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RoHS Compliant Circuit Boards


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 9001:2015 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
Bis(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP) 1000
Butyl Benzyl Phthalate (BBP) 1000
Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) 1000
Diisobutyl Phthalate (DIBP) 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.

RoHS Compliant Printed Circuit Boards

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

Reflow Temperature Profile Comparison

Pb-Free Compatible FR4 Materials

Pb-Free Compatible FR4 Materials

Lead Free Process Compatible Material Solutions

The assembly of lead free products requires the use of material that will not break down at higher processing temperatures. To better facilitate the industry transition to lead free PCBs, Epec offers the following broad assortment of standard, off-the-shelf, lead free FR4 substrates:


RoHS Capable Substrate Materials

Product Resin Matrix Td, °C Tg, °C T-288 Minutes CTE Z-Axis Dk @ 2GHz Df @ 2GHz
Standard Electrical Performance
Isola IS410 Phenolic epoxy 350 180 >15 3.50% 4.2-4.7 .018-.021
Iteq IT-180TC Phenolic epoxy 385 180 >10 3.00% 4.2-4.7 .018-.021
Polyclad 370HR Phenolic epoxy 350 180 pass 2.70% 4.4-4.7 .018-.021
High Electrical Performance (Low Loss)
Isola FR415 Non-phenolic/non-dicey 370 190 >20 2.90% 3.80-3.90 .016-.017
Isola FR408 Modified epoxy 360 180 >15 3.50% 3.55-3.6 .011-.0125
Polyclad Getek Polyphenylene oxide 345 175 pass 3.80% 3.5-3.7 .009-.011
High Electrical Performance (Ultra Low Loss)
Rogers RO4350 Hydrocarbon ceramic 395 300 >180 <3.0 3.48 0.004
Isola IS620 Low Dk/Df 353 215 >15 2.80% 3.55-3.6 0.008
Polyclad 621 Polyphenylene ether 400 210 pass 3.00% 3.3-3.55 .0045-.007
Nelco-13SI Enhanced epoxy 365 210 pass 3.50% 3.3-3.4 .007-.008

*With proper packaging and storage conditions. The principle performance criteria for lead free processing capability is Td (decomposition temperature) >340°C.

For additional information visit Epec's PCB RoHS FAQ page or see blog post titled RoHS and Circuit Board Laminates - Not Just Tg Anymore for more information.

Go Green Without Compromising Quality

Choose Epec's RoHS Compliant PCBs. Validate your commitment to environmental responsibility now!

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Celebrating 70 Years of Manufacturing Excellence   Learn More →
America's Oldest. A History of Innovation.

Over the past 70 years, the electronics manufacturing industry has changed dramatically as the industry continues to adapt to evolving demands and technology. Epec is at the forefront of innovation, with the expertise and agility to move at the speed of today’s businesses. At Epec, the customer comes first, and everything we do must be put through that filter. Whether it is developing e-commerce platforms to make it easier to work with us or creating a new product introduction (NPI) process that helps our customers get to market faster, we must focus on building the new. By doing that every day, and by always making the customer our top priority, we plan on being here for another 70 years and then some.

Learn more about our 70 year story →





Celebrating 70 Years - Epec Engineered Technologies