Applied QED Solutions - Press Release

Press Release: A Note from the Desk of Joseph C. Ledoux On RoHS Compliancy

April 5, 2006

The requirement for the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) is here and this is the way business will continue. Design processes, manufacturing methods, and business focuses are altered and this saga continues to evolve.

From my perspective, it's really all about traceability. There are two distinct electronics design groups involved. Those that make components and those that create the electronic assemblies or products that use those components. For the component manufacturers, it is a matter of reducing and eliminating the restricted substances and providing certificates of compliance (COC) to accompany their components in much the same way "standard" electronic component product data sheets, application notes, and material safety data sheets (MSDS) are handled. For the electronics assembly designers and circuit assembly creators, it is then a matter of collecting the COC for the components and in addition, making sure the rest of the assembly process materials (e.g., conformal coatings solder, fastener finishes and plating, etc.) also comply. Lead-free solder is important to both groups so that component lead finishes and attachment solder are both compliant to RoHS.

Traceability should be easy. It is a simple step in the design process: For the component manufacturers, certify the components and make their certificates easily available. For the electronics assembly folks, they need to file the COC documentation as part of their design process. Ultimately everyone will comply with RoHS in the long run so getting the process steps in place now, to track and design for RoHS, is the wise move.

At Applied QED Solutions we have added the necessary features in QED Analysis to properly handle RoHS. Starting with QED Components we added a RoHS compliance check and COC file archiving features. The COC are handled along with other component data files. Component reports display an icon next to the component image that clearly indicates if the device is RoHS compliant or not. In QED Electrical, one can filter on RoHS as means to interrogate the components database for RoHS compliant parts or to exclude RoHS parts. This feature allows for intelligent parts list creation. In QED Interface, tracking data for the subassembly can include comments on the amount of RoHS compliancy, including types of solder used. The materials database will accept solder and adhesives that are lead-free and RoHS compliant.

It is as simple as this, at the sub-assembly level, you are either RoHS compliant or not. Properly handled component data helps prove this during audits. At the assembly-level, follow the new standards for assembly material identification from your particular industry-leading governing body (like the IPC) and it will be relatively easy to design and show RoHS compliance.

As part of the normal reporting in QED Analysis, we have made it possible for you, our customers, to track RoHS compliancy. It's all part of the process methodology and the RoHS compliance feature ready to use in Version 6 of QED Analysis.

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