It seems simple enough. If you’re a manufacturer who uses electronic components to build your products for American or international markets, you need RoHS 3 compliance. The U.S., China, and other countries have established electronics manufacturing standards on dangerous materials, closely styled after the EU’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances.
In 2006, the European Union rolled out a directive restricting the use of certain hazardous chemicals. This directive, Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), would have a far-reaching impact on the electronics industry. Its restrictions on using lead would send manufacturers scrambling to revise their practices or adopt entirely new ones. Thanks to a follow-up directive in 2011, manufacturers now hustle to meet RoHS 2 compliance.
Yes, it’s not a punitive law full of fines and penalties. But if you’re a U.S. company, noncompliance is basically an impassable barrier to entry to the EU trade market. So if you want to do business abroad, don’t mess around -- comply.
In the strict world of printed circuit board (PCB) fabrication and manufacturing, one key factor in the OEM’s success is paying close attention to industry standards. The guiding light for PCB manufacturing is IPC 6011.
When you’re looking for a PCB engineering services provider, there are, of course, multiple things to consider. “Will they be able to meet my specific needs?” is likely your first and foremost concern.
Electronics manufacture and testing are like squabbling siblings. PCB testing is a necessary expense that, when done correctly, prevents much larger and more embarrassing damage control when your product goes to market.
Electronic devices are the sum of their parts, including the box in which you house them.
Deciding on the best testing method for your printed circuit board can be a daunting task. There are plenty of factors to take into consideration, including costs, coverage, and development lead time. However, there are two popular test strategies you’ll often find yourself choosing between: ICT testing vs flying probe testing.
As you know painfully well, the coronavirus is causing growing demand for medical ventilators and other "life-sustaining" devices. As hospital visits begin to surge, the medical device supply chain is being stretched thin.
The products that your organization is preparing to develop call for printed circuit boards (PCBs) -- simple enough, right? Not exactly. Components and boards come in many shapes, sizes, and materials.
Tests for printed circuit boards (PCBs) come in many varieties based on cost, breadth, time, and other factors. There are many ways to test your PCB, but in-circuit testing, known as ICT, is the most advanced and accurate method.
PCB (printed circuit board) costs are a concern for any electronics designers or manufacturers -- both the materials that go into PCBs and the expertise required to make them safe and reliable.
There’s no perfect playbook to establishing and maintaining major transportation projects like subways, bus systems, and other transit developments.
Change management is usually a requirement in the electronics industry. This specifically relates to changes needed after the initial design of your project. In the electronics industry, an engineering change order (ECO) is the most common example of change management.
Understanding your marketing is key to a successful product run. That applies not only to your customers, but their home country as well.
“If it’s broke, don’t fix it” will never fly for public transportation, mining equipment, or many other high-impact electronics projects. An electronics OEM is expected to keep things running by replacing or fixing components or entire products -- whether it’s affordable to do so or not.
As today’s electronics designs become smaller and more complex, more engineers are relying on surface mount technology. After the 1980s, this technology became the preferred PCB assembly technology in electronics manufacturing and hasn’t let up since.
A tanker departed from Freeport LNG in September 2019 with the first export cargo produced at the Houston facility. The late-afternoon moment in which it left shore strengthened the United States’ position as a major global supplier of the super-chilled fuel known as liquid nitrogen gas (LNG).
When an OEM is sourcing out work -- let alone aerospace electronics manufacturing -- it’s likely to come across companies that boast about all sorts of certifications and capabilities.
There’s a certain need for speed in manufacturing circuit boards -- the electronics industry demands it, and your end users demand it. But how quick is too quick?
As electronics OEM engineers well know, the printed circuit board (PCB) is crucial to the proper operation of just about every electronics product manufactured today. And complex electronics products for important jobs like mining, medical devices, and aerospace must be 100% failsafe.
Modern electronics are evolving so rapidly that new becomes old in just a few years -- or less, if you’re an iPhone superfan. In fact, the average life of a new integrated circuit is less than 2 years.
Prototyping is just as important to the electronics manufacturing process as designing, engineering, and testing. Ignore it at your own risk.
NOTE: This article was updated on September 16, 2019 to reflect recent information regarding tariffs.
Two days after Independence Day 2018, President Donald Trump’s aggressive new tariffs went into effect, imposing an extra 25% tax on imported Chinese goods. This affected over $50 billion worth of “industrially significant technologies” used by U.S. electronics manufacturers and their buyers.
Do you work for an original equipment manufacturer or OEM? Chances are you’ve crossed paths with a...
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