Extensive research and qualification work is required to substitute materials used in electronic equipment with potential substitutes that may have less impact on the environment, health and safety.
IBM has gone beyond compliance with legislated hazardous materials restrictions such as those contained in the European Union Directive 2002/95/EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, searching for alternatives to exempted applications of restricted substances and evaluating substitutes for materials that are not currently regulated. Some recent examples include:
- In February 2008, IBM announced that a lead-free design for the thermal conduction module (TCM) C-ring application in its high-end server offerings (IBM® zSeries® servers) was developed, qualified and would be implemented for all future models. The C-ring application in IBM zSeries products was unique to the industry and recognized for specific exemption under the RoHS Directive. After more than four years of research and development efforts to achieve comparable performance, tin, as a Pb-free alternate plating material, is being used in the TCM seals for new models of zSeries servers.
- IBM has been working with connector manufacturers and many compliant pin formats to qualify more than 100 compliant pin connectors with a 100% tin plating to replace lead plating on the compliant section. While the majority of these qualifications have been successfully completed, some have shown problems with high insertion/retention forces and unacceptable damage to card pin through holes (PTH) for particular connector designs, often related to specific pin configurations. These findings have prevented full qualification and implementation of tin plated compliant pin connectors for all products.
- IBM co-leads the multi-stakeholder Flame Retardants in Printed Circuit Boards Partnership Project of the U.S. EPA's Design for Environment Program. This project was launched to identify and evaluate commercially available flame retardants and their environmental, human health and safety, and environmental fate aspects in FR-4 printed circuit boards. The project is scheduled to publish its report in the summer of 2008. See the U.S. EPA's About the Flame Retardants in Printed Circuit Boards Partnership (link resides outside of ibm.com) for further details.