...Ageus Solutions, a leader in global environmental compliance services, was ranked 13th in PROFIT Magazine's 8th Annual Hot 50 - a ranking of Canada's Emerging Growth Companies. Ageus Solutions assists companies in meeting their environmental obligations under EU RoHS, REACH, WEEE and packaging directives; China RoHS, Japan Green (JGPSSI), US EPA's TSCA and California Proposition 65 legislation.... more...

...The EnvironCom facility, in Grantham, which housed state-of-the-art recycling technology for waste electrical and electronic (WEEE) items such as refrigerators and cathode ray tubes (CRT), went up in flames in the early hours of Sunday morning. The remains of the building may now have to be torn down and company bosses have called in insurance assessors to review the future of the site.... more...

...Technology is the ideal place for businesses to start tackling green issues because of the speed of progress and adaptation. Two areas are open to improvements: boosting energy efficiency, and the responsible disposal of obsolete hardware. The environmental impact is well-established. Analyst Gartner estimates that IT accounts for two per cent of global carbon emissions, on a par with the airline industry.... more...

...Deepak Nanda, Director, Infotrek Syscom made a rather interesting presentation about e-Waste. He started off with a few statistics that highlighted the magnitude of the problem. The total e-waste in India has been estimated to be 1,46,180 metric tons per year (Source: IRG systems South Asia). Waste is piling up and Mumbai tops the list at present with 11,017 tons followed by Delhi with 9,730 tons and Bangalore with 4,648 tons.... more...

...Reference materials developed by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) are set to help companies and Member States comply with the RoHS (Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment) Directive. As the name suggests, the goal of the RoHS Directive is to protect both human health and the environment by restricting the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.... more...

...During the past couple years, it has become fashionable for companies to focus on being environmentally friendly or "green." New research about global warming, and a revived focus on Earth-friendly products and services on the part of consumers, is driving this trend.... more...

...Whiskering is caused either by stress from a particular manufacturing technique used by makers of servers, floor tiles and other products, or by a cornucopia of factors. Some say the problem can be avoided by not using old or inexpensive materials, while others say new research is required to eliminate the threat. Most data-center equipment manufacturers are taking measures to prevent metal whiskers -- troublesome, tiny filaments that can form on their products' zinc and tin coatings... more...

...If it is true that the carbon dioxide emission consequences of IT are greater than that of the airline industry, it can come as little surprise that the chief information officer is under increasing pressure to prove his or her green credentials. Many large and small organisations in the public and private sector are beginning to take action: from power saving and recycling; flexible working and teleconferencing; to grid computing and virtualisation. Some organisations are further down the road than others - but are they doing enough?... more...

...Make sure that your supply network understands REACH and its need to pre-register otherwise your company may face a potential supply disruption. The new European Union-wide law entitled "Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals", or REACH, went into effect on June 1, 2007. The title would make one think that it's a chemical-related law, so why do manufacturers of electronic products, termed "articles" in REACH-speak, need to worry about a chemical substance regulation?... more...

...At the contractor level once a product is required to be soldered with lead-free solders all the processes must be assessed as to insure the same quality a customer has been accustomed to with a sn63Pb37 process is achieved. The reflow, wave soldering and hand assembly processes must all be optimized carefully to insure good joint formation as per the appropriate class of electronics with new solder alloys and often new fluxes.... more...

...EFD, Inc., a subsidiary of Nordson Corporation has introduced a new no-drip, SAC305 solder paste dispensing formulation for mechanical soldering. This lead-free, no-clean formulation is excellent for gap filling and application on vertical surfaces... more...

...KIC has announced that MB Allen, General Manager of KIC International Sales Inc. - European Operations, will participate in a SMART Group SA-sponsored seminar in South Africa. . . . The seminar will cover component specification, selection and WEEE & RoHS compatible; PCB laminate changes, options and industry trends; using realistic manufacturing tolerances to reduce costs... more...

...This unique patented alloy has been developed as a lead free alternative for those now using costly SAC alloys and for those switching from lead containing Sn63/Pb37 alloys to the lead free process.... more...

...The new system has a load cell and speed range that enables Soldertec Global to experiment with both polymeric and metallic samples on the same equipment. The installation of the Instron 5569 adds to the expanding mechanical testing abilities of the laboratory, which already offers hardness and impact testing.... more...

...Soldertec Global has recently installed an Instron 5569 tensile testing system at its St. Albans based laboratory. The new system has a load cell and speed range that enables Soldertec Global to experiment with both polymeric and metallic samples on the same equipment. The installation of the Instron 5569 adds to the expanding mechanical testing abilities of the laboratory, which already offers hardness and impact testing.... more...

...I'm no expert in manufacturing technology, but I can smell trouble coming a mile away. I believe that our industry, having jumped onto the lead-free bandwagon, is headed towards a train wreck of immense proportions. Please tell your management.... more...

...Papros Inc. will be exhibiting its products for green industrial manufacturing at the International Wafer-Level Packaging Conference, September 17-19, to be held at the Wyndham Hotel in San Jose, California. Papros Inc.’s products offer robust performance, scalability and efficiency for tracking green chemistry in products. . . Papros Inc.’s flagship product for RoHS and REACH compliance tracking is MRPRO. A very easy-to-use program, MRPRO prepares a Product Material Content Report in conformance with WEEE, RoHS (EU, China, California etc.), EIA, IPC, JIG, JGPSSI and JEDEC and other similar evolving standards.... more...

...Shimadzu Scientific Instruments has published a new poster, 'Instrumental and Sampling Requirements for RoHS Compliance'. The production of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) continues to be one of the fastest growing manufacturing sectors in the world. Technological advancements and market expansion have resulted in increasing levels of product replacement and increasing levels of waste.... more...

...Ageus Solutions is pleased to convene a special session on industry compliance practices for environmental regulations across the globe at the upcoming International Symposium on Environmental Standards for Electronics 2007 (ISESE'07- www.isese07.com).... more...

...The SMTA's renowned Lead-Free Symposium is scheduled to take place during its annual SMTA International conference. This year's conference and exhibition will be held at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. The conference will take place October 7-11, and the exhibits will take place October 9-11, 2007. The conference event will feature some of the industry's finest lead-free research.... more...

...The Conservatives will this week call for a Europe-wide ban on electrical appliances with stand-by switches that needlessly waste energy. The party's policy commission on quality of life will call for a massive new commitment to energy efficiency in people's homes. And it will urge party leader David Cameron to make reducing power usage in the electrical appliances the first priority of a government committed to tackling climate change.... more...

...A United Kingdom-based computer recycling company has purchased a processing system from MeWa Recycling Machinery of Germany. Following a number of visits to Austria, Germany and Switzerland by its founder Andrew Braysher, Computer Salvage Specialists, Newbury, U.K., has purchased a plant set-up that includes MeWa’s patented QZ 1400 case-opening machine.... more...

...The EU's RoHS Directive has had a significant effect on the surface mount assembly industry - both positive and negative. But removing lead from electronics products had been a boon for certain SMT equipment providers, specifically screen printers, soldering equipment, cleaning systems, and inspection, claims research firm Frost & Sullivan.... more...

...The SMTA’s renowned Lead-Free Symposium is scheduled to take place during its annual SMTA International conference. This year’s conference and exhibition will be held at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. The conference will take place October 7-11, and the exhibits will take place October 9-11, 2007. The conference event will feature some of the industry’s finest lead-free research.... more...