The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) has been agreed to by the European Union. European consumers will have lead-free RoHS compliant products by July 2006: Micron Corporation is out in front of its customers helping them prepare for RoHS compliance. A narrow range of tin-silver-copper (SnAgCu) alloys have been recommended by regulatory agencies in Japan, Europe, and USA for Lead-free solder. Other elements have been successfully substituted, such as antimony(Sb), bismuth(Bi),indium(In), and zinc(Zn),and will play a smaller role in Lead-free solder. Micron uses one of the world's leading suppliers of Lead-free solder products, Kester to ensure WEEE compliance. Kester has amassed a wealth of knowledge about lead-free solder alternatives at their web-site. In addition, Kester is a licensee of ISURF, Senju-Matsushita, and Oatey patents for SnAgCu substitutes. Micron has used Kester's extensive expertise to help evaluate new equipment,implement new reflow profiles, and consider nitrogen environments ensuring RoHS and WEEE compliance.

Micron Tests its Mettle in a Lead-free Solder World of RoHS Compliance.

How will Micron maintain quality, reliability and flexibility in a Lead-free solder and RoHS Compliant world of electronics?

Will any local contract manufacturers be prepared to go lead-free and be RoHS compliant before 2006? Here at Micron Corporation, the answer is "Yes." We're a New England based contract electronic manufacturer and we've been actively working on changing our processes to accomodate the Europeans WEEE directive to phase out lead in electronic soldering. At Micron, we've been reconsidering all of our procedures, from procurement thru shipping, to ensure the quality of lead-free soldering technologies. We offer both SMT and Thru-hole services, blending automated equipment with a hands-on approach: From the reflow oven to the wave machine, from the screen printer to the flux bucket. We've been coordinating with our suppliers to ensure that alternative products are implemented and ready to satisfy our customers' needs and RoHS compliance. The quality of our solder joints matter to our customers, and to our customer's customers. That's a challenge: and here at Micron, we're meeting the challenge.

LEAD-FREE SOLDER , RoHS, AND WEEE DIRECTIVE LINKS

www.digikey.com - Digi-Key is an industry leader in the distribution of quality, electronic components.

www.newark.com - Are you ready for RoHS compliance? Learn how Newark InOne can help you meet the requirements of the RoHS directive and find compliant products from many leading manufacturers today.

www.manncorp.com - Manufacturing Equipment for Lead-free Solders.

www.ipc.org - The official IPC Standard website for Lead-free compliance.

View our Quality Assurance Manual