Over a decade ago, former NASA administrator Daniel Goldin ushered in the “faster, better, cheaper” initiative in the U.S. space program that caught on in all kinds of industries, from semiconductors to golf balls. The word “smaller” also became associated with the NASA plan, as smaller spacecraft were logically cheaper and faster ones.
In the connector industry, it is all about smaller, better, cheaper (not to mention faster). To thrive, connector technology must incorporate these buzzwords. Bob Hult, director of product technology at Bishop & Associates, talks about the “smaller, better, cheaper” market trend in high-speed backplane connectors on p. 15.
The trend goes deeper in our cover feature from Weidmuller, “What to look for in a printed circuit board connector,” on p. 10. This article by marketing manager Bill Carson not only touches on smaller and cheaper, but also on the details of what exactly makes a PCB connector better.
On the topic of smaller, Jonathan Minnick, PCB terminal blocks product manager at Automation Systems Interconnect, presents, “The incredible shrinking I/O connector evolves” on p. 13. Here, Minnick describes the drivers behind the ever-smaller I/O device and the need for flexibility and space savings.
Lead-free a misnomer?
Recent environmental legislation, such as the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) initiative in the E.U., restricts many other substances besides lead. So why do you hear the term “lead-free” so often? Some industry experts have said they wish the term “lead-free” would be stricken from use. But the term is thriving. One reason is that lead is the most common substance-to-be-restricted found in electronics because it is in solder. And because it is in solder, removing lead has affected more manufacturers than removing mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, or the other two substances that cause readers’ eyes to glaze over. Frankly, it’s rather awkward and limiting to say, “free of polybrominated dipheynl ethers.”
Whereas a RoHS-compliant label doesn’t cover upcoming legislation in California or Japan, it does cover all the substances mentioned in RoHS. However, it doesn’t mean a product is actually free of those substances. The actual RoHS guidelines specify a percent of restricted substance by weight that is allowable in a product. To quote, “a maximum concentration value of 0.1% by weight in homogeneous materials for lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), and of 0.01% by weight in homogeneous materials for cadmium shall be tolerated.”
So RoHS-compliant is not lead-free, and vice versa. Technically, “lead-free” is overkill for RoHS compliance. Nevertheless, there is a need to carefully distinguish between lead free, RoHS compliant, and RoHS exempt. This is the challenge for manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers alike.
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Valerie Coffey
Editor-in-Chief
valeriec@pennwell.com
