RoHS Testing

How do you prove your products is RoHS compliant? In spite of the July 2006 deadline for RoHS compliance the EU has not specified legal testing methods that authorities will use to determine compliance. All you have to work with is the legal permissible levels for the six RoHS banned substances.
 

RoHS testing involves analyzing samples for banned substances in a component's "homogenous" material - meaning the material cannot be broken down into different materials by mechanical means. Manufacturers have two primary test options. They can bring samples to a third-party testing lab for certification or can buy equipment for in-house testing. Both options have tradeoffs.

A third-party lab issuing a RoHS-compliant part certificate is the closest a company comes to a clean bill of health, said Dills. "It brings the manufacturer to the lowest level of risk."

But a lab can be a big cost burden. Industry sources say RoHS testing by a lab can be as high as $600 per sample.

Here are four action items listed by www.greensupplyline.com (source for this information):

1. Use RoHS testing only as one method of a larger overall compliance strategy.
2. Do not test everything. Evaluate what needs to be tested. Single source parts would be higher risk than commodity parts.
3. Deciding whether to buy in-house test equipment or rely on a third party testing lab depends on factors such as the type and quantity of parts, and speed of results required.
4. RoHS Testing is only as good as the marking and tracking systems. During supplier audits ensure partners have systems in place to differentiate compliant from non-compliant.