Environmentally Friendly Products and Services
The Yamaha Group manufactures products with several distinct characteristics. To identify what aspect of a product group life cycle has the largest environmental impact and tackle environmentally friendly design from multiple angles, the Yamaha Group conducts product life cycle assessments (LCA) that cover the total product life cycle, including material procurement, production, transport, use, and disposal. In a product lifecycle, environmental impact largely occurs in three stages: 1) the material production stage; 2) the use stage; and 3) the disposal stage. At Yamaha, we focus on these three stages to achieve environmentally friendly product design appropriate to each product group attributes.
Unique at Yamaha: Lead-Free Solder in Wind Instrument Production
Even today, Yamaha trumpets, flutes, horns, and other wind instruments pass through a surprising number of hands during manufacturing. Yamaha uses only lead-free solder in the many soldering operations required to join the intricate metallic parts of a wind instrument. A number of manufacturing companies made the transition to lead-free production prior to and following the enactment of the RoHS directive in July 2006, but Yamaha is the first company in the world to have eliminated the use of leaded solder from the production of wind instruments, despite the fact they are not subject to the RoHS directive. The move to lead-free solder in all wind instruments shipped from Yamaha factories in Japan and overseas was begun in 2000 and completed at the end of 2006.
The following provides firsthand accounts of the transition to lead-free solder from two of its proponents in Yamaha Corporation's Wind, String & Percussion Instruments Division: Keiji Sone, Manager of the Product Development Department, and Shunichi Niwata, Manager of the Wind Instrument Design Section.
The First Challenge: Selecting the Solder
The Yamaha Corporation took its first steps towards acquiring ISO14001 certification for its main factories in 1997. Then, in 2001, Yamaha established the Lead-Free Project for its wind instrument business to further reduce the risk to the environment.
Niwata: "Actually, the Wind Instrument Design Group began experimenting with lead-free solder in 2000. Because melting solder using a gas burner was not part of the processing method generally employed in the production of wind instruments, a number of briefings had to be held with solder manufacturers while at the same time continuing to conduct tests of dozens of different types of lead-free solder. When, at the end of these briefings, I asked what type of solder would be suitable for use in the assembly of wind instruments, the usual response was that they had never imagined solder was used for this [laughs]. The answer to our requests was that this would be difficult."
After the project was launched, about two years was spent conducting tests within the Group in cooperation with the Production Engineering Division until a suitable solder was finally decided on.
On-site Efforts to Achieve High Precision
Next, on-site tests were conducted by our welding engineers. During the welding process, it is essential that the heated solder melts, spreads, and becomes "wettable" at its melting point.
Sone: "The soldering engineer applies heat to the metal with a burner and melts the solder the instant the coating of flux becomes transparent. For engineers accustomed to working with solder that has a melting point of 180°C, the transition to a solder with one of 221°C proved difficult, and caused a big confusion with either too much or too little heat being applied."
By switching to a solder with weaker wettability, a greater degree of precision in the intricate parts of the wind instruments and other such improvements were achieved.
Sone: "Essentially, we succeeded in raising both the level of precision and skill."
The Final Hurdle: Sound Quality
Niwata: "Changing the solder changed the sound the instrument produced. We received a favourable response to the change in sound of our trumpets; in fact, the tests actually resulted in the development of a top-of-the-range new model. The saxophone, though, didn't fare as well. When we asked a famous saxophonist to evaluate the saxophone, his initial response was that the sound was all wrong. In the end, though, we were able to get his approval after increasing the precision of the parts, adjusting the soldering temperature, and refining the production process."
Sone: "After all, as we are musical instrument manufacturers, it's not like we could just say, 'we want to use a more environmentally-friendly solder, so you'll just have to make do with an inferior sound quality.'"
Production of these lead-free instruments began in Japan in March 2003, with an instrument going into production only when it had been approved. Overseas*, a changeover to lead-free instruments was introduced gradually from January 2005. By the end of 2006, the transition to lead-free solder in all wind instruments shipped from Yamaha factories both in Japan and overseas was complete.
Sone: "Lead-free solder is even used at wind instrument repair centres at Yamaha headquarters and its local subsidiaries now. Regulations for raw materials are probably only going to get stricter. And we'll have to meet this challenge without compromising our commitment to sound quality."
* Yamaha Musical Products Indonesia and Xiaoshan Yamaha Musical Instruments. Yamaha Musical Products began using unleaded solder in July 2004