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1. RoHS 2002/95/EC –
an EU Directive that is the focus of the electronics industry
The title of EU Directive 2002/95/EG is "Restriction of the use of
certain Hazardous Substances in electronic equipment". With effect
from 1.7.2006, this prohibits the sale throughout EU territory of electrical
appliances that contain more than mere traces of lead, cadmium, chromium
VI, mercury or PBB/PBDE polybrominated flame inhibitors. Electronics
manufacturers have to be able to produce evidence that their appliances
are RoHS-compliant.
"Lead-free" does not mean "free of lead"! The authorities of the European Union have not stipulated any limit values
for the permissible content of materials. For instance, no decision has
been made about the definition of "lead-free" or "cadmium-free".
It is nonetheless clear that the definition of "lead-free"
does not mean a total absence of lead.
Based on Orgalime, the European umbrella federation that represents 34 national
trade federations, i.e. representatives of 130,000 companies in the metal
and electronics industries, SCHURTER adheres to the following maximum values:
| Lead (Pb) |
0.1 % by weight |
= |
1000 mg/kg |
= |
1000 ppm |
| Mercury (Hg) |
0.1 % by weight |
= |
1000 mg/kg |
= |
1000 ppm |
| Cadmium (Cd) |
0.01 % by weight |
= |
100 mg/kg |
= |
100 ppm |
| Chromium VI (Cr VI) |
0.1 % by weight |
= |
1000 mg/kg |
= |
1000 ppm |
| PBB, PBDE |
0.1 % by weight |
= |
1000 mg/kg |
= |
1000 ppm |
These values apply to every material, including raw material, specified in a piece of equipment, e.g. each solder and
each component.
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2. SCHURTER's strategy
SCHURTER is demonstrating a continued commitment to safe working and
environmental responsibility. We ensure that energy sources and materials
are handled both economically and sensibly. For more information please
see SCHURTER's Sustainability
Report
When developing components it is important to lessen the environmental
impact of potential pollutants and at the same time meet customers' increasing
demands for environmentally compatible products.
SCHURTER established a project team as early as 1999 with the goal to achieve the lead-free and RoHS-compliant solutions at the earliest possible
opportunity. The emphasis was on lead from the very beginning, since SCHURTER
components barely consist of other materials affected by the RoHS
Directive. Working alongside customers and suppliers we sought and evaluated
alternatives to materials and techniques that used lead. Since 2006, we supply
tin and copper alloys that have proved their compliance in our tests.
The lead-free components have been exhaustively tested and meet both
SCHURTER's technical requirements and its high quality standards.
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3. SCHURTER's solutions
In January 2005, we have successfully introduced a qhole range of lead-free products into
the market and in 2006, we completely switched our product lines to lead free.
Thanks to our many years of process experience and longstanding international
partnerships, we are able to ensure the reliability of our components
in respect of their solderability in accordance with the required IEC
60068-2-20 standard. We continuously improve cost-effective lead-free production
techniques that secure SCHURTER's high product quality.
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4. Defining the lead-free soldering
material
SCHURTER has successfully conducted the following tests:
For solderable terminals:
| Solderability 235°C/2s as per IEC 60068-2-20 |
passed |
| Soldering thermal resistance 260°C/10s as per IEC
60068-2-20 |
passed |
| As well as additional soldering resistance, if contained
in data sheet |
passed |
For reflow soldered components:
| Soldering tests with "Reflow Soldering Test Profile"
(see below) |
passed |
For fuse-holders and connectors:
| Qualification as per IEC 60127-6 |
passed |
For fuses:
| Qualification as per IEC 60127-X |
passed |
Reflow Soldering Test SCHURTER Profile:
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5. RoHS compliance of SCHURTER components
5.1 The RoHS logo
In order to ensure that RoHS-compliant components can
be identified as simply as possible,
SCHURTER has introduced the logo depicted on the right. Once we have
checked that a product
conforms to RoHS 2002/95/EC the logo is be printed on the packaging
label and declared
in the data sheet.
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5.2 Lead-free logo
The existing lead-free logo is being kept and will
be printed on a lead-free component's
packaging label and declared in the data sheet in addition to the
RoHS logo. For a definition
of "lead-free" please see next item.
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5.3 Designation of RoHS-compliant components
Widely supported clarifications in the entire delivery
chain are supported by SCHURTER, in order to ensure that all raw materials and semi-finished products comply
with the directives.
Materials' specifications are checked against this information
and alternative are solutions
sought where necessary. SCHURTER's main concern is with lead. We successfully solved this issue ahead of EU RoHS' deadline of July 2006, and
currently virtually every component is RoHS-compliant.
The example on the right shows how SCHURTER labels RoHS-compliant
products. The lead-free
logo will be shown on all products for which lead is
not a specified material, i.e. the lead
content is lower than the limit value of 1000 ppm.
In SCHURTER's case this includes all the
products to which the exceptions described in chapter 5.4 do not apply.
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 (click on image for lager view) |
5.4 Exceptions allowed by RoHS 2002/95/EC
Two exceptions are relevant to SCHURTER.
These are where lead is specified as
a material,
which means that the products do not qualify as being lead-free: they
qualify for the RoHS
logo but but not the lead-free one.
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 (click on image for lager view) |
| 1) |
1) A lead content of up to 4% by weight
(= 40'000 ppm) is allowed for alloys of copper.
This means that all brass parts may continue to contain a limited
amount of lead. |
| Example: |
although switch T11 contains some parts containing
2% lead, T11 is
RoHS-compliant because the lead is contained in a CuZn alloy
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| 2) |
2) SnPb solders continue to be permitted
provided that high temperature soldering techniques
are employed and that they solder are contains at least 85% lead. |
| Examples: |
SMD-FST, SMD-FTT, and SMD-SPT fuses |
5.5 Explanation of the product overview list
SCHURTER is providing product overview lists that display the current
RoHS and lead-free status by product type or group. The same format is used for
all SCHURTER products; the lists contain detailed information and
are regularly updated by the responsible product managers.
Here is an example for fuses: MST_250 86.7KB (PDF) 
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| lead-free: |
The component is lead-free, i.e. lead
is not a specified material (the lead content is lower
than the limit value of 1000 ppm) |
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| 31.12.2005: |
A date shows when the conversion was finalised or is planned to be introduced.
SCHURTER converted virtually all products by the
end of 2005. |
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| 1) |
RoHS 2002/95/EC exceptions as described above apply. Lead
is a specified material. The packaging
label does not display a lead-free logo |
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Compliant: |
The product series is RoHS-compliant. The label of
the product packaging has been updated according to the
SCHURTER standard. |
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We maintain a list of Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQs) and update it on a regular basis.
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6. Product overview with full listing RoHS compliant SCHURTER
components
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7. SCHURTER Component Material
Declaration
More and more often customers want to know what is in a component. SCHURTER has
therefore adopted the Umbrella Specifications initiative of the German
Electrical & Electronic Manufacturers' Association (ZVEI – Zentralverband
der deutschen Elektronikindustrie) and is providing Product
Content Sheets.
For most product a Product Content Sheet is being established for each product type, giving
details of the materials contained in the component. It confirms that
the product complies with all of the EU's current material restrictions.
To achieve this SCHURTER makes use of the official EICTA materials prohibition
list, which defines the legal regulations as they relate to the electronics
industry.
In addition, the Product Content Sheets declare whether a component is
RoHS 2002/95/EC-compliant.
Example of a Product Content Sheet >> MST
250
These Product Content Sheets are available on our Partner Service Portal and are made available on request via rohs@schurter.ch only.
For further information on the standardised layout and structure of the
Product Content Sheets: www.zvei.org
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8. Restrictions on material usage beyond EU RoHS compliance
8.1 Asbestos
Asbestos is a group of minerals with long, thin fibrous crystals, and became popular in the
industry due to its resistance to heat, electricity and chemical damage, its sound absorption and
tensile strength. Asbestos was used mainly in brake shoes and gaskets, on electric oven and hotplate wiring,
and in buildings for its flame-retardant and insulating properties.
Since the mid 1980s, many uses of asbestos are banned in many countries.
SCHURTER has never used asbestos in its products. SCHURTER’s product line is completely free of asbestos
8.1 Perfluoroctane sulfonates (PFOS)
PFOS-related substances have in the past been used mainly as providing resistance to grease, oil and water
for materials such as textiles, carpets, paper and in general coating, but current uses are now principally
in such areas as chromium plating, photography, photolithography, fire fighting foams and hydraulic fluids for aviation.
SCHURTER confirms that none of its products contain PFOS. In addition, SCHURTER does not employ PFOS in materials,
production processes, or packaging.
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9. Ancillary information and links
Principal international information on the topic of lead-free http://www.leadfree.org
Principal European information on the topic of lead-free http://www.lead-free.org
IPC Roadmap: guide to lead-free electronics http://www.ipc.org
German Electrical & Electronic Manufacturers' Association (ZVEI) http://www.zvei.org/bleifrei
Umbrella Specifications www.zvei.org
List of current material prohibitions (EICTA) http://www.eicta.org/Content/Default.asp?PageID=211
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10. Contact
For additinoal information related to environmental all protection as well as material restrictions and usage, please contact our Environment Protection
and Safety Manager (rohs@schurter.ch)
or your regional sales contact.
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