	Electronic Engineering News Digest
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iNEMI forms HFR-Free Leadership Program - The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) has launched a HFR (halogenated flame retardant)-Free Leadership Program.

Green Manufacturing Expo – Chicago in September - The Green Manufacturing Expo will be held on September 22-24 in Rosemont, Ill. The expo was created to provide a wide spectrum of economically sound solutions for the manufacturing enterprise interested in improving process efficiency, reducing costs, and conserving energy and resources.

Voids found in lead-free solder joints - According to an article in Electronics Weekly, a UK-based sister publication of Design News, a researcher at the UK’s University of Leicester has discovered detrimental voids in lead-free solder joints.

GreenSoft launches GreenData Manager - REACH workgroup - The workgroup edition was created to offer a complete compliance data management system for RoHS, REACH and REACH SVHC (substances of very high concern). The workgroup product was designed for multiple users nad tailored to medium-to-large enterprises.

An argument for leaded solder in servers - Here’s a pretty good argument for leaded solder. In a blog on ServerWatch, technology writer, Drew Robb, argues the merits of using leaded solder. Much of the electronics industry agrees, but the reality is lead-free has become the forced norm for most electronic products.

REACH hits the EU this month - As of June 1, 2009, all European Union suppliers are required to comply with a raft of substance restrictions under the REACH regulation.

House considers RoHS-like bill - The U.S. House of Representatives is considering a RoHS-like bill that would become part of the Toxic Substances Control Act. The Environmental Design of Electrical Equipment is more limited than RoHS, according to Gary Nevison of Farnell, a London-based components distributor.

Lasky: Lead-free is plenty reliable - With more than two years into the lead-free conversion, it’s become clear lead-free components are reliable. According to Dr. Ronald Lasky, senior technologist with Indium and a professor at Dartmouth University says the surprise of RoHS is that reliability has not been an issue.

Tin, silver, copper becomes standard for RoHS solder - According to an article by Mitch Holtzer of Cookson Electronics that appeared in SMT Online, tin/silver/copper (SAC) alloys have become the industry standard lead-free solders since RoHS went into effect.

How will RoHS changes affect medical equipment? - New RoHS changes will impact medical devices. Many of the exemptions that kept RoHS from restricting medical devices will be lifted. Fred Loneker, a senior manager with Environ International Corp.

Engineers need to track RoHS changes - The European Commission is about to drop six exemptions from the RoHS directive. While a move of this order was expected, it still shows that design engineers need to be cognizant of changes in environmental regulations. the components they chose yesterday may not be compliant today.

Six RoHS exemptions cut - In the latest round of RoHS changes, six exemptions will be retired from the directive’s list of 29 exemptions. In an article in EDN, a Design News sister site, Gary Nevison of Newark and Farnell explains which six exemptions will expire over the next two years.

The impact of environmental regulations on electronics manufacturers - Here’s an in-depth paper that covers the Impact of Environmental Regulations on Electronic Manufacturers. Michael Kirschner, president of Design Chain Associates, a firm the helps companies comply with regulations, authored the paper for the December 2008 Conference on Resource Recycling.

SaaS eco-software for REACH and RoHS - Green EcoSystems Group of Colorado Springs, Colo. has introduced Green -EcoSystems software-as-a-service designed to help manufacturing companies address requirements related to the REACH directive. The tool also supports RoHS compliance.

Selecting the right lead-free connector design - RoHS laws have affected manufacturing processes as well as changing the nature of electronic components. The article, “Designing for RoHS: Select the right lead-free-connector design for heat-sensitive applications,” explores the RoHS-compliant alternatives for design engineers.

Valpak gears up to provide full WEEE compliance service

12.10.2006 14:30 - Source: WEEE Directory

Valpak is gearing up to become a full compliance scheme under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive.

The Warwickshire-based company has begun transferring compliance experts from its packaging scheme to handle the producer responsibility requirements for members under new regulations expected to come into force in January 2007.

The new regulations will see producers and retailers given legal requirements to fund the collection and recycling of old electrical equipment.

Valpak is by far the largest provider of compliance services for packaging producers in the UK under the packaging producer responsibility system. For waste electronics, it is now changing from a mainly informational service to provide an actual service for electronics producers.

Mike Sadler, head of WEEE compliance at Valpak, said: "We have the taken the pro-active step from pre-compliance to full compliance as we believe it's commercially prudent to start planning as the main issues and obligation requirements become clearer."

The forthcoming regulations for WEEE are currently the subject of a final government consultation (see letsrecycle.com story), which closes on October 17.

Seminars
Valpak is running a series of seminars for retailers and producers, starting next week in Manchester and running through November and December, for companies to learn more about their WEEE obligations.

Mr Sadler said: "The WEEE timeline is very tight and we are helping retailers and producers to be prepared in advance. We are ready for the start of WEEE compliance, we want to make sure that our prospect members are as ready as they can be."

A range of topics to be discussed at the seminars will include financial planning and what is to happen to both household and non-household waste electronics.

Retailers
The seminars will also discuss the proposed distributor takeback scheme, which is to be set up in order to help electrical retailers carry out their obligations to fund collection systems for waste electronics.

The DTI has held meetings in recent weeks to discuss who should operate the distributor takeback deposit scheme, and it is understood an organisation will be appointed soon. Valpak is one of the organisations hoping to run the scheme.

Original text is here