Be aware about the laws of European Union, before the manufacturing of a product. The European Union opines that manufacturers should themselves take the responsibility to curb down the hazards caused by their products. RoHS and WEEE are two of the laws that are implemented by the European Union, aiming the same. restricts the use of certain harmful substances, such as lead, cadmium, mercury and polybrominated flame retardants from being used in the manufacturing of a product. The European Union (EU) also asks the manufacturers to maintain WEEE compliance for their products, according to the guidelines mentioned in the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive. Make proper arrangements to collect back the used equipments and recycle or reuse them. If not, create a proper waste disposal system.

Also, go through the principles of REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) and make sure that your product abides by them. According to REACH EU, you have to collect the safety information about the chemicals used and register your product with ECHA (European Chemicals Agency).

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The RoHS directive restricts the use of certain substances in the manufacture of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEEs). It is commonly known as the lead-free directive, but the use of certain other harmful substances is also prohibited under the RoHS Directive. These include mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium and the polybrominated flame retardants such as, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE). These cause harm not only to the environment but also to the health conditions of the employees in the firm and users of the product.

The WEEE directive assigns the responsibility of managing the e-wastes to the manufacturing firm. It directs the manufacturers to collect the e-waste and make provisions for its reuse or recycle. The obsolete or used electrical and electronic goods also are termed as e-waste. WEEE directive applies to the small and large-scale household appliances, electrical and electronic tools, lighting equipments, etc. Some of the medical devices, monitoring and control instruments and IT and telecommunications equipment are, however, exempted from being WEEE compliant.

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The RoHS and WEEE directives have become global acronyms, generic terms for the regulation of hazardous materials used in electrical and electronic equipment, and for its disposal. Each country and state manages its criteria differently. Therefore, you should not assume that outside the EU mirrors that within it.

The California SB 20/SB 50 statutes were introduced in January 2007, under the California Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003. Although similar to the EU directives, the Californian versions have important differences which those exporting printed circuit boards and other EEE products to the European Union must be made aware of.

Although the SB 20 ruling has banned the sale of electronic devices prohibited under the EU RoHS directive, this is across a far narrower range of products and materials. It covers only the four heavy metals (lead, cadmium, hexavalent chromium and mercury), and applies only to CRT, LCD and plasma screens which are diagonally four inches or larger across.

There have been some changes to bring Californian RoHS more inline with that of Europe. For example, the SB 50 ruling has extended the range to include manufacturer-refurbished products. In 2010, the Lighting Efficiency and Toxics Reduction Act brought lamps and bulbs into the picture – adding another tier of complexity!

Being WEEE/RoHS compliant is a minefield wherever your business is located. We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies offer a full range of to help you cope.

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CFD and thermal analysis tools aid system design and reduce costs. Added to these are a number of power analysis tools, which are making a serious impact on the market. Power consumption has become an important consideration in embedded firmware, and the way in which the results are interpreted can have a significant effect on performance and efficiency. However, FPGA designers have to understand how the power consumption data patterns relate to the chips they use, for both specific clock cycles and entire computations. Many engineers base their analysis on specific power component numbers, rather than the entire power profile of the system. Not seeing the broader picture can lead to system designs which are energy inefficient – or appear to be.

This was demonstrated during the development of systems implementing the Actel IGLOO low-power FPGA design. When power analysis was conducted on a single cycle basis, silicon chip consumption was seen to vary widely, with a different power number for each of the systems into which it was embedded. If only single clock cycles were considered, the FPGA often appeared to have poor energy efficiency. However, when the entire data spectrum pattern was examined, and power-down switches and alternative power modes were added to the system designs, the results were good.

We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies have many years’ experience in the field of DSP programming and FPGA design, offering comprehensive solutions for system analysis and PCB layout.

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RoHS/WEEE legislation is a complex area, but an essential one for PCB designers and component manufacturers, as it covers areas like tin-lead solders and semiconductor finishes. Both directives are in the process of being revised. It’s important to realize that the laws simply act as a template, and that each European country may have its own specific regulations. These can vary considerably between borders and be changed at any time, so it’s vital you keep stringent, up to date records, especially when dealing with different export destinations.

The US Department of Commerce has a web portal (Buy USA Gov) to assist US engineering companies and component engineering firms exporting EEE (electrical and electronic equipment) to Europe. A valuable resource, it has country-by-country information on RoHS/WEEE implementation, and issues regular news updates.

The latest news concerns revisions to the RoHS directive, which took place on November 24, 2010. A key change was the extension of the directive to cover all electrical and electronic equipment, apart from that covered by exclusions, with a transitional period of 8 years. A 3-year impact assessment plan has been suggested with an 18-month period before the changes become legally binding, but the implications are obvious.

We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies have a number of enterprise data management solutions in the area of environmental compliance, covering ELV, GADSL, ROHS, WEEE and REACH regulations.

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can be a time-consuming process, but unless it is regularly undertaken companies are liable to make poor decisions. In the engineering field, enterprise data management covers a wide field, ranging from up-to-date client and supplier contact details to records and part obsolescence management. Failure in any of these areas can lead to unwarranted expenses, dissatisfied customers and, in the case of environmental compliance, hefty fines.

How Much Can Poor Data Cost Your Business?

Today, numerous companies offer data cleansing services to electrical and mechanical engineering firms. The solutions we at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies offer are a boon to the small businessman, who is often unable to invest in a dedicated department to take care of things like customer data records and . When you have tight deadlines to meet, it’s hard enough to keep up with your engineering BOMs, let alone work out an effective master data management plan for your company records.

In 2010, at Ovum, a firm of independent technology analysts, reported that businesses are faring badly due to poor master data management – a disaster in today’s economic climate. It was estimated that around $700 billion a year is lost in the US alone, through inefficient upkeep of data files.

The benefits of outsourcing your data cleansing problems to a reputable company are obvious. Battling it through on your own can be a very false economy.

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ROHS compliance affects every area of PCB design, including transistors, semiconductors, diodes, solders and programmable chips. To maintain an uninterrupted supply chain, ensure continued integrity of their system designs, and continue to offer customers good value, engineering companies must have a watertight environmental compliance management system. This includes:

• Obsolescence management tools incorporating PCN alerts.
• Bill of Materials (BOM) management tools.
• Component cross referencing software for easy tracking of replacements for obsolete semiconductors.
• Effective enterprise data management tools, to maintain open paths of communication between end users and suppliers.

One problem is the confusion and uncertainty over expiry dates for RoHS Category 8 and 9 products, which were given temporary exclusion from RoHS legislation. The original feasibility study suggested the exclusions remain in force until 2012 or 2018. However, this was never implemented by the EU, who in September 2010 substantially revised the list. Over half the exemptions now carry expiry dates of 2011 or earlier.

This is particularly worrying for engineers who specialise in FPGA and VHDL designs for medical equipment. They can’t simply switch obsolete semiconductors for RoHS compliant ones. The product has to go through a series of approval tests first. In the meantime, what does the medical staff do

Believe it or not, there are solutions to all these problems. We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies offer full manufacturing support in all areas of RoHS/WEEE compliance, from component engineering services to enterprise data management.

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ERA Technology is a prestigious UK company involved in system design and development for, among other clients, BAA; a long-term client with whom they developed automatic X-ray screening of baggage handling systems. As you can imagine, such hardware potentially falls foul of quite a few RoHS directives.

Recently, ERA’s advanced FPGA programming and mechanical engineering prowess was placed under the spotlight when they trialled a new inline, automated screening system design which handles bags and sorts baggage once it has been screened by the X-Ray machine. The system relies on FPGA programming to control the baggage conveyors, interact with the X-Ray machines, interpret results and act upon them. From screening to sorting, each piece of baggage is closely tracked using photoelectric cells, which must take into account the size, shape and movement of each piece of baggage.

The entire system is a dream of high-speed PCB design and mechanical engineering. From the conveyor system and controls, to the system software, significantly reducing loading time and number of screening machines, compared to offline systems.

But just look at what was, and still is, involved in master data management alone: RoHS/WEEE compliance; system hazard analysis; risk assessments; performance specifications; supplier audits; CAD design specifications; component cross references, software reviews and manufacturing BOMs, to name a few.

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