What's New

ERA reviewing Category 8 & 9 for RoHS Directive
ERA has been awarded a contract by the European Commission to carry out a review of Directive 2002/95/EC. The main aim is to provide the data needed to determine if Category 8 (medical devices) and Category 9 (monitoring and control instruments) products can be brought within the scope of the Directive.

ERA would be pleased to hear from any stakeholders who would like to contribute to this review and in particular manufacturers of equipment that contain restricted substances that cannot currently be replaced by other materials or by a design change.

ERA supporting BABT in launch of RoHS certification scheme
BABT, a well respected provider of compliance services to the radio and telecoms sectors, has launched its “Total Life Cycle Solution” service for RoHS with technical assistance from ERA. The service comprises two elements; RoHS technical file certification and a product manufacturing quality certification (PQC) scheme.

New exemptions published by the European Commission
Following ERA’s study for the EC, a number of new and revised exemptions have been published. The wording of these exemptions is terse but further guidance can be obtained by referring to ERA’s report on the EC website.

Update on Category 8 & 9 review for the RoHS Directive
Dr Paul Goodman provides an overview of progress of this study for the European Commission and the key issues that are emerging.

Diagnosing failures in electronics using advanced elemental analysis tools
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis is a standard method of failure examination but it has limitations. This article introduces the advanced image visualisation techniques ERA uses to assist in accurately diagnosing faults.

ERA Guide to Compliance with the RoHS Directive (Issue 2)
ERA’s definitive and extensive guide to compliance with RoHS has been updated. This second edition of the very popular “A Guide to Compliance with the RoHS Directive” report covers the requirements of the RoHS Directive, and how to comply with RoHS regulations and legislation.

ERA RoHS supplier audit form
Obtaining reliable Information from suppliers is an essential part of establishing due diligence and ensuring products are RoHS compliant. ERA has developed a detailed RoHS audit questionnaire which can be used either remotely or as part of an on-site audit to ascertain just how much a supplier understands and can provide the information you need. Comes with guidance on interpretation of answers given by the supplier.