	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.

WEEE way to get rid of waste

08.11.2006 21:31 - Source: WEEE Directory

Selby District Council is cleaning up its IT act by disposing of old electrical equipment.

It is working with a north-east company to recycle, reduce and reuse its electronic waste by removing old hardware from the council's buildings, and implementing a Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) policy.

Under new Government guidelines, all organisations will have to put a WEEE policy in place for the proper disposal of old electrical equipment before January 1, 2007.

Coun Chris Metcalfe, chairman of the council's environment board, said: "Our main priority with securing this contract was to ensure that any data stored on our electrical equipment - for example, computer hard drives - could not be accessed by anyone else at any point in the future.

"We are continually developing our waste and recycling services, so we also required confirmation that the waste will be recycled in a responsible manner, and none of it would end up in landfill.

"The new WEEE legislation regarding the proper disposal of old electrical equipment has not yet been implemented, so we are ahead of the game in terms of securing this disposal contract."

Weeeco, based in Gateshead, has been working with the council.

Its managing director, Beverly Ann Eckerman, said: "Selby District Council is our first local authority contract, and coupled with the recent NHS contracts secured, Weeeco is now cementing itself in the public sector market.

"It's encouraging that they are willing to set an example to the rest of the public sector by adopting the service prior to it becoming UK legislation."

Original text is here