Can RoHS Conversion Actually

Reduce Product Cost?

Philip DiVita, David Steele and John Kanavel
DA-TECH Corporation
Ivyland, PA, USA

Chrys Shea
Shea Engineering Services
Burlington, NJ USA

chrys@sheaengineering.com
pdivita@da-tech.com
© 2012 DA-TECH Corporation
Agenda
 RoHS
 PCB cost drivers
 Conversion process
 Case studies
 Cost reduction strategies
 Discussion and conclusions
 Questions
Reduction of Hazardous
Substances Directive
 Covers: Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Mercury (Hg),
Hexavalent chromium (Hex-Cr), Polybrominated biphenyls
(PBB), and Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE).
 Initial compliance deadline
of July 2006 exempted
many medical or other high-
reliability electronics
 Next compliance deadline of
2014 includes many medical, telecom, etc.
Why Costs are Expected to
Rise
 Lead-free solders are more $
expensive than traditional tin-lead
 They process at higher temperatures
 Higher-temperature, RoHS compliant PCB
laminates are more expensive
 Laminates are more difficult to fabricate
 Component cost may go up, depending on
contact metallization
How Can Costs Go Down?
 Many devices exempt in 2006 but
affected in 2014 have long life
$
cycles and use mature technologies
 Consider miniaturization technology
advancements in last 6, 8 or 10 years…
 Cost factors include PCB area and layer
count, component type and count,
manufacturing efficiency…improving these
can overcome higher materials costs!
Conversion Process
 Begins with a thorough BOM scrub
 Are RoHS-compliant components available?
 Are any facing obsolescence?
 It’s been six years since first compliance
 Can T/H components migrate to SMT?
 Results of BOM scrub determine
conversion path
Conversion Paths

© 2011 XYZ, Inc. (optional)

Notes on Conversion Paths
Product Review
RoHS-compliant component availability and /or obsolescence analysis

The conversion path is based on the

results of the BOM scrub.

Failure to identify issues in BOM scrub

can cost a lot of time and money later on.
Understand
timing
• Prototype
• Test requirements
• Validation

• Final documentation
• Production

Fully© RoHS-Compliant Product

2011 XYZ, Inc. (optional)
Case Studies
1. Remote Display Keypad Unit
2. Analytical Equipment Controller Board
3. Real-Time Clock
4. Embedded Process Control Board
Remote Display Keypad Unit

T/H Transistors SMT Transistors

Remote Display Keypad Unit
 Simple conversion
 Allbut one component
available in Pb-free
 Replacement was easy to source
 Update T/H transistors to SMT
 Fit inside same footprint
 Minimal changes facilitate easy layout update
 Cost reduction: 2% per assembly
Analytical Equipment Controller
Board
Analytical Equipment Controller
Board
 Required exact same
functionality
 Many opportunities:
 Conversion of T/H to SMT reduced PCB area by 40% and
reduced labor cost
 Relocation of opto-isolator to main PCB eliminated daughter
card altogether
 Component count and cost reduction lowered total BOM cost
 Electrical redesign combined multiple functions into one
controller chip

 Cost Reduction: 31% per assembly

Real-Time Clock
Real Time Clock
 Driven by obsolescence
 Battery life considerations
 Complete redesign required to meet FDA
guidelines
 Exact form, fit & function to avoid recertification
 RoHS compliance
 Battery replaceable in field

 Cost Reduction: 52% per assembly

Embedded Process Control Bd
Embedded Process Control
Board
 Driven by obsolescence
 Lots of opportunities
 T/H to SMT improve mfg
efficiency & reduce labor
 Elimination of obsolete components lowered BOM cost
 Consolidation of two PCBs into one
 New self-diagnostics reduced test time by 2/3
 Added USB & improved communications protocol

 Cost Reduction: 36% per assembly

Strategies for Cost Reduction

PCB Size Component

and Count Count

Cost
Reduction

Component Component
Conversion Cost
Reduce PCB Size or Count
 Area and layer count are the biggest
factors in PCB cost for std configurations
 Area reduction may come from T/H→SMT
conversion or component count reduction
 Layer count (and/or area) reduction may
come from using finer lines/spaces
 Eliminating a PCB eliminates its cost
altogether
Reduce Parts Count
 Lowers BOM cost (usually)
 Reduces PCB area requirement
 Improves manufacturing efficiency
 Reduces inventory, labor, overhead and
handling costs

The R-nets shown here

combine 2, 4, or 5 resistors
of the same value into one
component
Update Components to Reduce
Parts Cost
 Eliminate obsolete components
 SMT components are less expensive than
T/H
 Update package types, e.g. 0603 costs
less than 1206
 Up-to-date components that combine
multiple functions reduce parts cost, parts
count, and PCB area requirements
Convert T/H to SMT
 SMT components almost always less
expensive than similar T/H
 Require less PCB area
 Better manufacturing efficiency
 Lower labor requirements
Cost Drivers are all Interrelated

PCB Size and Component

Count Count
Cost
Reduction

Component
Conversion Component Cost

Small changes can generate substantial savings

Discussion
 Lead-free compatible solders and laminates
are more expensive than tin-lead and
require more expensive processing
 The 2006 conversion was painful and costly
 The 2104 conversion will be easier and less
expensive:
 Lessons learned
 Better materials availability
 More cost reduction opportunities in medical
and telecom due to long product life cycles
Discussion (2)
 BOM scrub determines conversion path
 #1 most important step!
 Four case studies presented
 Alltook different conversion paths
 Used different combinations of cost reduction
strategies
 Cost reductions ranged from 2% to 52%
Conclusion
 Product cost can be reduced when
converting electronics to RoHS
compliance
 Keys to success include:
 Thorough BOM scrub
 Component consolidation strategy
 Incorporation of DFM recommendations
 Up-front consideration of validation/
qualification testing requirements and timing
 Thank You
Questions?

Contact:

Philip DiVita
pdivita@da-tech.com

Chrys Shea
chrys@sheaengineering.com