Oct 11, 2012 The July 2014 deadline for medical devices to be RoHS-compliant in Europe is a wake-up call for all organizations with global sourcing and distribution. To provide working knowledge for successful lead-free process implementation, IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries® will host “IPC Medical Industries Technical Conference: Lead-Free Reliability Readiness,” November 7–9 in Andover, Mass.
Sponsored by Philips Healthcare, the IPC conference will include a full-day workshop and a day-and-a-half technical conference.
“RoHS and other environmental regulations are transforming the way medical device companies manage their supply chains,” said Leo Lambert, vice president, EPTAC Corporation. This conference will provide medical device manufacturers with a beneficial checklist for the leaded-to-lead-free conversion process.
On November 7, the challenges of conversion from a leaded to lead-free operation will be presented in a full-day workshop by Lambert and Umut Tosun, ZESTRON America. During the workshop, the instructors will cover process changes for implementation, laminate and material changes involved in the conversion, thermal profile difference, criticality of cleaning and lessons learned since the introduction of lead-free materials in the industry. The workshop will conclude with a tour of the Philips Healthcare Customer Care Center.
The day-and-a-half technical conference on November 8 and 9 will include technical presentations from experts at Philips Healthcare, Medtronic, Sanmina-SCI, Raytheon and University of Maryland. Conference topics include engineering challenges associated with materials selection, reliability priorities for lead free, lead-free PCB testing, and lead-free quality concerns and expectations throughout the supply chain. Attendees will also gain insight into tin whisker detection, formation and mitigation; lead-free cleanliness requirements; a reliability assessment of RoHS-compliant equipment; related environmental legislation issues in the context of implantable medical electronics; and more.
For more information on all the technical sessions at “IPC Medical Industries Technical Conference: Lead-Free Reliability Readiness,” visit www.ipc.org/medical-conference.
IPC (www.IPC.org) is a global industry association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 3,300 member companies which represent all facets of the electronics industry, including design, printed board manufacturing, electronics assembly and test. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $2.02 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; Bangalore, India; and Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, China.
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