EU lead-free directive

Hi,

This comes in mid-2006 and AIUI requires that lead content is below
0.1%.

Surely, one could achieve this by making the overall product heavier?

Or does it work on a per-circuit-board basis? In that case, the lead
in standard solder will probably weigh more than 0.1% of the weight of
the populated PCB....

This could be a serious problem for any company that is slowly running
down a stock of old chips. These won't be lead-free, and neither will
be any chips purchased from the many used chip vendors who pass on
surplus stock. I expect a lot of their business will dry up since many
companies are requiring *zero* lead content on *all* components.

Any views?

Peter wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> This comes in mid-2006 and AIUI requires that lead content is below
> 0.1%.
> 
> Surely, one could achieve this by making the overall product heavier?
> 
> Or does it work on a per-circuit-board basis? In that case, the lead
> in standard solder will probably weigh more than 0.1% of the weight of
> the populated PCB....
> 
> This could be a serious problem for any company that is slowly running
> down a stock of old chips. These won't be lead-free, and neither will
> be any chips purchased from the many used chip vendors who pass on
> surplus stock. I expect a lot of their business will dry up since many
> companies are requiring *zero* lead content on *all* components.
> 
> Any views?

I heard that too, that you can pass the limits by
delivering the electronics on top of a 5 pound solid
steel slab. That is almost infinitely silly.

Since the leaded cases can easily be combined with the
rest of the leadfree technology, eg leadfree pcb,
leadfree solder, ... I'd just use up the stock
and just don't tell anyone.

Rene

Peter schrieb:

> This comes in mid-2006 and AIUI requires that lead content is below
> 0.1%.
> 
> Surely, one could achieve this by making the overall product heavier?
> 
> Or does it work on a per-circuit-board basis? In that case, the lead
> in standard solder will probably weigh more than 0.1% of the weight of
> the populated PCB....

It works on a per-material basis.

> This could be a serious problem for any company that is slowly running
> down a stock of old chips. These won't be lead-free, and neither will
> be any chips purchased from the many used chip vendors who pass on
> surplus stock. I expect a lot of their business will dry up since many
> companies are requiring *zero* lead content on *all* components.

Yes, it is a problem, and it has already been discussed here and elsewhere.

-- 
Dipl.-Ing. Tilmann Reh
http://www.autometer.de - Elektronik nach Ma�.

Rene Tschaggelar schrieb:

> Since the leaded cases can easily be combined with the
> rest of the leadfree technology, eg leadfree pcb,
> leadfree solder, ... I'd just use up the stock
> and just don't tell anyone.

You're wrong, it works vice versa: you can easily use lead-free parts in a
lead-containing process (except for BGAs, and unless the higher soldering
temperature won't damage the older parts that were built for lower temperatures).
Once you have switched to leadfree solder in the wave soldering machine, any
lead-containing part (especially PCBs with HAL) will contaminate the solder. Of
course you need /many/ parts before the solder reaches 0.1% lead...

(SMT/Reflow is much simpler in this concern, as the solder does not touch
anything else.)

-- 
Dipl.-Ing. Tilmann Reh
http://www.autometer.de - Elektronik nach Ma�.

 Tilmann Reh <tilmannreh@despammed.com> wrote:

>> Or does it work on a per-circuit-board basis? In that case, the lead
>> in standard solder will probably weigh more than 0.1% of the weight of
>> the populated PCB....
>
>It works on a per-material basis.

What does this mean?

Peter schrieb:

>>> Or does it work on a per-circuit-board basis? In that case, the lead
>>> in standard solder will probably weigh more than 0.1% of the weight of
>>> the populated PCB....
>>
>>It works on a per-material basis.
> 
> What does this mean?

Each material must be RoHS conform, for example contain less than 0.1% lead
(similar tresholds exist for the other "evil" substances).

As an example, often an IC is used: it consists of
a) the die itself
b) the leadframe
c) the expoxy encasing
d) the surface finish of the leads.

*Each* of these materials must conform to the RoHS directive.

Another example is a simple cable, where the metal wire is defined as a single
material and the plastic insulation as another material, and both must conform
to the RoHS limits.

For assembled boards, this extents to the PCB base material, its surface finish
(HAL) where it persists after soldering, the solder, and all parts (for those
see above).

-- 
Dipl.-Ing. Tilmann Reh
http://www.autometer.de - Elektronik nach Ma�.

 Tilmann Reh <tilmannreh@despammed.com> wrote:

>Each material must be RoHS conform, for example contain less than 0.1% lead
>(similar tresholds exist for the other "evil" substances).
>
>As an example, often an IC is used: it consists of
>a) the die itself
>b) the leadframe
>c) the expoxy encasing
>d) the surface finish of the leads.
>
>*Each* of these materials must conform to the RoHS directive.
>
>Another example is a simple cable, where the metal wire is defined as a single
>material and the plastic insulation as another material, and both must conform
>to the RoHS limits.
>
>For assembled boards, this extents to the PCB base material, its surface finish
>(HAL) where it persists after soldering, the solder, and all parts (for those
>see above).

Thank you for the explanation. This in effect means that chips (SMT ot
PTH) with leaded solder on their legs cannot be used.

There will be a LOT of stock being scrapped. Smaller companies will
just lie :) Remove the datecodes on any such chips of course, as
anything dated before about 2004 isn't likely to be ROHS compliant.

A really stupid regulation, given the huge amount of lead used in car
batteries for example....

On Tue, 31 May 2005 14:16:10 +0200, Rene Tschaggelar <none@none.net>
wrote:

[...]
>
>I heard that too, that you can pass the limits by
>delivering the electronics on top of a 5 pound solid
>steel slab. That is almost infinitely silly.

I am reminded of a mass-produced packaged "lunch" sold by a well-known
American company that consists of crackers, lunch meat (e.g., cold
ham, turkey, or sausage), cheese slices, a small candy bar, and a
container of fruit juice.  Because of the labeling laws in the U.S.,
the weight of the juice was included in the weight of the product, and
the weight of "fat" as a proportion of the total weight of the product
was below a specified threshold, so it could be sold as "low fat."

Regards,

                               -=Dave
-- 
Change is inevitable, progress is not.

"Peter" <z180@nospam24.com> schreef in bericht
news:unfo91l75645teuplpd7omgonj2nndst2m@4ax.com...
> Hi,
>
> This comes in mid-2006 and AIUI requires that lead content is below
> 0.1%.
>
> Surely, one could achieve this by making the overall product heavier?
>
> Or does it work on a per-circuit-board basis? In that case, the lead
> in standard solder will probably weigh more than 0.1% of the weight of
> the populated PCB....
>
> This could be a serious problem for any company that is slowly running
> down a stock of old chips. These won't be lead-free, and neither will
> be any chips purchased from the many used chip vendors who pass on
> surplus stock. I expect a lot of their business will dry up since many
> companies are requiring *zero* lead content on *all* components.
>
> Any views?

It's laws and directives on one side, and people and companies not
(fully) complying with them on the other side. It has always been
that way. So you can take a risk, pay a fine if you get caught, and
probably a very damn small one, if you explain your situation. Soup
is not consumed as hot as it is prepared.

-- 
Thanks, Frank.
(remove 'q' and 'invalid' when replying by email)

Peter schrieb:

> A really stupid regulation, given the huge amount of lead used in car
> batteries for example....

Exactly. And particularly these are one of the exceptions, and will be used
without any change.

-- 
Dipl.-Ing. Tilmann Reh
http://www.autometer.de - Elektronik nach Ma�.