Compliance of NovAtel's GPS-702L Antenna to the European Union's new WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) and RoHS (Restriction of the use of Certain Hazardous Substances) Directives

摘要

NovAtel's GPS-702L antenna is the company's first foray into the use of lead-free electronic assembly methods. This effort is driven by the European Union's (EU) directives 2002/95/EC (RoHS) and 2002/96/EC (WEEE), which seek to remove certain environmentally hazardous substances, including lead, from the waste stream and to avoid final disposal in landfills. The RoHS legislation was mandated to be passed by all national legislatures in the EU by August 2005, and will be effective July 1, 2006. After this date, all electronic equipment covered under Annex 1A of WEEE will be required to be compliant to the legislation when placed on the market in the EU. Concentrations of the listed substances must be absent from new equipment, or below the allowable threshold, including lead, as well as several heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium and brominated compounds (PBBs & PBDEs). Annex 1A of WEEE is reproduced in the Appendix of this document. WEEE requires manufacturers to take back products for recycling. Every country is implementing the WEEE legislation differently, so manufacturers must inform themselves about the waste recovery rules in place for each country into which it sells its products. NovAtel makes high-precision GPS antennas and receivers for survey and machine control applications. These cover a wide range of environments from jet aircraft to arctic survey to tractor/trailer tracking and unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). Since equipment failure is not an option in these environments, NovAtel has embarked on an analysis of assemblies fabricated with lead-free SnAgCu alloy (commonly known as SAC) from two manufacturers, and has incorporated a number of design concepts into its testing, including HALT (Highly Accelerated Life Test) to destruction. In addition to qualifying every component and material used in its 702L antenna for RoHS compliance, NovAtel worked with its electronics manufacturers to determine a proper solder paste and application parameters for the GPS-702L. This paper will discuss the effectiveness of the lead-free assembly techniques for industrial products such as GPS antennas and receivers, and their suitability for widespread use in the industry. This legislation still has a low profile in the US. Users of GNSS equipment must evaluate equipment purchases for the next 12-24 months based on uncertain information in the marketplace.