We can provide you with UL approved circuit boards with a variety of final finishes that meet the requirements of RoHS, REACH and Conflict Metals regulations.

Keshijia provides you with the quality and consistency you need to meet these requirements because we are not a printed circuit board broker. We manufacture all of your orders at our own facility so we can monitor their quality and compliance with regulations. Our 62,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility is where your orders will be fabricated, and our engineering file review and high-touch customer service ensure that your PCB orders result in exactly what you need.

RoHS or the restriction of hazardous substances focuses on the use of six specific substances; Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Hexavalent Chromium, Polybrominated biphenyls and Polybrominated diphenylether. The last two are fire retardants used in several types of plastic. The amount of each substance used in a product is limited to a maximum concentration based on the weight of homogeneous material used in a product.

The EU’s REACH or Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals program is primarily directed at European manufacturers and importers of chemicals. The aim is to have each chemical registered with the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) and evaluated for its effect on the environment and the population. However, it also encompasses “articles” that are exported to or manufactured in the EU. It forces the producer or importer to register any substances of very high concern (SVHC) that might be contained in the article. The number of pre-registered substances exceeds 140,000, but the number of substances on the candidate list totals just 53 as of this writing. As time goes on the candidate list will expand forcing regular evaluations of articles that might contain the newly added substances. Obviously that includes the evaluation of PCB manufacturing materials and processes to verify conformance.

Conflict Metals, or more correctly The “Conflict Minerals Law” was signed in July of 2010 and speaks specifically to a short list of minerals mined in the region of the Eastern Congo. The list includes the ores that are refined to make tantalum, tin and tungsten as well as gold. The issue here is the source of the minerals rather than a complete ban on their use. Materials found to be sourced from the ore or refineries in the Eastern Congo must be reported as such. This is basically a supply chain traceability issue for board manufacturers, who must now query their suppliers and vendors on the origin of tin and gold used in manufacturing.

Keshijia will continue to monitor changes and additions for each of these regulatory statues and laws. We have been in contact with our suppliers and vendors regarding RoHS, REACH and Conflict Minerals requirements. All of them have responded with statements of conformance in regard to each. The following information is specific to providing our customers with RoHS compliant products. It outlines options and provides information related to producing PCBs that meet the needs of our customers and the RoHS directive.

Our RoHS compliant boards are produced using laminate materials of varying decomposition temperatures with a number of different final finishes. We can provide you with a lead-free solder finish using SN100CL – a lead free alloy of 99.3% tin/ 0.6% copper with a trace of nickel. It is an alternative to more expensive finishes and makes a flatter pad than its leaded counterpart. We can also finish plate your boards with either electro-plated nickel/gold, electro less nickel immersion gold or immersion silver.

The laminate materials that we are processing RoHS products on are capable of withstanding temperatures between 260º and 288º C for 20 seconds or more depending on the laminate selected.