Renesas Technology Europe - Lead free status
Almost two years have elapsed since EU RoHS directive has been in place. It
requires electronic products put on the market to restrict the use of cadmium,
hexavalent chromium, mercury, polybrominated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl
ethers and lead. This restriction is governed by so-called Maximum
Concentration Value (MCV) which are 0.01% by weight in homogenous materials for
cadmium and 0.1% by weight for all remaining five substances.
Thanks to close co-operation with customers and our factories in Japan the
process of replacing the traditional tin/lead plating with RoHS-compliant lead
free alternatives has been successfully completed for all mobile, consumer and
industrial applications in Europe. As of March 2008 the lead free conversion
rate for affected applications is 100% – except for specific applications such
as automotive and medical products which are not affected by the RoHS
legislation yet.
We are proud to say that since we started with the lead free conversion process
in Europe we did not experience a single quality return due to introduction of
lead free terminal platings. All lead free parts comply to the high quality
standards our customers are used to. Hence we would like to encourage also
RoHS-exempted customers to switch to pb-free manufacturing.
Lead free parts have become a de facto standard. Companies changing to leadfree
have since then enjoyed benefits like wider product choice, higher flexibility,
hence less risk of bottlenecks in supply. Further, this has excluded an issue
with contamination of tools caused by the use of parallel use of leaded and
leaded parts on the same production lines. Last but not least the conversion
has reinforced your company’s reputation as environmentally friendly
company.
We understand that automotive and medical applications need to undergo a
thorough qualification process to protect human life. Hence we will take a
sensible approach here, paying respect to individual customers’ requirements.
If you have any questions regarding Renesas lead-free technology or the
logistics behind the final transition, please follow the links on the left or
below or contact us
Let’s talk about the future!
If you have any questions regarding Renesas lead-free technology or the
logistics behind the final transition, please follow the links on the left or
below or contact us.
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