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Our guru returns, with wisdom on environmental politics and conspiracies.

"It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine." – R.E.M.

Ed.: It's the 11th Hour and counting to July 1, when the RoHS Directive goes into effect. Who better than our good friend and colleague, Dr. H. J. Zapfardt, to see us into the coming apocalypse. The well-known (and oft-antagonistic) assembly process guru answers some of the more common questions sent to him in the past few months.

Q: I've heard that the effective date of RoHS will be extended. Is this true?

Dr. Z: This information appears to have as its foundation a conspiracy between Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny (with the complicity of a leprechaun). But you'd like to believe it, so go ahead.

Q: It's my understanding that most of the industry is not ready for RoHS compliance. Is this true?

Dr. Z: Suppliers - particularly solder paste and soldering equipment manufacturers - have been ready, willing and able, but quite a few assemblers have been a bit slow on the uptake, to put it politely.

At this point, most of the assembly industry is at least aware of it and many assemblers are moving from denial to anger, as in "let's fight it" and "to hell with the EU and RoHS." The advice I give was written by some sage on wall of the restroom stall, "Don't fight a fact; deal with it." Fortunately, our industry isn't totally comprised of bozos and bozettes. Most Tier 1 and many Tier 2 CEMs have lines and, in some cases, entire facilities ready. I even know of a Tier 4 CEM, though its customers were not yet asking, that is "RoHS ready and capable." It boldly went where most of its competitors would not. Now some competitors' customers are requesting RoHS compliant product and guess who's looking good.

Some of the best research and data, both process and reliability, have come from Tier 1 CEMs, either independently or through IPC and iNEMI. Excellent papers abounded at SMTAI and Apex. Of course, you would have had to come out of your cave to partake.

Q: Do you think RoHS is mostly exclusionary politics on the part of the EU?

Dr. Z: As one acquaintance suggested, instead of Bagdad, maybe Belgium should have been our target. Maybe RoHS contains a streak of exclusionary politics but it isn't very effective since most European assemblers are not in great shape, either. The current plan in China will have product intended for sale and distribution there be declared compliant by authorized Chinese labs - only. If it's any consolation, when you drive to one of these labs, you can burn leaded gas in your car.

Q: What will happen on July 2, 2006?

Dr. Z: I'll get out of bed around 11 a.m., have a bit of breakfast, check my email and see how my mail-order hair-transplant business is doing.

Q: How will RoHS be enforced after July 1?

Dr. Z: One scenario has brown-shirted, jack-booted RoHS stormtroopers armed with XRF guns, repelling down lines from black helicopters upon unsuspecting electronics. I heard this on the Internet (so it must be credible). RoHS compliance is self-declared. If you've done due diligence and have documented that your product does not contain any sinful substances, away you go. But you better have all your t's crossed and i's dotted. In Europe, they take this stuff seriously. Unlike the U.S., where it takes a meltdown on the order of Enron or Tyco, Europeans are not above putting executives in jail for willful obstruction. And we're not necessarily talking country-club prisons, either. Ever see Midnight Express?

On the other hand, none of the EU states has anywhere near the manpower assigned to this endeavor to efficiently check products for compliance. So how will they know if you've been bad or good? Your competition will rat on you. Believe it! Is the company that went to all the trouble and expense of complying going to let a competitor get away with sneaking under wire? I think not.

Q: Some components on my board will not be available in Pb-free lead finishes. Are these components exempt?

Dr. Z: According to RoHS, too bad, you'll have to change your design. No exempt card, do not pass Go, do not collect compliance.

Q: Our product is currently exempt from RoHS but we can no longer aquire a number of components in a lead finish and our customers don't want Pb-free because we do not have reliability data. What do we do?

Dr. Z: I'll bet eight months ago you were real smug about being exempt. Ha-ha, too bad for those poor non-exempt saps. Well, now you have a problem. And your reliability engineers have job security.

Sorry, but there is no magic bullet. A great deal of research is being done by companies who are also currently exempt but saw the writing on the wall regarding availability of SnPb components. Companies like Rockwell were intelligent enough not to linger long in the Depression stage and got on with Acceptance. Fortunately, some of that research is available. In addition, HALT is now being considered in a lot of areas, including some avionics, military and medical, where it was prohibited before.

Well gang, good luck. Most of you will need it. See you on the other side.

Dr. H.J. Zapfardt is a member of the National Academy of Arrogant Engineering and an inductee of GIT's International Hall of Fame. He is a sought-after advisor to industry and government, or basically anyone who will put up with him. A popular speaker on the SMT "rubber chicken circuit," he was recently cited as "a personality to avoid." He has written more than 300 articles and textbooks, including the acclaimed A Children's Garden of Flux. Dr. Zapfardt holds a doctorate in metaphysics from the University of Bonghit. He can be reached at groucholives@aol.com.

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