RoHS Compliance Testing

Overview

The ill-effects of Lead (Pb) consumption is gaining significance all over the world. The Lead inspection service from TCR allows manufacturers of consumer electronics materials, children's toys and jewellery, cooking or edible materials, packaging, and several other materials in India, to create lead-free landfills and clean up hazardous sites.

TCR Engineering Services undertakes the classification of definitive positive/negative results for Pb using portable XRF instruments.

TCR’s XRF instrument can detect the presence of lead in paints & coatings, as well as in oils & liquids. The tests are done in-situ and it can help in establishing area contamination boundaries and depth profiles, including assisting in site investigations, delineation and contamination patterns.

The RoHS Directive states that certain non-exempt products, as well as electrical and electronic products available in the market within the EU, must contain less than 0.1% lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), hexavalent chromium (Cr6+), polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), and less than 0.01% cadmium (Cd). Product manufacturers including computer hardware, IT equipment, clock radios and toasters could find themselves banned from selling their product in the European market if they fail to comply with the directive.

TCR Engineering Services has devised testing programmes to help clients understand the rigorous RoHS restrictions. TCR has researched complex methodologies required for compliance testing and has acquired specialised equipment to meet client needs. The RoHS Testing Team at TCR has the capability to analyse all restricted substances up to the required limits and they ensure that the products meet all the requirements while retaining full product functionality.

• Restriction of (certain) Hazardous Substances (RoHS) is a result of Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) Directive, which addresses end-of-life issues on electrical components
• The WEEE Directive is essentially concerned with the introduction of hazardous materials into the environment, during recycling or disposal

The RoHS Testing Team at TCR analyses concentrations of lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in electrical and electronic components, right up to the required limits, to ensure that all the products meet the requirements while retaining their full functionality. TCR Engineering Services undertakes RoHS and WEEE-related compliance testing for electronic products and accessories using both:

Non Destructive RoHS screening (RFA method)

The screening provides indications about the presence of hazardous substances in the product according to RoHS. It is best suited to gain a quick overview of a goods receipt check or in preliminary inspections. Using a custom-tailored portable X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF) spectrometer, the inspection team from TCR can simultaneously screen for all five restricted RoHS elements and chlorine (Cl), in a matter of a few seconds. Using a Portable XRF is non-destructive and an in-situ point-and-shoot screening method for PVC, PE, alloys, metals, solders, ceramics and packaging materials.

Chemical Analysis by ICP (Verification method)

RoHS testing is carried out using an initial screening test by XRF; if high levels of restricted substances are found, additional tests may be performed using Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Spectrometer and wet chemistry. The Chemical Analysis Department at TCR provides all its clients with accurate, precise results that report the total level of RoHS elements and compounds, along with detailed information about their products meeting all RoHS requirements.

Standards. IEC 62321 series (determination of restricted substances), EU Directive 2011/65/EU (RoHS).