ROHS Wire?
Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2021 11:19 am
Exported products to the EU, among other restrictions, require Restriction On Hazardous Substances certified components. These ban 'dangerous and hazardous' materials from reaching the end-of-life disposal dump.
Many components are ROHS certified by the manufacturer or vendor, so that is not to much of a problem. But Wire, like hook-up wire, is a real issue since nearly everything is tinned with a lead/tin alloy, and that is prohibited because of the lead content. Lead is allowed "0.1 per cent by weight of the inseparable components" if you can make sense out of that, and translate that to the real fabrication world!
Bare copper seems to qualify, but soldering it is problematical, and the market selections are few. Copper can be tinned with tin and other non-lead alloys but that is also scarce. It used to be simple, just grab a roll of Kester 60/40and smoke away!
The really odd part is that manufacturer's can 'Self-Certify' for both ROHS and CE certification! I really wonder how many bogus certifications are floating abroad?
Comments welcomed!
Many components are ROHS certified by the manufacturer or vendor, so that is not to much of a problem. But Wire, like hook-up wire, is a real issue since nearly everything is tinned with a lead/tin alloy, and that is prohibited because of the lead content. Lead is allowed "0.1 per cent by weight of the inseparable components" if you can make sense out of that, and translate that to the real fabrication world!
Bare copper seems to qualify, but soldering it is problematical, and the market selections are few. Copper can be tinned with tin and other non-lead alloys but that is also scarce. It used to be simple, just grab a roll of Kester 60/40and smoke away!
The really odd part is that manufacturer's can 'Self-Certify' for both ROHS and CE certification! I really wonder how many bogus certifications are floating abroad?
Comments welcomed!