a summary of thermal expansion, thermal conductivity, and heat capacity; and listing thermal conductivities and specific heats of carbon and low-alloy steels.