RoHS threatens the life of your Toughbook

Whilst researching a relatively non-Toughbook issue I came across this: NASA Goddard Tin Whisker Homepage
Might suggest a cause for issues frequently mentioned here.
CAP

 

Tin whiskers are electrically conductive, crystalline structures of tin that sometimes grow from surfaces where tin (especially electroplated tin) is used as a final finish. Tin whiskers have been observed to grow to lengths of several millimeters (mm) and in rare instances to lengths in excess of 10 mm. Numerous electronic system failures have been attributed to short circuits caused by tin whiskers that bridge closely-spaced circuit elements maintained at different electrical potentials.

Copied from this " Basic Info on Tin Whiskers" page

Tin whiskers are not a new phenomenon. Indeed, the first published reports of tin whiskers date back to the 1940s and 1950s. Tin is only one of several metals that is known to be capable of growing whiskers. Other examples of metals that may form whiskers include some tin alloys, zinc, cadmium, indium, antimony, silver among others .



People sometimes confuse the term "whiskers" with a more familiar phenomenon known as "dendrites" commonly formed by electrochemical migration processes. Therefore, it is important to note here that whiskers and dendrites are two very different phenomena. A "Whisker" generally has the shape of a very thin, single filament or hair-like protrusion that emerges outward (z-axis) from a surface. "Dendrites", on the other hand, form in fern-like or snowflake-like patterns growing along a surface (x-y plane) rather than outward from it. The growth mechanism for dendrites is well-understood and requires some type of moisture capable of dissolving the metal (e.g., tin) into a solution of metal ions which are then redistributed by electromigration in the presence of an electromagnetic field. While the precise mechanism for whisker formation remains unknown, it is known that whisker formation does NOT require either dissolution of the metal NOR the presence of electromagnetic field.

 

Hmm, mwoah, I know from a small company that makes chip-mounting, flow, reflow and soldering equipment for large manufacturers that it has been a problem right after ROHS came into action, but that it was a question of getting all the parameters right and that it shouldn't happen if the manufacuter knows what it's doing. Cheap China toy electronics might have the problem, but advanced electronics like Panasonic makes shoudn't.