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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.

iNEMI produces guidelines to help manage lead-free alloy changes

01.04.2008 16:30 - Source: Lead-Free Zone Blog

The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) has launched a new project to provide industry guidelines to help make the growing proliferation of lead-free alloys easier to manage. According to iNEMI, many BGA suppliers are changing the alloys used for lead-free solder balls to improve mechanical shock performance. Suppliers are also promoting a variety of wave solder alloys to address concerns about copper dissolution, barrel fill, common wave defects and the high cost of alloys. As a result, the variety of lead-free alloys is increasing. Several of these alloys have lower levels of silver and therefore a higher melting point (up to 10C or higher), which may require a change in printed circuit assembly manufacturing processes.

The first phase of this project will focus on the analysis of existing knowledge and assessment of critical gaps and on driving standards to help manage supply chain complexity and risk.

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