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You may be wondering how you can comply with RoHS2 Directive in the most efficient way?
The Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive, updated to the RoHS2 Directive, requires that a company eliminate the use of heavy metals and flame retardants that can have a negative impact on workers.
To this end, RoHS2 eliminated the exclusions that many industries (medical devices, testing equipment) enjoyed with the original RoHS, which means a lot more companies are now finding themselves scrambling to meet the mid-2017 deadline.
To comply with RoHS2 Directive, an organization should meet the requirements of the EN 50581 standard, which requires you to document each component that is used in every sub-assembly for your finished product.
With Bills of Material in the thousands, this can sound like a daunting task; however, there are several software tools that can help you do this easily and efficiently – BOMCheck, BOMTracker, and a host of other tools that rely on data from suppliers and manufacturers to quickly and correctly identify whether a part is RoHS complaint.
*NOTE: “lead free” or Pb-free does NOT necessarily indicate RoHS2 compliant – as there are 6 chemicals/compounds in ROHS2. While lead/Pb is the most common one used in electrical and electronic equipment, in order to comply with RoHS2 Directive, a part must also certify that it does not contain more than trace amounts of all six ‘banned’ substances. This is especially important for printed circuit boards, which may use one of the two restricted substances as a flame retardant.
To summarize:
- understand your Bill of Materials (BOM) and whether each component complies with RoHS2 Directive;
- document your BOM compliance using a software tool or excel spreadsheet
- comply with all requirements of EN 50581.