“Tin and tin” coordination, as well as “tin and gold”, “tin and silver” coordination should pay attention to the fretting corrosion problem. The failure rate depends on the coating material in the contact area and the state and type of lubricant.
In both unlubricated surfaces and with anti-wear lubricants, “tin-to-gold” failure is much more severe than “tin-to-tin”. The performance of “tin-to-silver” is slightly better than “tin-to-tin”.
Connector application engineers should be aware of the problems that can arise when tin plating is mated to gold or silver. Especially in applications where fretting conditions may exist, swapping one of the male and female terminals in the “tin-to-tin” contact interface for another plating can exacerbate the situation. If the “tin and gold” combination is unavoidable, then an anti-fretting corrosion lubricant is a necessary but not perfect solution.