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NEMI Makes Recommendations for Lead-Free Part Identification
HERNDON, VA - June 10, 2004 - The National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative's (NEMI's) Component and Board Marking Project has made recommendations for the identification of electronic components and board assemblies that have been modified for use in lead-free assembly processes. The team has also identified standard vocabulary terms to create a common terminology related to lead-free processing.
The conversion to lead-free products - prompted by legislation pending in Europe, and similar legislation under discussion in China and California - poses challenges as companies deal with the logistics of handling both leaded and lead-free products for manufacturing, rework and field returns. Lead-free processing requires higher temperatures and tighter process windows, which necessitates segregation of leaded and lead-free parts (because they are not compatible). For the immediate future, manufacturing facilities will be running both leaded and lead-free processes, and rework facilities will be running both processes for an even longer time. It's important for manufacturers to identify lead-free parts and keep them segregated to ensure legislative compliance.
"To prevent manufacturing errors and defects, the assembly shop floor and recyclers need to identify the materials contained in the solders used in the bill of materials (BOM) and the board assembly process," said Vivek Gupta, Program Manager, Lead-Halogen Free Development for Intel Corporation, and chair of the NEMI Component and Board Marking Project.
The NEMI team provided input to, and supported the development of, JEDEC standard JESD97: Marking, Symbols, and Labels for Identification of Lead (Pb) Free Assemblies, Components, and Devices, which was released in May of this year. NEMI considers the identification model in this standard comprehensive enough to meet the needs of manufacturing.
In addition to the guidelines outlined in the JEDEC standard, NEMI is recommending the use of unique part numbers for lead-free materials, components and boards to distinguish them from tin-lead (SnPb) versions.
"Manufacturers' part numbers are critical data elements used to keep track of bill of materials and products during manufacturing, inventory and order fulfillment," said Alan Ater, supply chain manager for Sanmina-SCI Corporation, and co-chair of the Component and Board Marking Project. "Unique part numbers for lead-free BOMs will help minimize the chances of mixing tin-lead and lead-free parts."
NEMI has also developed three standard vocabulary terms in an effort to establish a common language for communication of lead-free transition status. The terms defined by NEMI are: Pb-free Second Level Interconnect, Pb-free, and RoHS compliant. However, the project team decided not to develop a guideline for identification of RoHS compliance or the various phases of lead-free implementation, as there are several uncertainties in developing a good definition of these terms.
The NEMI-developed definitions have already been included in the RosettaNet dictionary of terms RNTD version 4.0, and have been proposed to IPC and JEDEC for inclusion in their dictionary of terms.
The Component and Board Marking Project's recommendations are available on the NEMI website at http://www.nemi.org/projects/ese/Component_BoardMarking.html
About NEMI
The National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative's mission is to assure leadership of the global electronics manufacturing supply chain. Based in Herndon, VA, the industry-led consortium is made up of more than 60 manufacturers, suppliers, industry associations and consortia, government agencies and universities. NEMI roadmaps the needs of the electronics industry, identifies gaps in the technology infrastructure, establishes implementation projects to eliminate these gaps (both business and technical), and stimulates standards activities to speed the introduction of new technologies. The consortium also works with government, universities and other funding agencies to set priorities for future industry needs and R&D initiatives. For additional information about NEMI, visit www.nemi.org.
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