Resources
This blog is intended to provide a forum in which iNEMI members can share information about environmental issues. We hope to provide useful information as well as stimulate valuable discussion. That means we want to hear from you!
Our primary focus is on emerging environmental legislation and how companies are dealing with the challenges of RoHS deployment. We hope you'll share information with other iNEMI members. We're interested in breaking news, questions and concerns, warnings and solutions.
You can add a comment to any posting; and you can respond to others' comments. If you have new information or topics you'd like to share,
contact us about becoming a blog contributor.
Just a reminder: this blog is accessible to iNEMI members only and requires the iNEMI username and password to log in.
Pb Exemption vs. SnPb BGAs — Hobson's Choice? (October 5, 2006) — iNEMI’s
High-Reliability RoHS Task Force is predominately made up of telecom,
high-end computer, automotive, and EMS firms. These are all companies
that are taking advantage of the Pb exemption or are out of scope for
EU RoHS for at least part of their product portfolio. Several
position papers
have been written by the group that help to communicate the needs of
this industry segment to the supply base. While the technical
recommendations of these documents are seeing good adoption, there
remains one significant issue: the availability of SnPb-compatible
BGAs. Today’s component supply base has rapidly converted over to SAC
BGAs, driven by the high-volume markets that have converted to Pb-free.
Even more troubling is the ongoing errosion of SnPb BGA supply as time
goes on. Last week, we met at
SMTA International to
form a new group that will focus on this problem. We invited other
segments that are also impacted (medical, aerospace, defense, etc.).
Some conclusions of this session ... (
read more)
RoHS Happens (September 26, 2006) — You may think RoHS is a train wreck . . . or maybe a disaster waiting to happen. You may agree with
London Daily Telegraph columnist Christopher Booker that this may be "the craziest EU law of all." You may even hold out hope that RoHS might possibly be repealed or softened through exemptions. But whatever you think of the situation, one thing is certain: RoHS is here to stay. It's here, it's being enforced, and we are having to address it. If there is any lesson to be learned from RoHS, it is that the electronics industry needs to be prepared and to be proactive ... (
read more)