The UK’s RoHS directive enforcer, the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML), has released its 16-page RoHS enforcement guidelines. The guidelines can be accessed at this website. Aiming to create a level playing field across Europe, the document was produced in consultation with other European Union RoHS enforcement agencies. “Whilst the overal... (more) [Read more…]

According to an article on the Taipei website, DigiTimes.com, RoHS-related business and services will continue to grow through the third quarter of this year, well past the July 1, 2006 RoHS deadline. At that point, RoHS services are expected to drop slightly and flatten for some time. The article also identifies lingering concerns over testing for compliance. The article notes there are continuing uncertainties in how... (more) [Read more…]

DEK International, a manufacturing processes company in Flamington, N.J., has completed research into screen printing for 0201 surface mount components using SnPb and SAC solder pastes, highlighting new assembly and board design parameters for robust, high volume assembly with minimal application-specific modifications. Among the observations from analyzing a large number of test assembli... (more) [Read more…]

JEDEC and the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) have released two documents intended to help manufacturers reduce the risk of tin whisker growth in lead-free products. The first is JEDEC standard JESD201, “Environmental Acceptance Requirements for Tin Whisker Susceptibility for Tin and Tin Alloy Surface Finishes,” and the second is a JEDEC/IPC joint publication, JP002, “Current Tin Whiskers Theory and Mitigation Practices Guideline.” JE... (more) [Read more…]

The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) will co-sponsor the third annual Tin Whisker Workshop with the IEEE Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology Society (CPMT) and the 56th Electronics Components and Technology Conference (ECTC). The workshop is scheduled for May 30 at ECTC in San Diego. The workshop will provide participants with an update on recent activities in both the testing and modeling of tin whiskers. In addition, a roundtable d... (more) [Read more…]

According to Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) of Northbrook, Ill., manufacturers can ensure their due diligence in meeting RoHS regulations by complying with the IECQ QC080000 certification standard produced by the International Electromechanical Commission (IEC). UL representatives note that if a manufacturer demonstrates compliance with the IEC standard, this will cover the company’s due diligence for the European RoHS as well as other emerging en... (more) [Read more…]

A key issue with the RoHS directive is the variety of ways it can be implemented. Each of the European Union's 25 member states can localize the directive, filling in details any way they want, which often creates confusion, complexity and cost.United Kingdom authorities, however, have been on a [Read more…]

The date on which a product is "put on the market" according to the European Union's Restrictions of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) Directive (2002/95/EC) is now driving many electronics companies to make inventory or stockpiling decisions. However, few concepts surrounding RoHS have [Read more…]

Now that the July 1, 2006 RoHS deadline is here, we will begin to see how the European Union (EU) plans to police its restrictions on hazardous substances in electronic products. Some manufacturers expect – or hope – the EU will be easy on product inspections for the first few months. This is the dreamy thinking of executives whose products are late to compliance. A closer look at EU regulation history shows tough, serious enforcers. Here’s the likely scenario as EU ... (more) [Read more…]

The earth did not shake and the sky did not fall. It was a day like any other. [Read more…]

The European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) substance restrictions only apply to products "put on the market" after the July 1, 2006 deadline, and anything put on the market before that date can legally continue to be sold. [Read more…]

The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) High-Reliability RoHS Task Force has published guidelines regarding assembly processes and reliability requirements for RoHS subassembly modules. In a statement, iNEMI notes that with current RoHS exemptions for high-reliability electronics, it is possible for electronic assemblies to contain lead and still be RoHS-compliant. Manufacturers taking the lead exempt... (more) [Read more…]

A new company in Bloomington, Ind. has been launched to help manufacturers through the transition to RoHS-compliant electronic components. E-Certa (Environmentally Certified Electronic Trade Alliance), a consortium of five companies, was founded to bring technologies together to convert leaded components to RoHS compliant. This service is designed to help manufacturers that have an overstock of non-compliant parts. E-Certa also provides the servic... (more) [Read more…]

Does anyone really know how the authorities will enforce RoHS or which products they will initially target? The answer is yes. [Read more…]

Surprise! You may have thought that with the impending deadline now only 12 months away, the industry would have a clear definition of compliance to the Restriction of certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive. [Read more…]

The upcoming EU RoHS and WEEE Directive’s deadlines are driving new requirements across the electronics manufacturing value chain and the product life cycle. [Read more…]

An article on the website of our sister publication, Purchasing magazine, finds there is a tight supply of RoHS compliant parts, “as manufacturers have not produced enough to meet demand, according to independent distributors.” The article also notes there is a tight supply of non-compliant parts as well, since many component manufacturers have cut back their non-compliant production or stopped it altog... (more) [Read more…]

Expectations have run high for RoHS readiness in Asia. A recent Global Sources survey estimated that 93% of electronics manufacturers in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea would be ready for the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) July deadline. [Read more…]

Want some solid pointers for meeting global RoHS environmental rules? Our sister publication, EDN, ran the article, “Beyond RoHS: The greening of global markets,” that includes a useful sidebar outline seven tips for meeting green initiatives. Here’s a shorthand version of the list: Don’t leave it all to your contract manufacturer. Brand owners are responsible for complyi... (more) [Read more…]

Are you sure the parts in your products are not counterfeit? A recent report from Technology Forecasters Inc., a research firm that focuses on contract manufacturing, finds that the average likelihood for “unrevealed replacement of AVL parts with lower cost components” averages 28 percent. Apparently, when products are produced in Asia and the contract manufacturer has the authority to buy parts, those parts have a fairly high likelihood of being counterfeit. There is a se... (more) [Read more…]

RoHS is misguided, ineffective and costly. That’s the essential message from SiliconPipe CEO Joseph Fjelstad in a commentary that ran in Design News sister publication, Electronic Business. Fjelstad claims “there is zero evidence of harm from lead in electronic solder.” He also notes that lead in electronic solder accounts for less than 0.5 percent of all lead used globally. Fjelstad goes on ... (more) [Read more…]

According to research from AMR Research, the electronics industry in the United States alone will spend $30 billion over the next five years on RoHS compliance. In a research brief by AMR’s Eric Karofsky, AMR claims the industry will spend an average of 3 percent of top line revenue to rectify compliance problems. Karofsky says this is a conservative estimate, as some companies are spending as much as 6 percent of r... (more) [Read more…]

EMA Design Automation, an electronic design vendor in Rochester, N.Y., has introduced the EMA Compliance Assurance System (CAS), an adjunct tool to the company’s engineering data management (EDM) system. The CAS was created to handle various environmental compliance regulations imposed by governments around the world, beginning with the European Union’s RoHS law. The tool comes into play if the RoHS compliance of a product is challenge... (more) [Read more…]

The July 1 deadline for RoHS compliance passed quietly. But the volume has been turned up on an engineering community debate that is deeply critical of the directive. Those speaking out against RoHS claim that the European Union did not base the environmental directive on robust science. [Read more…]

A study that went out to hundreds of manufacturers in the electronics industry finds that most companies are not ready to prove they’ve done their due diligence in complying with the European Union’s RoHS laws that went into effect on July 1. Arena Solutions, a Foster City, Calif. product lifecycle management company that helps manufacturers prepare due diligence data, queried hundreds of manufacturers on... (more) [Read more…]