Henkel/Loctite GC10 Solder Paste Source?

[sam512bb]

Good day All,

I was curious if anyone has a source (North America preferable) on GC10 solder paste?  I ask, as I have been unable to find it from the usual Sources and some versions (T5) are shown to be discontinued from a few distributors (Mouser, Digikey, etc).  Does anyone know what is going on?  Indeed it could also be impacted by the ongoing supply chain issues, but showing some versions as discontinued seems really odd.

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,

Sam

[Doctorandus_P]

It's weird.
I just had a look at this product a few hours ago in a European shop and it is also labeled as "Retired".

https://eleshop.eu/loctite-gc10-solder-paste-500g-1962.html

quite a shame, as this shop used to fill small syringes with this stuff for small users, even though those syringes were relatively expensive:
https://eleshop.eu/loctite-gc10-solder-paste-20g.html

Just to be clear:
Henkel / Loctite has never sold this stuff in small syringes. It is a service that someone in that shop did for their customers.

Maybe Chipquik TS391SNL50 is a viable alternative. They also claim a long pot life and "temperature stable", but I don't know if they've got a reputation anywhere near the GC10 stuff.

https://eleshop.eu/thermally-stable-solder-paste-no-clean-sn96-5-ag0-3-t4.html

[jmelson]

Diverse Electronics in Canada seems to have it, at least their web site doesn't say out of stock.  Note that I have caught Digi-Key saying a number of products are obsolete/no longer being made, when I verified with the manufacturer they WERE still current products.  Digi-Key just chose to list them that way when they didn't want to stock the item any more.
Jon

[sam512bb]

Good day,

Thank you both for your posts!  I have used ChipQuik products before and they are OK, but I found GC10 to be the best for minimal paste "slouching" after stencil printing.  This is particular important for my setup, as I typically include hand placements for the PCB runs I do (prototyping and small runs).

I did find another post that stated that a vendor named Adtool carries GC10 (https://adtool.ca/en/) and so I will contact them next week.

As for Digikey/Mouser incorrectly stating an item as discontinued... I have seen this as well.  However, Mouser lists GC10 as obsolete:

https://www.mouser.ca/ProductDetail/Loctite/2446444?qs=TiOZkKH1s2TRGB2eeCh2QA%3D%3D

... and this was in the last month or so.  I was awaiting stock, as it did indicate stock arriving at the end of June.  All in all it is very odd.

Thanks again!

Cheers,

Sam

[jeremy]

Not NA, but if you are desperate: https://mektronics.com.au/products/loctite-gc-10-lead-free-sac-305-t4-solder-paste-500g-jar

Have you asked the digikey support folks if it really is obsolete? They may be able to tell you if there is a replacement on the way. They are usually quite responsive in my experience.

[mon2]

Have posted more than once that Adtool sells the stuff. Perhaps logical to contact the mfr of the paste to understand if EOL or not? According to Adtool, it is not. DK and Mouser are resellers, not the mfr.

[Aifredo]

We preordered a jar from Mouser and they informed us that the product is no longer being produced by Henkel. Seems you will have to contact the new manufacturer Harima to see if they will continue producing the paste.

The supplier has sold off the division of solder product and Mouser no longer has access to purchase. We have expedited and pushed to receive all orders for this product before the transfer date. Unfortunately, Mouser number 298-2446444 did not ship in time and Henkel has now canceled our order which means we will not be able to fill any backorders for this product. We apologize for this inconvenience and would like to offer a suggested alternate of Mouser number 910-TS391SNL250. In addition, the company that now owns this product is Harima and the phone number is 1-678-325-2926 if you would like to pursue directly.

[mon2]

REPOST...

[sam512bb]

REPOST...

Good day,

Good to know and thanks for posting the info!  It is possible that the new manufacturer may have a different part number for the product and/or not have Mouser/DK as part of their distribution network.

I will contact Adtool next week.  I am still have a jar of GC10 and so I am not in a big need, but I like to plan ahead... just in case... and especially so given the supply issues we are all seeing.

Cheers,

Sam

[mon2]

We have used GC10 to build volumes of PCBAs with the Lattice ICE40UL1K = WLCSP package (1.4*1.4 mm @ 16 balls) with success. In addition, numerous PCBAs with other TQFP and BGA devices.

[Doctorandus_P]

I've never used the stuff myself, but every forum post in which I've seen it says it's about the best paste you can get. Almost to the point that there is "GC10" and there is "other paste".

The shop I mentioned earlier used to buy 500g pots of GC10 and then they used to put it in smaller syringes with a 70% markup on the original price, while it's quite easy to buy other brands in smaller quantities, so apparently quite a lot of hobbyists are asking for this stuff.

[SMTech]

I've never used the stuff myself, but every forum post in which I've seen it says it's about the best paste you can get. Almost to the point that there is "GC10" and there is "other paste".

The shop I mentioned earlier used to buy 500g pots of GC10 and then they used to put it in smaller syringes with a 70% markup on the original price, while it's quite easy to buy other brands in smaller quantities, so apparently quite a lot of hobbyists are asking for this stuff.

It's the first globally available shelf stable paste that you could buy from easily accessible vendors. There are plenty of other solder brands out there, some of whom also sell pastes that are more than usually shelf stable at room temps or higher but a lot of them might only sell in one country or have only one specialist distributor or seller for low volume, or simply sell in bulk only.

Anecdotally it does seem to more than usually robust, as everyone on here is technically abusing it horribly*, I use a shelf stable paste from BLT once the pot has been opened every day for a month its definitely not the same paste it was at the start, but luckily for met at that point its basically empty. However its is much much cheaper than GC10 as is Warton and Solderking. The nicest creamiest cleanest printing paste I have ever trialled however was from Almit, end result howewer broadly similar to its rivals so I stuck with that we had.

*Never put paste from the stencil back in the pot with unused paste (or you risk contaminating the whole pot). Never put an opened pot back in the fridge (condensation) etc etc

[loki42]

Does any one know of a supplier that has GC 10 in cartridges (600 gram semco) still? Is there a similar quality alternative?  Kester np545 is also temperature stable. 

[loki42]

Has anyone been able to get GC 10 or GC 18 from Harimatec?

[Mangozac]

Loki, just get one of the AIM pastes from Okay here in Australia - something like the SAC 305 M8 https://okay.com.au/product/aim-lead-free-sac305-m8-solder-paste-no-clean-500g-jar/

The far more important thing is that it needs to be shipped overnight in a cold pack, as Okay/Chemtools do. It doesn't matter how room temperature stable a paste is - if it spends a few days temperature cycling in trucks and on tarmacs it will be garbage. Chemtools mix up the paste locally here so you are guaranteed fresh paste that will last a while.

[loki42]

I'll try the AIM stuff next time I need some! X-on had cartridges of Loctite solder available so I've got that for the moment.

[Harjit]

Anyone locate a source or alternative to GC 10? Thanks in advance.

[mon2]

@Harjit, contact Dave @ Adtool (Canada) - see my post above in this thread for full details.

We recently ordered 2 jars of the stuff for a pending batch of PCBs to be assembled very soon. Cannot vouch on the size of their solder paste containers but GC10 is available from at least this supplier.

[Styno]

Farnell has stock for 500g T3: order code 2523804

[HHaase]

I've found that kester NP-545 is a good alternative if the shelf life is your major concern.   
Same 12 month unrefrigerated shelf life but without all the drawbacks of GC-10

From a printing and reflow standpoint,  I highly prefer the NP-545 over GC-10.
Less voiding, less tombstones, more consistent printing, less graping.

[sam512bb]

Good day All,

Just an update to this...

a. So, Loctite,Henkel's GC10 was sold to another company and this explains why a number of disti's are showing that the item is obsolete.  As mentioned by member Mon2, AdTool does carry GC 10.  However, the new GC10 manufacturer does not (currently) offer T5 size, only T4 and T3 and so this may or may not be an issue for some. 

b. I tried  Chip Quik TS391SNL250 T4 as mentioned above and it is also thermally stable and so it does not have to be refrigerated and it also has a 1 year lifetime.  In using the CQ TS391SNL250, I found that its slouch time is significantly less than the GC10.  For me having a longer slouch time is important, as I use both a PnP and hand placements when I am prototyping and for short production runs.  That said, the CQ paste did hold up well and I did not have any real solder bridges after reflow... despite a total placement time of about an hour.  I will be buying a new jar of GC10 T4 this week and so I will be able to see if the new company has modified its formulations with respect to the slouch time.  I will report back with my experiences.

c. I was unable to quickly locate the NP-545 mentioned above, as I would have liked to try it.  My CM uses Alpha paste and so I will try it too... when I get a chance.

Thanks to all that posted!

Cheers,

Sam

[CyberCityCircuits]

Hey there. Saw this old thread. I have new stock Loctite GC10 (March 2023) - direct from manufacturer, if you're still looking. I have a few left. Ships out of Augusta, Ga.