RoHS Compliance
Our Commitment to Environmental Responsibility
Epec is a leader in Printed Circuit Board solutions and is committed to taking an active role in working closely with our customers and suppliers to identify and rapidly eliminate hazardous substances from their products. As an ISO 9001:2000 registered company, Epec is fully supportive of electronics industry efforts throughout the world to phase out the use of lead and other undesirable elements.
Lead Free & RoHS Compliant Initiative
Epec is a leader in providing an extensive array of lead free printed circuit board solutions. Epec’s lead free products are fully RoHS compliant.
RoHS Restricted Materials
| Banned Substance | RoHS LIMIT: MCV* PPM |
| Lead (Pb) | 1000 |
| Mercury (Hg) | 1000 |
| Cadmium (Cd) | 100 |
| Hexavalent Chromium (Cr+6) | 1000 |
| Polybrominated Biphenyl (PBB) | 1000 |
| Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether (PBDE) | 1000 |
* MCV - Maximum concentration values allowed in homogeneous materials
Halogen Free Materials
What are Halogen-free requirements?
- Bromine must be below 900 PPM by weight
- Chlorine must be below 900 PPM by weight
- Combined Bromine + Chlorine must be below 1200 PPM by weight
Laminate
- The TBPPA based fire retardant material must be replaced
- We do offer Halogen-free materials
Soldermask
- Most soldermasks contain chlorine
- We do have a limited offering of halogen-free masks
RoHS Compliant Material Identification and Packaging
Epec provides a RoHS Certification of Conformance (C of C) with all shipments. To allow easy identification of all RoHS compliant products and materials, all our packaging has a RoHS/Pb-Free label.
IPC-1752 RoHS Materials Declaration Standard
Compliance requires that Epec and our suppliers understand the material composition of our products—from FR4 laminate, solder mask, silkscreen, and plating, to surface finish and finished boards. We will provide you with technical documentation and supplier declarations to support your "due diligence." You are expected to provide this documentation upon request of EU regulators.
RoHS Compliant Surface Finish Options
Epec has qualified a wide variety of RoHS compliant surface finish alternatives.
These qualified finishes include:
| Surface Finishes | Shelf Life | Coplanarity | Multiple Rework |
| ENIG | 12+ Months | Yes | Yes |
| Immersion Silver | *6-9 Months | Yes | Limited |
| Lead Free HASL | 12 Months | Moderate | Yes |
| OSP | 6-12 Months | Yes | No |
| Immersion Tin | 3 Months | Yes | Limited |
*With proper packaging and storage conditions
Higher Lead-free Assembly Temperature
- Low thermal mass assembly reflow @ 240 –245C
- Higher thermal mass assembly reflow @ 260C
- Lead-free PCB temperature is 30C higher than SnPb process
- Up to 6 soldering/rework cycles may be required
Pb-Free Compatible FR4s
For additional information visit Epec's RoHS FAQ page.