In February 2003, the European Union issued Directive 2002/95/EC on the “Restriction on the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment”, commonly known as RoHS. It restricts the use of six hazardous substances, including lead (Pb). The RoHS Directive requires material composition changes to electrical and electronic components as well as the manufacturing assembly process.
Here is a link to the RoHS Directive: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32002L0096:EN:HTML (CELEX: 32002L0096)
Planar’s policy and commitment to producing world-class, environmentally-friendly quality products, using known reliable manufacturing processes and parts, is critical to our success.
The Directive states that all new products within its scope, put on the market of any Member State of the European Union (EU) after July 1, 2006 must be compliant with its requirements.
To be considered compliant, the following maximum allowable levels of hazardous substances must be met. These limits pertain to concentrations, by weight, in a homogeneous material that cannot be mechanically disjointed into different materials.
| Lead | <0.1wt %, 1000 ppm |
|---|---|
| Hexavalent Chromium | <0.1wt %, 1000 ppm |
| Cadmium and Cadmium Compounds | <0.01wt %, 100 ppm |
| Mercury and Mercury Compounds | <0.1wt %, 1000 ppm |
| Polybrominate Biphenyl (PBB) | <0.1wt %, 1000 ppm |
| Polybrominate Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE) | <0.1wt %, 1000 ppm |
This Directive does not apply to spare parts for the repair, or to the reuse, of electrical and electronic equipment put on the market before 1 July 2006.
Planar Systems Inc. declares that it is fully in support of and compliant with EU Directive 2002/95/EC for applicable products within its scope. This declaration is based upon supplier information and documentation gathered/obtained and/or on-site audits conducted by Planar Systems, Inc. personnel.
For applicable products within the Industrial Business Unit (IBU), the existing Planar part number has been modified such that it contains the addition of an “LF” suffix designation to indicate RoHS compliancy. This is shown on the part number label affixed to the display and the label affixed to the outside of the box containing the display.
For applicable products within the Commercial Business Unit (CBU), the existing part number is being maintained, but there is a cut-in serial number effective for RoHS compliancy.
A Declaration of Conformity is available upon request.
Major RoHS Compliance Roadmap Milestones
- Our efforts started in Spring 2004 when a global, cross-functional, multi-disciplinary team was formed, representing applicable functions across Planar such as Engineering, Quality, Global Supply Chain, Inventory Control, Business, Sales, Document Control, Manufacturing (Espoo and Beaverton facilities), Customer Service, Legal
- A Master Finished Goods conversion list and schedule was created for over 100 part numbers
- Assembly processes in all Planar sites and supply partners’ facilities have been converted for products within scope.
- On-site Due Diligence audits of all major vendors and supply partners have been carried out to verify RoHS compliance—on their processes, material evaluation evidence and documentation trails
- Extensive overhaul and update of Planar’s internal documentation system has been completed
- First DVT (Design Verification Tests) testing was completed at the beginning of 2006. DVT tests performed on all product families consisted of:
- Operational tests at high and low temperature specs
- Humidity tests (40 C / 93% RH)
- Shock and vibrations tests to specs
- Long term operational high temp >1000 hrs. at max. spec temp
- Long term MTBF verification tests to qualify the RoHS process technologies (PCBA, glass panel & assembly)
- Letters have been sent to all customers, informing them of the RoHS changes
- First RoHS Compliant product shipped in March 2006
Other Programs
In addition to the EU, other countries planning implementation of similar restrictions include China (Clean Production Promotion Law and Solid Waste Prevention and Control Law – March 2007), Japan (Green Procurement – July 2006), Korea (July 2007) and numerous States in the USA, including California (Jan 2007).
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