...This two-session seminar culminates in the principles and practices of what constitutes lead-free reliability, what tests to perform, how to assess reliability, how to draw conclusions coupled with the observation of the Trace Labs' testing capabilities and facilities....

...Europartners, which provides consultancy to European electronics companies, is setting up a range of services geared toward assisting European clients to achieve essential RoHS/WEEE compliance....

...This year we will discard 100 million TVs, computers, stereos and mobile phones as we're seduced by ever newer models. They could all be recycled - so why aren't they? Martin Hickman investigates...

...Fairchild Semiconductor announced today it is shipping its complete portfolio of basic marked components - totaling more than 34,000 products - in configurations that conform to the European (EU) Restriction of Hazardous Substance (RoHS) directive....

...Some gray-market electronic component distributors claim to be RoHS-compliant. I do not see how this is possible, considering that there are few lead-free parts in excess inventory yet. Plus, reclaimed parts must go through a near "rebuilding" process (tin metallization after stripping whatever lead might be present on the leads) to render them lead-free....

...Member States voted to accept Commission proposals for 5 new exemptions for the RoHS Directive at the latest meeting of the Technical Adaptation Committee on 15 February 2006. As usual, the DTI has produced an unofficial note of the TAC meeting of 15 February 2006....

...Newark InOne, the Chicago-based subsidiary of London’s Premier Farnell, is now offering a 580-page catalogue devoted strictly to electronic products that are compliant with the European Union’s Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive....

...Incorporating micro-focus x-ray fluorescence technology, LeadHound(C) RoHS/Lead-Free Verification System detects presence of elements such as cadmium, mercury, chromium and bromine in 30 sec or less. Unit is suited for determining compliance with RoHS/WEEE directives and military and avionics product compliance testing. System detects lead in testing boards and components, BGA spheres, and solder paste in pots....

...The bill unveiled on Thursday by Assembly Member Lori Saldana, a Democrat from San Diego, would apply to any electronic or battery-operated device. The bill, which was introduced on Wednesday, would require manufacturers to stop using the substances in devices sold in California by 2008....

...California, the world's sixth largest economy, could once again use its massive market clout to impose de facto environmental regulations on the rest of the country if a new bill becomes law. Though California already prohibits many electronic components from being thrown in the trash, the proposed legislation would require consumer electronics sold in the state to be manufactured without toxins or other hazardous materials by 2008....

...California Democrats have introduced legislation to the state assembly tightening the rules on the manufacture and disposal of toxic substances used in electronics. Super-hazardous heavy metals like mercury, cadmium, lead and chromium would be covered by regulations that would come into force in 2008, if passed....

...The National Association of Waste Disposal Officers has urged the government not to go down the easy route when working out funding for local authorities because of waste electronics....

...At Loewe, the manufacturer of TVs and multimedia devices in Upper Franconia, Germany, serial production started a short time ago with lead-free solder paste on a production line. The aim of the examinations that preceded this, was to find out whether there are considerable differences between Pb-containing and Pb-free solder alloys, regarding the technology and also in the properties of the solder joints....

...The change from 63/37 eutectic to lead-free solder need not increase defects provided the new process is understood. This article examines the reflow process and the characteristics of different solders and fluxes, and their effects on common defects like solder slump, solder balling, solder bridging, wetting and dewetting, and voids....

...The long-awaited materials standards for documenting and communicating the content of RoHS-ready components - IPC 1751 (Generic Requirements for Declaration Process Management) and IPC-1752 (Materials Declaration Management) have been completed and approved by the standards organization, the Association Connecting Electronics Industries (IPC) of Bannockburn, Ill....

...The change from 63/37 eutectic to lead-free solder need not increase defects provided the new process is understood. This article examines the reflow process and the characteristics of different solders and fluxes, and their effects on common defects like solder slump, solder balling, solder bridging, wetting and dewetting, and voids....

...Hong Kong manufacturers lead in RoHS compliance. Eighty-four percent of manufacturers in Honk Kong indicated they were already RoHs compliant. The EU is a critical market for many Hong Kong manufacturers. Manufacturers in other regions have more diversified markets and compliance levels are correspondingly lower: 63% in Taiwan; 50% in mainland China, and 9% in South Korea....

...The implications of non-compliance with new environmental regulations are serious and can affect many areas of business, including manufacturing, distribution and marketing. . . Many established systems and corporate infrastructures will be affected by the migration to RoHS-compliant manufacturing. However, recent surveys indicate that the majority of RoHS-aware personnel are those with operational rather than management responsibility....

...The UK's RoHS enforcement agency - National Weights and Measures - is currently recruiting enforcement officers, but gave no details of numbers. The organisation, which was appointed last summer to enforce the RoHS Directive, did not say how it plans to enforce the Directive. "There is a contractual arrangement with the DTI that I cannot say anything about this," said Chris Smith, RoHS project manager at the enforcement agency....

...An issue that increasingly is grabbing the attention of national and international media is e-waste dumping by the US into China, India, Africa and other developing nations....

...European reaction to an ever-growing mountain of discarded cell phones, computers, televisions, MP3 players, and other electronics equipment has put companies in China and elsewhere in a scramble to respond....

...As the lead-free transition gains momentum, many engineers are striving to set up wave solder and SMT processes that maintain production yields that also offer reliable assemblies. Much has been written about these topics during the past five years. While less confusion exists today about available alloy choices to replace leaded solders, many are still struggling with the successful implementation of these replacements....

...Local authorities throughout the UK are to receive a cash payment to help them cover the additional costs of implementing WEEE regulations caused by delays to the directive....

...Are you prepared for the RoHS compliant date of July 1, 2006? Lead elimination will have the biggest impact on SMT assembly, but don't forget about the other five restricted substances. In addition to lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biophenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers are restricted by the RoHS Directive....

...There is some confusion over two exemptions in the RoHS Directive. What is the difference between 'large-scale industrial tools' and 'fixed installations', which both have RoHS exemptions?...

...Newark InOne announces that it is offering a new 580-page catalog devoted strictly to electronic products that are compliant with the EU's Restriction of certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) legislation. The front section of the catalog includes a detailed guide to help engineers in the US, Canada and Mexico to comply with RoHS, which takes effect July 1, 2006....

...The electronics industry has rushed to develop standards to help companies put together their materials declarations, but OEMs and contract manufacturers (CMs) needed to gather materials content data before the standards were approved and released. The Association Connecting Electronics Industries (IPC) of Bannockburn, Ill. developed its IPC-1752 standard for materials declaration in record time. But that wasn’t fast enough. A good portion of the electronics industry has been busy for months collecting data in advance of the July 1, 2006 RoHS deadline. The IPC-1752 standard is expected to be released in February....

...Solder paste printing has received much more attention in recent months as the electronics industry gears up for lead-free manufacturing. The WEEE and RoHS directives drafted in January 2003 with a focus on electronic product recycling and the ban of six hazardous substances in electronics products has created quite an industry buzz....

...Tyco Electronics has spent the past five years preparing for the RoHS compliance. The company has assessed more than 1.5 million components for RoHS compliance and issued new part numbers....

...According to a report 93 percent of the electronics manufacturers in China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan who are exporting electronics to Europe are RoHS compliant....

...Many companies are resorting to material composition testing to meet the European Union's RoHS requirements and other regulations that restrict the use of certain substances either because they cannot get a materials declaration or when they receive questionable declarations. Currently, there is an IEC draft specification - IEC 111/24/CD - under project PR62321, called "Procedure for the Determination of Levels of Regulated Substances in Electrotechnical Products."...

...The electronics group of Henkel has announced the development of another advanced solder material for today's Pb-free process requirements. Multicore(R) LF328 is a halide-free, no-clean, lead-free solder paste designed for high volume stencil printing applications with CSP lead pitches of 0.5mm and 0.4mm....

...The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) will invite experts with marketing experience in Europe to a seminar on Feb. 21 to help domestic enterprises to better understand European markets and the possible challenges, a TAITRA official said Saturday. . . . Representatives of the French Geodis Group, which ranks among the top five European transport and logistic firms, to offer advise to Taiwan enterprises on how to comply with the RoHS directives and to boost their competitiveness....

...Cobar BV, a supplier of solder pastes and fluxes worldwide, has instituted a simple, recognizable color coding standard for all of its solder paste products to distinguish lead-bearing from lead-free....

...My friend and colleague Jim Hall of ITM pointed out that the reliability of "mixed" (i.e. lead free and leaded solder and finishes) technology was a hot topic at APEX last week. The biggest concern was mixing tin-lead solder with SAC BGA solder balls....

...Version 3.0 of Flomerics'(www.flomerics.com) Flo/PCB thermal simulation software helps solve thermal problems in solder reflow processing associated with the use of lead-free solders. In particular, this tool addresses the challenge of controlling temperature variations across the pc board during the reflow process....

...The European Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive has been riddled with misinformation, misjudgment and promises of missed deadlines. And that’s even before the standards are implemented. Just wait until the real deadline hits on July 1....

...Multicore LF328 is a halide-free, no-clean, lead-free solder paste designed for high volume stencil printing applications with CSP lead pitches of 0.5 and 0.4mm....

...RoHS and WEEE Specialists, in conjunction with the US-based GoodBye Chain Group, has announced RoHS and WEEE training sessions for Australian manufacturers, in Sydney and Melbourne, in March 2006. RoHS training will be held in Sydney on March 6, and in Melbourne on March 8. WEEE training will be held in Sydney on March 7 and in Melbourne on March 9....

...In the UK, draft Regulations (which will implement the WEEE Directive into UK law) are expected sometime this spring. Then the consultation on the draft Regulations is expected to take at least ten weeks. Implementation of the WEEE Directive may be achieved by late 2006 but there is no firm commitment to date....

...The looming directive has implications for engineers, managers, and procurement specialists throughout the electronics industry. While other electronics manufacturers scramble to engineer alternatives to existing components, Texas Instruments (TI) has been producing Pb-Free electronics since 1989....

...As the electronics industry transitions to lead-free soldering, hot air leveling should continue to be the preferred method of preserving solderability...

...Soldertec Global and IPC are pleased to announce details of the full session programme and exhibition opportunities for the International Conference on "RoHS Compliance and Beyond". The workshops, product display and technical conference will be held at the Hilton Malmo City, Malmo, Sweden from April 25-27th 2006....

...Kester has announced that it has been awarded a coveted SMT VISION Award in the category of Solder Materials for EnviroMark 907 No-Clean Lead-Free Solder Mark....

...It's not a particularly large area of research, at least not yet. But there are several R&D institutions, industry groups and startups in the industry looking at how nanomaterials can help bring about the lead-free packaging era, such as the Georgia Institute of Technology, the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) or NanoDynamics Inc., a Buffalo, N.Y.-based startup....

...Flomerics has announced a new version of its Flo/PCB thermal simulation software that will help solve thermal problems in solder reflow processing associated with the use of lead-free solders....

..."Finding a substitute for lead that gave the solder similar properties was difficult," said Ames Laboratory's senior metallurgist, Iver Anderson. "With our basic understanding of alloys, we developed a tin-silver-copper alloy that offered a lower melting temperature and greater strength than other lead-free alternatives being considered."...

...Dear Dr RoHS: I have a question whether our product is in the exemption or not. We ship our products to Europe about five or six systems per year. Our products are equipment for the professional movie industry, not for consumer....

...Companies are consuming enormous amounts of time and resources preparing for the looming deadline of July 1, 2006 for RoHS conversion. The European Union RoHS directive has been the center of environmental attention - with market access, financial and criminal penalties that could impact an average 30 percent to 35 percent of global revenues. But RoHS is just the beginning of an environmental avalanche coming from China, Japan, the U.S. and others....

...Global Sources' RoHS Compliance Readiness Survey: Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea shows 93 percent of electronics manufacturers expect to comply with the European Union's Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive by July 2006....

...Workshop offered by SMTA, Technology Forecasters Inc., and Goodbye Chain give electronics producers design strategies for toxin reduction (RoHS), increased reuse / recyclability (WEEE), and energy efficiency (EuP). Future workshops are scheduled for April 6th in Phoenix; June 7th in San Diego; and July 13th in Boston. The fee is US$595....

...PANALYTICAL’S comprehensive range of XRF systems and reference standards enable industry to meet the challenges set by the new EU RoHS and WEEE directives and to monitor levels of regulated substances covered by other important environmental legislation such as ELV (End-of-Life vehicles directive) and the EU packaging directive (EPD) as well as emerging legislations in other parts of the world....

...Synapsis Technology, Inc., today announced that it will be instructing three training courses for the IPC focusing on "Ensuring RoHS Compliance Through Materials Declaration Tools." The courses will be offered on February 28 in Costa Mesa, Calif. and March 16 in Dallas, Texas, as well as at the IPC/JEDEC International Conference on Lead Free Electronic Components and Assemblies being held March 7-9 in Santa Clara, Calif. Mr. Avila's presentation will from 1:00-4:00 p.m. on March 7....

...Toronto-based electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider Celestica was the first EMS company to offer end-to-end green manufacturing services for the electronics industry. Celestica CEO Steve Delaney talked about environmental compliance and Europe’s Restriction on Hazardous Waste (RoHS) edict with Electronic Business (EB) senior editor Barbara Jorgensen. In the March issue of EB, she explores the impact of RoHS on the electronics supply chain....

...Do not exclude batteries from your company's environmental compliance strategy. The European Union has set its sights on batteries as the next environmental offender....

...Soldertec Global and IPC are pleased to announce details of the full session programme and exhibition opportunities for the International Conference on "RoHS Compliance and Beyond". The workshops, product display and technical conference will be held at the Hilton Malmo City, Malmo, Sweden from April 25-27 2006....

...The government has claimed that the fourth delay to the implementation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive has been welcomed by UK businesses....

...Boots Retail (Ireland) has become the first company in Ireland and the European Union (EU) to be prosecuted for violations of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations... The company pleaded guilty to two separate charges brought by the Irish Environmental Protection Agency. The case was heard at the Wexford District Court in Ireland....

...Lifecycle Services' Jonathan Godfrey says a lax approach to disposing of old IT kit is a false economy...Concerns over IT asset disposal are growing for many IT managers. Why do you think this is?...

...Logistics company Wincanton has today opened its new 4.5 million (british pound) electronic recycling plant in Billingham near Middlesbrough....

...Large OEMs see an opportunity in being green and have the resources to address design for the environment. They are also under the watchful eyes of environmentally-minded NGOs like Greenpeace....

...In addition to the European Union's RoHS and WEEE directives, there are several emerging environmental regulations including the EU's Energy-using Products (EuP) and Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) directives as well as China RoHS and expected legislation from Taiwan, Japan and South Korea that the electronics industry will have to address in the near future, or deal with the possibility of severe penalties as a result of non-compliance....

...The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) has announced that many of its members plan to implement the IPC-1752 Materials Declaration Management standard. This standard, which is expected to be published by IPC this quarter, establishes standard electronic data formats and forms to simplify the way supply chain partners share material content information. Two iNEMI projects were involved in the development of this standard....

...RoHS is an issue on every design engineer's agenda at the moment, but is the electronics industry really ready for it? Andy Hughes, technical engineer from leading printed circuit board manufacturer, Exception PCB, provides a practical perspective on the realities of environmental compliance....

...Moisture Sensitivity Level Content (MSL) for components may have been revised for lead-free soldering compatibility since higher processing temperatures result in higher internal vapour pressures and greater risks of popcorning, cracking etc. Storage may consequently become more of an issue....

...5-Trees plans to advise small and mid-size businesses on how to properly document what materials are contained in their products and how to avoid violating environmental regulations, which could cost them plenty of money, co-founder Krista Botsford said....

...The awareness of the RoHS directives consequenses has spread to the American EMS firms....

...Richard Huxley, Vice President of Marketing, Arrow Asia Pac Ltd., will present at a RoHS webcast to be hosted by Electronics News in Australia on February 8, 2006. The webcast is designed to provide RoHS project managers, design engineers, purchasing professionals, production managers of electronics manufacturers, and other interested personnel with insights and information about RoHS....

...E2open today announced that its Eco-Compliance Solution is the first to fully support the new IPC-1752 standard data format developed jointly by IPC, Association Connecting Electronics Industries, the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI), and RosettaNet....

...The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars - a project supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts - has announced its GreenNano initiative. This program includes a series of meetings and a symposium that will focus on how to apply the principles of green chemistry and green engineering to nanotechnology....

...IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries and Soldertec Global - a division of Tin Technology, are sponsoring the 4th International Electronics Conference and Exhibition from 25-27 April 2006 in Malmo, Sweden....

...A new year has begun and the activity with lead-free has increased dramatically as engineers struggle with implementing the RoHS Directive, lead-free soldering and WEEE....

...The Eden Project in Cornwall shows the volume of waste electronic equipment the average Briton is likely to create in their lifetime. With two European directives about to affect the industry, it is timely....

...MatrixOne, Inc., a leading provider of collaborative product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions for the value chain(TM), today announced that it will be hosting two free half-day conferences focused on how electronics companies are affected by existing and newly emerging environmental compliance regulations....

...Coretec Inc., a designer and manufacturer of printed-circuit-boards (PC-boards), has announced the availability of material content reports to help customers comply with the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) legislation....

...Contemporary Controls manufacturing facility in Suzhou, China, has transitioned to lead-free operation to meet the European Union’s RoHS directive. The directive, which goes into effect July 1, 2006, limits the amount of lead in electronic equipment manufactured or sold in EU-member countries. China is expected to soon release its own legislation similar to RoHS....

..."Finding a substitute for lead that gave the solder similar properties was difficult," said Ames Laboratory senior metallurgist Iver Anderson. "With our basic understanding of alloys, we developed a tin-silver-copper alloy that offered a lower melting temperature and greater strength than other lead-free alternatives being considered."...

...Coretec Inc., a leading designer and manufacturer of printed circuit boards (PCBs), formally announced today the availability of comprehensive material content documentation consistent with the European Union (EU) Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) legislation....

...Businesses in the electronics sector can now keep up to date with changes to environmental legislation via a registration tool from NetRegs, a website offering practical advice to small businesses on their environmental obligations....

...The IPC has introduced a Good Housekeeping style RoHS certification program for electronic manufacturing services providers (EMS) and product manufacturers (OEMs)....

...the flow of information that product manufacturers need to show they’re compliant is still a mess of varying formats. While two standards have emerged to help companies share information on the materials content of components, the standards are new and not yet widely used. To complicate matters, it’s becoming painfully clear that the electronics industry supply chain is just not accustomed to sharing information up and down....

...The countdown to RoHS is on, and many companies--particularly small ones--still have a lot of work to do....

...A mammoth shift from non-compliant to lead-free parts will almost certainly arrive with supply glitches. Yet a question remains, will shortages and over-supply occur in compliant or non-compliant parts?...

...The European Union's WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directive took effect last August. What's happening? Should I care?...

...The WEEE page on the Europa web site has a new stakeholder consultation that is open until 10 February 2006. It requests comments on 15 applications for RoHS exemptions. Contained in this, and in three previous consultations, are gems of information for those who would pursue an exemption as part of compliance....

...It's not just about the 'RoHS Six'; it's the compounds that contain them....

...The life-cycle interval between innovation and obsolescence is notoriously short for many electronics, as parodied by a recent "Saturday Night Live" television skit that portrayed Apple's Steve Jobs introducing new versions of the iPod every few seconds....

...NPL, UK have made available for free download a set of reports with results of their recent lead-free soldering research programmes....

...In the quest for the holy grail of RoHS due diligence, many have wondered about the role of testing. But what kind of testing, and when, and how much? The organic food industry lives with very similar restrictions, and these questions have already been answered. The solution minimizes the amount and cost of testing while delivering solid, legally supported compliance....

...WEEE and RoHS could be mere warm-up exercises for a new design culture...

...As the deadline for compliance with the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive draws near, companies across the electronics supply chain are focusing their efforts on materials declaration....

...With five months before the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive goes into effect, results from a survey conducted by Electronics Supply & Manufacturing and Design Chain Associates indicate that many companies will not meet the July 1 deadline....

...The Lead-Free event "Blyfritt 2006" at the Stockholm International Fair yesterday turned out to be a success....

...Government agency Envirowise has been criticised for giving potentially misleading information about the requirements for companies to meet the July 1 deadline for the RoHS Directive....

..."SBGi was founded to help the electronics, electrical and avionics/aerospace industries implement emerging international standards for hazardous substances, minimize legal compliance costs and preserve global market access"...

...The UK government has released the last in a series of reports commissioned to monitor the transposition status of WEEE and RoHS legislation in EU member states....

...The EU Commission Offers Guidance on these Important Directives...

...This article is a down to earth reality check on what you need to do in order to maintain your position in the European market with the impending impact of the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) legislation on July 1....

...Despite delays in the UK's adoption of European rules on waste electronics, organisers of a new retail compliance scheme said today that 17 major retailers have committed to the scheme....

...The UK government has released the last in a series of reports commissioned to monitor the transposition status of WEEE and RoHS legislation in EU member states....

...Newark InOne has identified four basic steps that an original equipment manufacturer will typically consider on its way towards compliance with the RoHS directive. These steps form the framework for the revamped RoHS Express site...