Lead-Free Zone Blog

Hi, this is Design News contributing editor, Rob Spiegel. Welcome to my Lead-Free Zone blog. This is your opportunity (and mine) to discuss RoHS and other environmental issues. Green regulations have produced waves of industry confusion, and I do not expect things to clear up quickly. So use this blog to inform us of your opinions, to instruct us all on what you\'re doing about this initiative, or just to blow off some steam.

U.S. RoHS bill causing controversy

Posted by Rob Spiegel on November 20, 2009

A bill proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 2024) proposes to ban the same six substances banned in the European Union RoHS. But the exceptions are far different from the European bill, which is causing controversy among trade associations in the electronics industry. An article in EDN, a sister publication to Design News, presents comments from major players behind the bill, includ ...... Read More

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Industries: Electronics/Test , Green Engineering

Balver Zinn introduces two new lead-free solders

Posted by Rob Spiegel on October 30, 2009

An article in EMT World notes that Balver Zinn will introduce two lead-free solders based on the Iowa State Patent at the Prodcutronica trade fair in Munich November 10 - 13. First is the i-SAC 387 Solder, which adds Cobalt (Co). The company notes the melting characteristic of silver containing alloys has been improved with the addition of Cobalt. The solder also includes Germanium (Ge), which was ...... Read More

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Industries: Green Engineering , Electronics/Test

China RoHS will be covered at IPC Green conference

Posted by Rob Spiegel on October 27, 2009

Earlier this month, the Chinese government released its initial list of products subject to RoHS-like substance restrictions. The new restrictions, along with the criteria for future products to be added to the list, will be discussed in detail at the It’s Not Easy Being Green conference produced by the Association Connecting Electronics Industries (IPC) on November 10, 2009 in Irvine, Cali ...... Read More

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Industries: Electronics/Test , Green Engineering

Embedded capacitors OK in lead-free processes

Posted by Rob Spiegel on October 24, 2009

According to an article on the website of the Association Connecting Electronics Industries (IPC), embedded capacitors now work well in lead-free processes. The article by IPC online editor Terry Costlow notes that as chips and boards continue evolving to higher densities and faster speeds, there’s a growing drive to save space by embedding capacitors within the circuit board layers. ȁ ...... Read More

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Industries: Electronics/Test , Green Engineering

REACH tool as SaaS solution

Posted by Rob Spiegel on October 21, 2009

YASH Technologies of East Moline Ill. has launched inREACH, an on-demand web-based tool for managing REACH compliance. YASH created the software as a means to simplify the complex REACH legislation into a step-by-step process. inREACH integrates six core modules for REACH compliance: Master data with product (substance) and supplier/customer management Supply chain communication SIEF & co ...... Read More

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China releases RoHS catalog

Posted by Rob Spiegel on October 14, 2009

According to Michael Kirschner, president of Design Chain Associates in San Francisco, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has just issued the proposed Key Administrative Catalog for the Pollution Control of Electronic Information Products (Batch 1). Kirschner notes that “this is the infamous ‘catalog’ for which Phase 2 restriction requirements will ...... Read More

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U.S. car makers launch lead-free test plan

Posted by Rob Spiegel on October 12, 2009

U.S. automakers are working together to remove lead from vehicle electronics. A project team under The United States Council for Automotive Research - which includes Chrysler, Ford and GM - has developed a Lead-Free Solder Validation Test Plan. Developed through its Vehicle Recycling Partnership (VRP) program, the test plan was designed for suppliers of audio components, instrument clusters, engin ...... Read More

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Paper on environmental compliance management

Posted by Rob Spiegel on October 8, 2009

GreenSoft Technology Inc., an environmental compliance management company in South Pasadena, Calif., has released a complimentary copy of the white paper, “Compliance Management for OEM-Specific RoHS/REACH SVHC Requirements.” The paper was produced to describe the best practices of environmental compliance management on subsystems or modules to comply with an OEM requirement like IBM ...... Read More

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Major firms remove hazardous materials from electronic products

Posted by Rob Spiegel on October 6, 2009

Two non-profit organizations, ChemSec and Clean Production Action (CPA), have released a research report on companies that are leading the electronics industry by moving away from chemicals that can lead to health and environmental problems. The report, “Greening Consumer Electronics: Moving Away from Bromine and Chlorine,” identifies seven companies that have engineered environmenta ...... Read More

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California revises proposal for Safer Alternatives Regulation

Posted by Rob Spiegel on October 5, 2009

According to a Design Chain Associates (DCA) in San Francisco, the California Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) has issued a significant revision to the straw proposal for the Safer Alternatives Regulation. “The new draft narrows the scope but still potentially includes products like printers, electronic toys and computing equipment used in the K-12 school environment,” sa ...... Read More

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IPC offers two-day conference on green compliance

Posted by Rob Spiegel on September 29, 2009

The Association Connecting Electronics Industries (IPC) will present a two-day conference on green engineering on November 10 and 11 at the Marriott Hotel in Irvine, Calif. It’s Not Easy Being Green: Complying with Changing Global Environment Laws will be held Tuesday, November 10, and IPC Materials Conference: Engineering for Compliance will be held Wednesday, November 11. Both programs r ...... Read More

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GreenSoft enhances GreenData Manager – REACH

Posted by Rob Spiegel on September 24, 2009

GreenSoft Technology Inc. of South Pasadena, Calif. has released an enhanced version of its GreenData Manager - REACH (GDM-REACH). The tool was designed to help suppliers comply with material composition declaration requirements from their OEMs. GreenSoft has added requirements such as IBM ES 46G3772 and HP GSE-011, Motorola W-18 and Sony ss00259 to its rule-sets within GDM-REACH. According to Gr ...... Read More

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