Green Data Exchange Content Surpasses 1 Million Parts

EMSNow: Q Point Technology has announced that content in Green Data Exchange (GDX) now texceeds 1 million items. GDX users have access to the entire repository of shared parts and assemblies. Data includes RoHS, REACH, full substance disclosure, and supporting documentation, such as test reports and declarations of conformance. The growth in content increases the availability of compliance information and further reduces the cost of compliance.

GDX serves as he compliance technical data file, allowing product manufacturers to maintain current compliance data for all their products and assemblies. As an online exchange, suppliers can access the system at no cost, and provide declaration data that can be shared with the supply chain. Maintaining information is dramatically simplified, as suppliers can update information in one place, and subsequently all customers automatically have access to updated data. GDX reduces the supplier burden of managing numerous individual information requests, including repeat requests for compliance updates.

Electronics Goes Green 2012+

Abstracts should cover at least one of the following topics:

Legislative Developments
Life Cycle Engineering
Critical Resources and Sustainability
Green IT
New Technologies
Corporate Social Responsibility and Management

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Consultation website for REACH 2012 review goes live

Chemical Watch : "Belgian environmental law consultancy Milieu has set up a website that will act as an official channel for stakeholders to give their views to a review of the REACH Regulation's relationship with other EU laws. Recently the European Commission contracted Milieu and three other companies, Pace, DHI and PTK, to complete a research project for the review by August 2011. The firms will compare REACH and the 167 other items of legislation they have..."

Cytotoxicity of silver solder employed in orthodontics

Scopus: "The results revealed a maximum response rate for the silver soldering group, as well as severe inhibition of cell proliferation and growth, more round cells with mostly darkened and granular aspects, suggesting lysis with cell death. A similar response was seen in the positivecontrol group.

Conclusion: The hypothesis is rejected. The silver soldering used in orthodontics represents a highly cytotoxic material for the cells analyzed."

Get ready for REACH and RoHS 2

EDT | Purchasing: "Electronics buyers may not yet need a degree in environmental law to do their jobs, but it wouldn't hurt.

That's because since the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) law went into effect three years ago, there have been a plethora of laws passed by countries, U.S. states and Canadian provinces affecting the electronics supply chain.

Many are RoHS-type laws modeled after the EU's directive that restricts lead, mercury, cadmium and several other substances from being used in electronics equipment sold in Europe. Countries such as China, Korea, Turkey and Ukraine and the state of California have passed their own versions of RoHS.

Others laws such as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive require OEMs to dispose of products they manufacture in an environmentally responsible way once the equipment reaches end of life."

IPC Midwest Promises Provocative Reliability Debate

PCB007: "These include a series on quality and reliability, sessions on fighting counterfeiting head on and grappling with environmental regulations, and a revealing look into the clash between the military's reliance of tin-lead and the commercial industry's drive to lead free.

A provocative debate on lead-free solder reliability models leads off the Wednesday track on quality and reliability. Industry experts Jean-Paul Clech, Ph.D., EPSI; Werner Engelmaier, Engelmaier Associates; and Ganesh Subbaraya, Purdue University; will face off in a 'cage match' as proponents of distinct models.

The discussions will move from the theoretical to standards of testing when the Solder Products Value Council highlights their work on take action limits for lead-free solder pot contamination and developing consensus on test methods for lead-free alloy comparison. Concurrent sessions will scrutinize quality and reliability issues from the printed board and assembly perspectives.

Research papers on reliability and solder joint integrity as well as the base material and fiber weave of high frequency printed boards round out the study of quality and reliability issues that today's engineers must recognize and address."

IPC Midwest Programme

Industry launches REACH compliance program for suppliers

EMSNow: "'Philips has decided not to receive REACH compliance information individually from each of our suppliers each time a new list is published' said Jan-Willem Scheijgrond, Senior Director Environment, Health & Safety at Philips Corporate. 'Instead, we require all of our suppliers to comply with these REACH obligations by joining BOMcheck - the centralised, open-access substances declarations web database.'

The ECHA Guidance highlights that 'Supply chain communication is the most important and effective way of gathering the information needed to identify compliance obligations under REACH. In this regard, establishing communication standards for the supply chain is an important task for the private sector in order to facilitate the implementation of REACH'.

BOMcheck provides this communication standard. The industry-wide initiative is led by the European trade association COCIR (www.cocir.org) and has been developed by ENVIRON."

Solder Vendors Say No Plans to Kill RMA Flux

Circuits Assembly: "Solder vendors are denying reports of plans to eliminate a type of flux classified in industry standards as rosin mildly activated (RMA).

On an industry email forum Friday, an engineer at a large defense contractor said he had heard from solder reps of a consensus to discontinue RMA fluxes due to a lack of general use.

The engineer said the reps were with Kester and Alpha Metals.

Meanwhile, a veteran engineer at another major defense contractor said he had heard similar rumors from colleagues.

However, the vendors disputed the reports. Paul Lotosky, global director, customer technical support at Cookson, said, “I can confidently state that Alpha has no plans to discontinue producing currently available RMA fluxes, including the ROL1 Solderability Test Flux.”"

IPC Publish REACH Guidebook

IPC: IPC, in conjunction with ERA Technology Limited, has developed REACH and the Electronics Industry Supply Chain: The Basics, the Impact, and How to Survive to provide you with all of the information you need. 

The guidebook includes:

- An overview of the REACH regulation, including a timetable of activities and better knowledge of which substances are considered hazardous ….these substances may be present in your materials and may need to be eliminated! 

- An explanation of electronics manufacturer obligations under the regulation and the ramifications of non-compliance 

 

- Insight into the pre-registration and registration process 

 

- Specific details on the REACH implications, including analysis of how each segment of the supply chain will be impacted. 

The Guidebook can be downloaded at www.ipc.org/ReachGuidebook for $50 ($25 for IPC members). 

REACH Impact on Electronics Greater Than RoHS

Factiva: "It has been estimated that the financial impact on electronics manufacturers of Reach will be 12 times greater than that of RoHS, which covers a narrow scope of substances in electronic products comprising about 100 different chemicals. This contrasts with Reach, which will cover about 30,000 unique chemicals."