...In compliance with global RoHS and in an effort to maximize reliability, Dr. Hwang leverages on the confluence of her in-depth knowledge and real-world production experience to address lead-free reliability in three separate sessions. (1.) "Lead-free Reliability for Harsh Environment Electronics" (2.) "BGA/CSP/WLP Reliability of Lead-free Package & Assembly" (3.) "Interactive Seminar on Lead-free Electronics"... more...

...June 23, 2008 -- Manufacturers today are undergoing one of their most drastic shifts ever -- a major green movement that's re-defining the way products are brought to market. Stringent environmental regulations are asking manufacturers to do more, with less environmental strain.... more...

...BRUSSELS - Industry leaders addressed concerns with the Oko-Institut report on the proposed expansion of RoHS substance restrictions at an IPC workshop on June 18.... more...

...June 2008, London, England - Premier Farnell plc (LSE:pfl), the leading multi-channel, high service distributor supporting millions of engineers and purchasing professionals globally, today announced the selection of the expert judging panel for the international design competition, 'Live EDGE' - Electronic Design for the Global Environment.... more...

...After a challenge from Denmark and the European Parliament, the European Commission-granted EU ROHS (European Union restriction-of-hazardous-substances) exemption for DecaBDE (decabromodiphenyl ether) will end on July 1.... more...

...Oko-Institut (Freiburg, Germany) was contracted by the European Union Commission to study the inclusion of additional hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment under the RoHS Directive. In their draft report to the commission, the Oko-Institut recommended the restriction of Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), the flame retardant used to protect more than 80 percent of printed circuit boards and found to be safe by a comprehensive European Union risk assessment.... more...

...Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) producer compliance scheme Electrolink has an overwhelming supply of surplus evidence notes because a number of producer compliance schemes have refused to buy evidence from the firm.... more...

...An urgent meeting has been held today (June 20) between the Department for Business (BERR) and the environment agencies to discuss the WEEE situation, with councils warning that a failure to resolve the allocation of evidence for 2007 could lead to disruption at some civic amenity sites.... more...

...Low-silver lead-free wave-soldering alloy offers performance similar to SAC305 on complex dual-sided assemblies where excellent wetting is required. New from Cookson Electronics, Alpha SACX0807 is a low-silver lead-free wave-soldering alloy claimed to offer performance similar to SAC305 on complex dual-sided assemblies where excellent wetting is required.... more...

...Dassault Systemes, a provider of 3D and product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions, has released an update to the ENOVIA Materials Compliance Central solution to help automotive and high-tech companies meet environmental regulations.... more...

...Scandinavian RoHS authorities have tallied the results of a massive sweep earlier this year involving 152 electronic product checks in three countries. The investigation included visits to importers, manufacturers and retail shops across Denmark, Sweden and Finland and resulted in 22 cases of non-compliance, of which one was a prosecution, said the project leader, Christina Larsson, a technical officer at the Swedish Chemicals Agency (KEMI), which is responsible for RoHS enforcement.... more...

...Innov-X Systems will take part in the "XRF Short Course - RoHS Workshop" held at the University of Western Ontario, Friday, June 13, 2008. XRF has been identified as a fast and cost effective RoHS screening technique, however analysts still face certain challenges, such as the heterogeneity of many samples, irregular sample size, calibrations and verifications methods. Innov-X Systems will be working with industry experts to address these challenges.... more...

...IPC is urging all technical experts from member companies and other stakeholders in the electronics industry to participate in a special meeting on 18 June in Brussels to discuss their concerns over RoHS expansion.... more...

...Last week was an active week for RoHS 2 and Greenpeace issues. Greenpeace declared that several game consoles, although meeting RoHS standards, were still hazardous. Furthermore, the IPC sent around the following note Re Inclusion of additonal ROHS prohibited materials:... more...

...It's not easy (or cheap) being Green. Just ask buyers at electronics companies who had to switch parts - and, sometimes suppliers - to comply with the European Union directive. When the European Union (EU) announced it would ban the use of lead and five other substances from electronics equipment, many industry executives said the law would cost the electronics industry billions of dollars. It turns out they were right.... more...

...The U.K. National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML), the country's RoHS enforcement authority, reported that RoHS violations in general are diminishing as the industry comes to terms with compliance practices. The group made test purchases of products and identified much higher levels of compliance than in 2006, according to Chris Smith, head of RoHS enforcement for the NWML. After a similar test in late 2006, NWML found very little product that complied at all.... more...

...Soldertec Global is delighted to announce that a European and International Conference on "Reliability in Electronic Assemblies" will be held at the Tallink Spa & Conference Hotel in Tallinn, Estonia, October 22nd - 24th 2008. The two day conference will be preceded by training workshops from top trainers in their field.... more...

...A KEEN recycler from Malvern is urging local authorities to complete the "last piece in the recycling jigsaw" by providing dedicated recycling facilities for electrical waste.... more...

...The European Commission (EC) has proposed seven new exemptions under the RoHS Directive for consideration by the Technical Adaptation Committee (TAC) . . . [they are]...... more...

...FYLDE businesses could be missing out on cost savings and harming their green credentials, local Euro MP Chris Davies has warned.... more...

...Intertek is pleased to present a free one-hour online webinar set to address materials restrictions, requirements and end-of-life obligations for packaging and batteries related to electronic products sold in the EU.... more...

...Electronic equipment manufacturers are facing a massive increase in the amount of data they need to gather from their suppliers on the substances used in their products. The European Commission is expected to add at least four more substances to the RoHS Directive, whilst Article 33 of the REACH Regulation will require all manufacturers to provide customers with information on whether their products contain >0.1% of any ‘substances of very high concern’ on the REACH ‘candidate list’ of substances.... more...

...Grappling with the torments of lead free soldering, customers in the US and Canada have been approaching Adtool Corporation & Koki Company about their new lead free solder wire. "It seems that more than 90% of lead enquiries at the shows we have attended at Nepcon East (Boston), SME (Toronto) and the Eptech shows in Canada have been about the issues people are facing with lead free soldering. When we demonstrate what our products can do, people are in amazement that we have addressed and solved these issues." says Gordon Clark, Director of Global Support for Koki.... more...

...A new option is available to organizations that take in-house control in testing for compliance to hazardous substance (RoHS) regulations. Skyray XRF offers desktop and portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers that provide fast, non-destructive analysis of product for lead content and other restricted metals.... more...