Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive

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The Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive 2002/95/EC, (RoHS 1) , short for Guidelines on limiting the use of certain hazardous substances in electricity and electronic equipment , adopted in February 2003 by the European Union.

The RoHS 1 Directive shall come into force on 1 July 2006, and shall be upheld and become law in every member country. These directives limit (with the exception of) the use of six hazardous materials in the manufacture of various types of electronic and electrical equipment. This is closely tied to the 2002/96/EC Waste Electrical and Electronics Equipment Guidelines (WEEE) that sets targets for collection, recycling and recovery for electronic goods and is part of a legislative initiative to solve the problem of toxic electronic waste in large quantities. In his speech, RoHS is often spelled, or pronounced , , , or , and refers to EU standards, except if eligible.

Video Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive

Detail

Each EU Member State will adopt its own implementation and implementation policies using guidance as a guide.

RoHS is often referred to as the "lead-free", but limits the use of the following ten substances:

1. Lead (Pb)
2. Mercury (Hg)
3. Cadmium (Cd)
4. Hexavalent chromium (Cr ⁶ )
5. Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB)
6. Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE)
7. Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)
8. Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP)
9. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP)
10. Diisobutyl ftalat (DIBP)

DEHP, BBP, DBP and DIBP were added as part of DIRECTIVE (EU) 2015/863 issued on March 31, 2015.

The UN and PBDE are flame retardants used in some plastics. Hexavalent chromium is used in chrome plating, chromate and primary coatings, and chromic acid.

The maximum permissible concentration in the product that is not excluded is 0.1% or 1000 ppm (except for cadmium, which is limited to 0.01% or 100 ppm) by weight. The restriction is on every homogeneous material in the product, which means that the limit does not apply to the weight of the finished product, or even to the component, but to any substance which can be (theoretically) mechanically separated - for example, a sheath on cable or tin on the main component.

For example, the radio consists of casing, screws, washing machines, circuit boards, speakers, etc. Screws, washers, and casing can be made from homogeneous materials, but other components consist of several sub-components of many different types of materials. For example, a circuit board consists of PCB, IC, resistor, capacitor, switch, etc. A switch consists of a casing, lever, spring, contact, pin, etc., each of which can be made. different materials. The contact may consist of a copper strip with a surface layer. Speakers consist of permanent magnets, copper wire, paper, etc.

Anything that can be identified as a homogeneous material must meet the limit. So if it turns out the case is made of plastic with 2,300 ppm (0.23%) PBB used as flame retardant, then the entire radio will fail to meet the directive requirements.

In an effort to close the RoHS 1 gap, in May 2006 the European Commission was asked to review two categories of currently excluded products (monitoring and control equipment, and medical equipment) for future inclusion in products that must fall into RoHS compliance. In addition, the commission also requests requests for extension of deadlines or for exclusions by substance category, substance or weight location. The new law was published in an official journal in July 2011 that replaced this exclusion.

Note that batteries are not included in the RoHS scope. However, in Europe, the battery is under the 1991 Commission Directive of the European Commission (91/157/EEC), which was recently upgraded in scope and approved in the form of a new battery directive, version 2003/0282 COD, which will become official when submitted and published in the Official Journal of the EU. Although the first Battery Guidelines discusses possible trade barrier problems brought about by the implementation of different member states of Europe, this new directive more explicitly highlights the improvement and environmental protection of the negative impacts of waste contained in the battery. It also contains programs for the more ambitious recycling of industrial, automotive, and consumer batteries, gradually increasing the level of manufacturer-provided collection sites by up to 45% by 2016. It also sets a limit of 5 ppm of mercury and 20 ppm cadmium to batteries unless used in electrical, emergency, or portable appliances. Although it does not set quantitative limits on the amount of lead, lead-acid, nickel, and nickel-cadmium in the battery, it cites the need to limit these substances and provides to recycle up to 75% of batteries with these substances. There are also provisions for marking the battery with symbols in terms of metal content and recycling collection information.

The directive applies to the equipment as defined by the WEEE directive section. The following numeric categories apply:

1. Large home appliances.
2. Small household appliance.
3. IT & amp; Telecommunication equipment (although infrastructure equipment is excluded in some countries)
4. Consumer equipment.
5. Lighting equipment - including light bulbs.
6. Electronic and electrical appliances.
7. Toys, recreation, and sports equipment.
8. Medical devices (release removed in July 2011)
9. Monitoring and control instruments (removal deleted in July 2011)
10. Automatic dispenser.
11. Semiconductor devices

That does not apply to factory and fixed industrial equipment. Compliance is the responsibility of a company that places products on the market, as defined in the Directive; components and sub-assemblies are not responsible for product compliance. Of course, given the fact that the regulation is applied to a homogeneous material level, the data of substance concentration needs to be transferred through the supply chain to the final producer. The IPC standard has recently been developed and published to facilitate the exchange of this data, IPC-1752. This is enabled via two free PDF forms to use.

RoHS applies to these products in EU whether made in EU or imported. Certain exceptions apply, and these are updated on occasions by the European Union.

Examples of product components containing limited substances

RoHS-restricted materials have been used in a wide range of consumer electronics products. Examples of lead-containing components include:

• paint and pigments
• PVC (vinyl) cables as stabilizers (eg power cord, USB cable)
• solders
• printed circuit boards complete, leads, internal and external interconnects
• glass on television and photographic products (for example, CRT television screens and camera lenses)
• metal parts
• lights and lights
battery
• integrated circuit or microchip

Cadmium is found in many of the above components; examples include plastic pigmentation, nickel-cadmium batteries (NiCd) and photocell CdS (used on night lights). Mercury is used in automotive lighting and switch applications; examples include fluorescent lamps and mercury slant switches (these are rarely used today). Hexavalent chromium is used to resolve metals to prevent corrosion. Polyphenyl biphenyl and diphenyl Ether/Oxide are used primarily as flame retardants.

Harmful materials and high-tech waste issues

RoHS and other efforts to reduce harmful materials in electronics are partially motivated to address global issues of consumer electronics waste. As newer technologies arrive at an ever-increasing rate, consumers discard their obsolete products faster than ever. This waste ends up in landfills and in countries like China to be "recycled."

In the fashion-conscious phone market, 98 million US mobile phones took their last call in 2005. All told, the EPA estimates that in the US that year, between 1.5 and 1.9 million tons of computers, TVs, VCRs, monitors, and other equipment is discarded. If all sources of electronic waste are calculated, it could reach 50 million tons per year worldwide, according to the United Nations Environment Program.

American electronics shipped abroad to countries like Ghana in West Africa under the guise of recycling may be more dangerous than good. Not only are adult workers and children in this work poisoned by heavy metals, but these metals return to the US. "The US is currently sending large quantities of tin material to China, and China is the world's major manufacturing center," Dr. Jeffrey Weidenhamer says, a chemistry professor at Ashland University in Ohio. "Not all the surprising things come from the full circle and now we are getting the products contaminated again."

Changes perceptions of toxicity

In addition to the issue of high-tech waste, RoHS reflects contemporary research over the last 50 years in biological toxicology that recognizes the long-term effects of low-level chemical exposure in the population. New tests were able to detect a much smaller concentration of environmental toxins. The researchers linked this exposure to neurological, developmental, and reproductive changes.

RoHS and other environmental laws contradict historical and contemporary laws that seek to overcome only acute toxicology, ie direct exposure to a large number of toxic substances that cause severe injury or death.

Life cycle review of lead-free solder

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published a lifecycle assessment (LCA) on the environmental impact of lead-free lead and lead, as used in electronic products. For bar solders, when only lead-free solder is considered, the lead/copper alternative has the lowest score (best). For paste solder, bismuth/tin/silver has the lowest impact scores among the lead-free alternatives in each category except for non-renewable resource consumption. For solder pastes and bars, all lead-free soldering alternatives have lower (better) LCA scores in the poisoning category than lead/lead solder. This is mainly due to lead toxicity, and the amount of lead absorbed from the printed circuit board assemblies, as determined by the leachability study conducted by the partnership. The study results provide industry with an objective analysis of the life cycle environmental effects of alternative lead-free candidates, enabling industries to consider environmental concerns along with cost and performance parameters that are traditionally evaluated. This assessment also allows the industry to divert efforts towards products and processes that reduce the environmental footprint of fighters, including energy consumption, the release of toxic chemicals, and potential risks to human health and the environment. Other life cycle assessments by IKP, University of Stuttgart, show similar results with the results of the EPA study.

Life cycle review of BFR-free plastic

Prohibition of brominated flame retardants (BFR) concentrations above 0.1% in plastics has affected plastic recycling. As more and more products include recycled plastics, it has become important to know the concentrations of BFR in these plastics, either by tracing the origins of recycled plastics to establish BFR concentrations, or by measuring the BFR concentrations of the samples. Plastics with high concentrations of BFR are expensive to handle or discard, whereas plastics with levels below 0.1% have value as recyclable materials.

There are a number of analytical techniques for rapid measurement of BFR concentrations. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy can confirm the presence of bromine (Br), but it does not show the concentrations of BFR or specific molecules. Mass attachment mass spectrometry (IAMS) can be used to measure the concentration of BFR in plastics. The BFR ban has significantly affected both the selection of upstream - plastic materials - and the recycling of plastic materials - downstream.

2011/65/EU (RoHS 2)

The RoHS 2 Directive (2011/65/EU) is the evolution of the original directive and into law on 21 July 2011 and comes into effect January 2, 2013. It discusses the same substance as original directives while improving regulatory conditions and legal clarity. Regular re-evaluation is required which facilitates the gradual expansion of its requirements to include additional electronic and electrical equipment, cables and parts. The CE logo now shows compliance and the RoHS 2 conformity declaration is now elaborated (see below).

In 2012, the European Commission's final report reveals that some EU Member States consider all toys within the scope of the 2002/95/EC RoHS Directive 1, regardless of whether their primary or secondary functions use electric current or electromagnetic fields. From the application of RoHS 2 or RoHS Recast Directive 2011/65/EU, all the Member States concerned shall comply with the new rules.

The main difference in rearrangement is that it is now necessary to demonstrate conformity in a manner similar to LVD and EMC directives. Can not show compliance in a fairly detailed file, and does not ensure it's implemented in production now is a crime. Like other CE marking instructions that mandate production control and traceability to technical files. This describes two methods for achieving the presumption of conformity (Directive 2011/65/EU Article 16.2), whether technical files must include test data for all materials or standards received in the official journal for directive, use. Currently the only standard is EN50581, a risk-based method for reducing the amount of test data required (Harmonized Standards list for RoHS2, OJEU C363/6).

One consequence of the requirement to demonstrate conformity is the requirement to know the use of exceptions from each component, otherwise it is not possible to know compliance when the product is placed in the market, the only point of time the product should be 'appropriate'. Many do not understand that 'compliance' varies depending on what exceptions apply and is very likely to create products that do not fit the 'appropriate' component. Compliance must be calculated on the day of placement in the market. In reality this means knowing the exception status of all components and using the stock of the old status section before the expiration date of the exclusion (Directive 2011/65/EU Article 7.b refers to Decision 768/2008/EC Module A Control of internal production). Not having a system to manage this can be seen as a lack of perseverance and criminal prosecution could happen (UK Instrument 2012 N. 3032 section 39 Penalty).

RoHS2 also has a more dynamic approach to exceptions, creating an auto expiration if the exception is not updated by requests from industry. Additionally, new substances can be added to the controlled list, with 4 new substances expected to be controlled by 2019. All of this means greater control and information system reform is needed.

Other differences include new responsibilities for importers and distributors and markers to improve traceability to technical files. This is part of the NLF for referrals and makes the supply chain the more active part of the police force (Directive 2011/65/EU Articles 7, 9, 10).

There has been an additional amendment recently 2017/2012 through 2011/65

(EU) 2015/863

The RoHS Directive 2 (2011/65/EU) contains allowances for adding new materials and 4 highlighted materials for this attention in the original version, amending the 2015/863 adds four additives for Annex II of 2011/65/EU (3/4 of new restrictions recommended for inquiry in the original directives, ref Para 10 from opening). This is another reason that the simplest component of the RoHS compliance statement is unacceptable because compliance requirements vary depending on the date the product is placed in the market (ref EN50581: 2012). Four additional substance restrictions and proof requirements shall apply to products placed on the market on or after July 22, 2019 unless the exclusion is permitted as set out in Annex III. Although it should be noted that at the time of writing no exceptions or have been applied, this material. The four additives

1. Bis (2-Ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)
2. Benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP)
3. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP)
4. Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP)

The maximum permissible concentration in non-exempt products is 0.1%.

These new substances are also listed in the Reach candidate list, and DEHP is not authorized to produce (used as substance) in the EU under Appendix XIV Reach.

Maps Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive

Restricted restrictions

There are more than 80 exceptions, some of which are large enough. Exceptions will automatically expire after 5 or 7 years unless updated.

According to Hewlett Packard: "The EU is gradually narrowing the scope and ending many of the current RoHS exclusions and it is also possible that new substance restrictions will be introduced in the next few years."

Some exceptions:

• Lead as an alloying element in steels containing up to 0.35% lead weight, aluminum containing up to 0.4% lead by weight, and copper alloys containing up to 4% lead by weight are permitted. (Category 6c)
• Lead to high melt type solder (ie lead-based solder alloys containing 85% by weight or more of lead). (Category 7a)
• "Leading in soldering for servers, storage and storage array systems, network infrastructure equipment for switching, transmitting, and network management for telecommunications." (Category 7b)
• Cadmium in solar panel - Cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin film PV module in photovoltaic panel. The release of solar panels is in the original RoHS 2003 regulations and it was extended again on May 27, 2011.
• The limited amount of mercury in fluorescent lamps and other lights that are important for its function consists of RoHS 2 Categories 1, 2, 3, and 4

Medical equipment released in original direction. RoHS 2 narrows the scope of exceptions to only implanted active medical devices (Category 4h). In Vitro Diagnostic Devices (IVDD) and other medical devices are now included.

Automotive vehicles excluded (category 4f). Vehicles are even discussed in the End of Time Vehicle Manual (Directive 2000/53/EC).

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Labeling and documentation

Products within the scope of the RoHS2 directive must display the CE mark, manufacturer name and address and serial number or batch. Parties that need to know more detailed compliance information may find it in the Declaration of Conformity of the EU for products made by manufacturers (owners of Marks) responsible for EU design or representation. The regulation also requires most actors in the supply chain for products (importers and distributors) to store and inspect this document, as well as ensure that conformity processes have been followed and correct language translations for instruction are provided. The manufacturer should keep certain documentation to indicate conformity, known as a technical file or technical note. The directive requires the manufacturer to demonstrate conformity by using test data for all materials or by following harmonized standards (EN50581: 2012 is the only standard at time of writing). The regulator may request this file or, more likely, specific data from it as it will most likely be very large.

History

RoHS does not require special product labeling, but many manufacturers have adopted their own compliance marks to reduce confusion. Visual indicators have included explicit "RoHS compliant" labels, green leaves, check marks and "PB-Free" signs. Chinese RoHS label, lowercase "e" in circles with arrows, can also imply compliance.

RoHS 2 seeks to address this issue by requiring the CE marks mentioned above whose use is supervised by the Trade Standard enforcement agency. It states that only the allowable indications of RoHS compliance are CE marks. The related WEEE (Electrical Waste and Electronic Equipment Equipment), which became law coinciding with RoHS, portrays the waste-can logo with "X" through it and often accompanies the CE mark.

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Future additions may

New substance restrictions are considered for introduction in the next few years including phthalates, Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs), Chlorinated Flame Retardants (CFRs), and PVC.

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Other regions

Asia/Pacific Asia/Pacific Asia/Pacific

Order of China No. 39

Recent Actions for Product Control and Information Administration (often referred to as China RoHS ) have the stated intention to set similar restrictions, but actually require a very different approach. Unlike the EU RoHS, where products in certain categories are included unless specifically excluded, there will be a list of products included, known as catalogs - see Article 18 rules - which will be part of the total scope Electronic Information Products, or EIP, for which the rules apply. Initially, the products included in the coverage covered should provide a sign and disclosure of the existence of certain substances, while the substance itself (not yet) is prohibited. There are some products that EIPs, which are not within the scope of EU for RoHS, for example. radar system, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, photomask, etc. The EIP list is available in Chinese and English. The marking and disclosure aspect of the regulation was intended to take effect on 1 July 2006, but was postponed twice until March 1, 2007. There is no schedule for this catalog yet.

Japan

Japan has no direct law relating to the substance of RoHS, but its recycling laws have encouraged Japanese manufacturers to switch to lead-free processes in accordance with RoHS guidelines. A ministerial regulation of the Japanese Industrial Standard for Specific Chemical Significance (J-MOSS), effective from 1 July 2006, directs that some electronic products that exceed a certain number of toxic substances nominated must carry a warning. label.

South Korea

South Korea announced the Act for Recycling of Electrical and Electronic Equipment and Vehicles on April 2, 2007. This regulation has aspects of RoHS, WEEE, and ELV.

Turkish

Turkey announces the adoption of their Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Act in June 2009.

North America

California has passed the Electronic Waste Recycling Act 2003 (EWRA). This law prohibits the sale of electronic devices after January 1, 2007, which is prohibited from being sold under the RoHS EU directive, but in a much narrower scope which includes LCDs, CRTs and the like and covers only four heavy metals limited by RoHS. EWRA also has limited material disclosure requirements.

Effective January 1, 2010, the California Lighting Efficiency and Toxics Reduction Act applies RoHS to general purpose lights, namely "lamps, lamps, tubes, or other electrical devices that provide functional lighting for indoor, indoor, indoor and outdoor use."

Other US states and cities are debating whether to adopt a similar law, and there are some states with mercury and PBDE restrictions.

ireland

Standards and certifications worldwide are available under QC 080000 standards, set by the National Standards Authority of Ireland, to ensure control of hazardous substances in industrial applications.

Swedish

In 2012, the Swedish Chemical Agency (Kemi) and the Electrical Safety Authority tested 63 consumer electronics products and found that 12 were disobedient. Kemi claims that this is similar to test results from previous years. "Eleven products contain prohibited tin content, and one of the retardant diphenyl ether of polybrominated flame, details of seven companies have been submitted to Swedish prosecutors Kemi said that the level of non-compliance against RoHS is similar to previous years, and remains too high."

src: rohs-guide.com

Other standards

RoHS is not the only environmental standard that the developers of electronic products must realize. Manufacturers will find that it is cheaper to have only one bill of material for products distributed worldwide, rather than adjusting the product to comply with country-specific environmental legislation. Therefore, they develop their own standards, which only allow the most stringent substances.

For example, IBM forces each of their suppliers to complete a Product Content Declaration form to document compliance with their environmental standards 'Basic Environmental Requirements for Materials, Parts and Products for IBM Logo Hardware Products'. Thus, IBM prohibited DecaBDE, although there was previously a release of RoHS for this material (canceled by the European Court in 2008).

Similarly, this is Hewlett-Packard's environmental standard.

Criticism

Adverse effects on product quality and reliability, plus high adherence costs (especially for small businesses) are cited as criticisms of referrals, as well as preliminary studies demonstrating that the life-cycle benefits of lead-free solder compared to traditional solder materials are mixed.

Criticism from the beginning came from an industry resistant to changes and misconceptions about the process of soldering and soldering. Misinformation is deliberately fed against what is considered a "non-tariff barrier made by European bureaucrats." Many believe that industry is now more powerful through this experience and have a better understanding of the science and technology involved.

One criticism of RoHS is that restrictions on lead and cadmium do not address some of their most productive applications, while expensive for the electronics industry to comply with. In particular, the total lead used in electronics accounts for only 2% of the world's lead consumption, while 90% of the lead is used for batteries (covered by battery directives, as mentioned above, which require recycling and limiting the use of mercury and cadmium, but not limiting lead). Another criticism is that less than 4% of lead in landfill is due to electronic components or circuit boards, while about 36% is due to leaded glass in cathode ray tube monitors and televisions, which can contain up to 2kg per screen.

More common lead-free soldering systems have higher melting points, eg. a typical difference of 30 ° C for a tin-silver-copper alloy, but the wave soldering temperature is approximately equal to ~ 255 ° C; However at this temperature most of the lead free solder has longer wetting time than the eutectic 37:63 Pb/Sn solder. In addition, the wetting force is usually lower, which can be detrimental (to fill the hole), but is advantageous in other situations (close-range components).

Care should be taken in the choice of RoHS soldering because some formulations are harder with less ductility, increasing the chances of cracking than plastic deformation, which is typical for lead-containing solder. Cracks may occur due to thermal or mechanical forces acting on components or circuit boards, the former being more common during manufacturing and the latter in the field. RoHS solders show advantages and disadvantages in this regard, depending on the packaging and formulation.

The Conformity magazine editor wondered in 2005 if the transition to lead-free solder would affect the reliability of long-term electronic devices and systems, especially in applications more important than consumer products, citing possible violations due to other environmental factors such as oxidation. The 2005 Farnell/Newark InOne "RoHS Legislation and Technical Manual ", cites the problem of "lead-free" solder, such as:

1. Warping or delamination of printed circuit boards;
2. Damage through holes, ICs and components on circuit boards; and,
3. Adds moisture sensitivity, all of which can impair quality and reliability.

Effects on reliability

The potential for reliability concerns is discussed in Appendix to item # 7 of the RoHS directive, providing some special exceptions from the regulations until 2010. These issues were raised when referrals were first implemented in 2003 and the effect of reliability is less known.

Another potential problem that may be encountered by some high lead-free lead is the growth of tin whiskers. These thin tin rolls can grow and come into contact with adjacent trails, developing short circuits. Historically tin whiskers have been associated with several failures, including nuclear power plant shutdown and pacemaker events where pure coating is used. However, this failure is before the RoHS date. They also do not involve consumer electronics, and therefore may use substances that are restricted to RoHS if desired. To help reduce potential problems, lead-based producers use various approaches such as tin-zinc formulations that produce whiskers or non-conductive formulations that reduce growth, although they do not stop growth entirely in all circumstances. Fortunately, experience so far shows that examples of products that apply to RoHS do not fail because of the growth of whiskers. Dr Ronald Lasky from Dartmouth College reports: "RoHS has been in effect for more than 15 months now, and a $ 400B-RoHS-compliant product has been produced." With all of these products in the field, no significant amount of lead tin - related failures have been reported. "The growth of a mustache takes place slowly over time, unpredictable, and not fully understood, so time may be the only true test of this endeavor. The growth of whiskers can even be observed for lead-based solder, albeit on a much smaller scale.

Some countries have excluded medical and telecommunications infrastructure products from the law. However, this may be a moot point, since as manufacturers of electronic components change their production lines to produce only lead-free parts, conventional parts with lead-tin eutectic leads will not be available, even for military, aerospace and industrial users. As far as solder is concerned, this is at least partially offset by the compatibility of lead-free components with a tin-containing solder process. Leadframe-based components, such as Quad Flat Packages (QFP), Small Outline Integrated Circuits (SOIC), and Small outline packages (SOPs) with gull wing leads, are generally compatible because the finish on the lead portion contributes a small amount of material to the connections done. However, components such as Ball Grid Arrays (BGA) that come with lead-free solder balls and unleaded parts are often not compatible with lead-filled processes.

Economic effects

There are no exclusions for de minimis , e.g., For micro businesses. These economic effects are anticipated and at least some attempts to reduce the effects are made.

Another form of economic effect is the cost of product failure during the transition to RoHS compliance. For example, a tin whisker is responsible for a 5% failure rate in certain Swiss Swatch watch components in 2006, prior to the adoption of RoHS in July, which reportedly triggered a recall of 1 billion US dollars.

Benefits

Health benefits

RoHS helps reduce damage to humans and the environment in third world countries where much of today's "high-tech waste" ends. The use of solder and lead-free components reduces the risk for electronic industry workers in prototype and manufacturing operations. Contact with solder paste no longer represents the same health hazards as before.

Unsold reliability worries

Contrary to widespread component failure predictions and reduced reliability, the first anniversary of RoHS (July 2007) passed with a bit of fanfare. Most of contemporary consumer electronics are RoHS standards. In 2013, millions of obedient products are used worldwide.

Many electronics companies keep a "RoHS status" page on their company's website. For example, the AMD website states:

Although lead-containing solder can not be completely eliminated from all current applications, AMD engineers have developed effective technical solutions to reduce lead content in microprocessors and chipsets to ensure RoHS compliance while minimizing costs and maintaining product features. No suitable changes, functional, electrical or performance specifications. The quality and reliability standards for RoHS compliant products are expected to be identical in comparison with the current package.

RoHS printed circuit boards solve technology beyond traditional formulations in thermal shock fabrication, solder paste printability, contact resistance, and aluminum wire bond performance and approximate their performance in other attributes.

The lead-free solder properties, such as high temperature resistance, have been used to prevent failure under harsh field conditions. These conditions include operating temperatures with a test cycle in the range of -40 ° C to 150 ° C with heavy vibration and shock requirements. Automakers are now turning to RoHS solutions when electronics move into engine space.

Property and assembly flow

One of the main differences between solder paste containing lead and free lead is the solder flow in liquid form. Lead-containing solder has a lower surface tension, and tends to move slightly to attach itself to an open metal surface that touches each part of the liquid solder. The lead-free solder is otherwise likely to remain in place in its liquid state, and attach itself to an open metal surface only when the molten solder touches it.

This lack of "flow" - while commonly seen as a disadvantage because it can cause lower quality electrical connections - can be used to place components more densely than those used to be placed due to the nature of lead solder.

For example, Motorola reported that their new RoHS wireless device assembly technique is "... enabling smaller, thinner, lighter units." Their Motorola Q phones will not be possible without new solder. Lead-free solder allows tighter mileage.

Some excluded products achieve compliance

Research on alloys and new technologies allows companies to release RoHS products that are currently excluded from compliance, for example computer servers. IBM has announced a RoHS solution for a high lead soldering joint that was once regarded as a permanent exception. Tin-free packaging technology "... offers economic advantages in relation to traditional collision processes, such as reduction of soldering waste, the use of bulk alloys, faster time to market for products and much lower levels of chemical use."

Testing and measurement vendors, such as National Instruments, have also begun producing RoHS-compliant products, although devices in this category are excluded from the RoHS directive.

See also

• ACHIEVE
• Battery Instructions
• Electronic trash
• Green computing
• Mass attachment mass spectrometry - used to enforce the RoHS limit on banned substances
• Safe work practices in the U.S.
• List of EU directives
• Waste Guidelines for Electrical and Electronic Equipment

References

Further reading

• Hwang, Jennie S. (2004). Introduction to Lead-Free Electronics Implementation . McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN: 0-07-144374-6.

External links

• RoHS compliance guide for businesses on NetRegs.gov.uk
• RoHS compliance in EU - www.rohs.eu
• Official website of United Kingdom on RoHS
• EU RoHS Enforcement Document Document, V.1; RoHS Law Enforcement Authority EU Informal Network; May 2006
• Free-Lead Soldier Property National Institute of Standards and Technology
• Industry Compliance Support with EU Directives on Restrictions on Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) at nist.gov
• Significant link for CE Marking in the UK
• Case study of RoHS2 compliance

Source of the article : Wikipedia