China's RoHS-like ban on hazardous substances has hit the electronics industry with a loud, confusing thud last fall, leaving scores of unanswered questions. Even exemptions are unclear. China hasn't yet released its catalog of exemptions even though the directive's deadline matches the European Union's (EU) impending July 1, 2006 date.
The labeling rules are unwieldy. OEMs need to include country of origin, estimated "safe-use life" dates, a list of materials in the package, the composition of the box and packaging materials, even the chemicals used in the ink on the box. The labeling rules alone suggest companies may have to design products specifically for China.
China reserves the right to add new materials to the six restricted in the EU's directive and the law doesn't spell out the permissible levels of the banned substances. China's directive can be reviewed for possible revision every year, contrasting with the EU schedule of every three years.
Perhaps the most unsettling provision is the rule that insists products must be tested for compliance before they hit China's shores. Components and products must have a compliance certificate from state authorities before they enter China, so they will be inspected at the port of entry. Many OEMs view China's RoHS law as an obstructive trade practice that gives preferential treatment to China's domestic OEMs which will be able to comply with the law much more easily.
A new battery design, which replaces lithium with abundant and low-cost elemental sulfur, is still in its nascent stages but shows real promise for giving batteries more energy potential.
The push to achieving more intelligent, integrated manufacturing is putting a strong focus on networking and connectivity as key enabling technologies.
Now that solar and wind harvesting technologies are a thriving market, researchers are seeking other environmentally related energy sources for which they can create harvesting devices.
Surveillance, reconnaissance, and search and rescue in military and first responder situations are popular applications for aerial robots. Yet not all the robots are considered unmanned aerial vehicles.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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China's RoHS-like ban on hazardous substances has hit the electronics industry with a loud, confusing thud last fall, leaving scores of unanswered questions. Even exemptions are unclear. China hasn't yet released its catalog of exemptions even though the directive's deadline matches the European Union's (EU) impending July 1, 2006 date.
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