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REPO RT Challenges Among the Cherry Blossoms 2013 NASF Washington Forum Deemed "Best Yet" By Jim Lindsay, NASF Technical Editor A warm front from the south produced a riot of color around the Tidal Basin as the cherry blossoms reached their peak in the second week of April and concerned members of the surface finishing industry came from all directions for the annual NASF Washington Forum. To prepare for Congressional meetings on the last day, a full program of experts on economic and regulatory matters affecting our industry ensured that the attendees were well-equipped with a meaningful perspective for those important interchanges with Congress. The importance of this annual event was well-put by Christian Richter of The Policy Group: "If you don't have a seat at the table, you're what's being served on the menu." If there were three themes that could be described as the focus of the conference, they were: • The need for good science • The dangers of regulations stigmatizing critical materials and • The worst-case scenario of sequestration. Many speakers noted that, in many cases, the limits established Technical Paper Credit: JMS Photo by regulations were derived arbitrarily, with no real scientific basis. David Fisher and Ann Mason of the American Chemistry Council cited examples of Cr(VI) limits in drinking water set to levels far below the levels that naturally occur in nature. In his discussion of the recent NASF struggle against excessive regulation of chromium and PFOS materials, The Policy Group's Jeff Hannapel described new scientific data showing that non-PFOS substitutes actually fall short in reducing chromium emissions. He noted that the EPA seemed unresponsive to this new "good science" data, however. The European REACH protocol has prompted worry on many fronts, including the tendency of other world organizations to adopt Edited by Jim Lindsay, NASF Technical Editor White Bronze, Copper-Tin-Zinc Tri-metal: Expanding Applications & New Developments in a Changing Landscape by Richard E DePoto and Al Gruenwald, C. Uyemura & Co. Ltd. & Joerg Weber and Klaus Leyendecker, Umicore Galvanotechnik GmbH This technical paper deals with renewed interest in applications for "white bronze" tri-metal (copper-tin-zinc), focusing on the authors' work on a recent advance in tri-metal plating, a proprietary alloy which meets the requirements for a robust nickel substitute, among other advantages. The increased interest is driven by: 1. The sharp rise in the cost of precious metals, with silver consistently selling at more than $30 per ounce. Long-term cost savings strategies are of great interest. 2. Continually increasing electronic frequencies benefit from corrosion-resistant and non-magnetic metallic, and higher hardness properties consistent with tri-metal alloys. 3. Recent research and applications developments have improved process control, ease of analytical measurement and resulting performance. 4. New formulation-based enhancements including a high-speed version have been introduced to expand product usage and applications. The first part of this paper centers on specific market applications, including nickel replacements, lead-free and ROHS requirements, 14 JUNE 2013 and applications in the high-frequency RF connector market, where precise thickness and alloy control of copper, tin and zinc are critical to performance. The major emphasis of the paper is data on performance achieved in high-frequency electronics applications where the current process of record is very difficult to control and routinely produces a less desirable alloy. Recent applications development has determined the most critical parameters, control points and preferred analytical techniques for precise alloy control and dramatically improved process consistency. These techniques allow for a preferred alloy to be plated consistently, resulting in higher performance and, hopefully, expanded applications in the electronic industry. The authors discuss operational properties as well as several of the performance properties required in several types of applications, ranging from jewelry and architecture to medical and electronic connector parts. This paper is a peer-reviewed and edited version of a presentation delivered at NASF SUR/FIN 2012 in Las Vegas, Nev. on June 13, 2012. The full paper can be accessed at short.PFonline.com/ NASF13June.