Rotronic meets RoHS requirements

The EU RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive bans the sale of electrical and electronic equipment containing hazardous substances throughout the EU as from 1 July 2006. Rotronic reacted quickly, and has already ensured that its entire production is RoHS-compliant.

In detail, the EU Directive lays down maximum concentrations for the following substances: lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, the polybrominated flame retardants biphenyl and diphenyl ether (0.1% each) and cadmium (0.01%). Although the moisture and temperature measuring devices produced by Rotronic do not (yet) come within the scope of the RoHS Directive, Rotronic has voluntarily undertaken to implement the requirements now.

The changeover has the following consequences in the production process: the newly purchased SMD mounting unit and the reflow oven are based on lead-free soldering, and all electronics boards, including hand-soldered points, made from January 2006 will be made without lead. In purchasing, only companies which can supply RoHS-compliant components will be considered. The existing warehouse stocks – that still contain lead – will be used by July 2006.

Rotronic and Acin hope that this step will be a move towards more environmentally compatible electronics.