JULY 2018 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 93
standard nevertheless underscores the interest
and need for FMD realization in XML format.
Further enhancements can also be realized
in the future. To name a few:
• Integration with manufacturing data for
mixed, compounded or formulated
materials
• Availability of integrated materials selec-
tion with design tools for more complex
products
• True business-to-business methods to
request data as well as provide data all
in standard machine-readable formats
• Enhanced error checking, validation of
common-sense rules, and agreement
between, for example, a Class A declara-
tion that says RoHS Compliant = True,
yet the Class D file for the same item
reports a RoHS substance over the
threshold percent
• Support for updated guidance from ECHA
on Once an Article, Always and Article,
which changes substance percent report-
ing from any top-level assembly to the
lowest level article exceeding the 0.1%
SVHC threshold. It is becoming clear that
this will require a new data attribute to
flag articles, as distinct from unshaped
materials or complex objects. It is our
understanding that this will be considered
in the development of a revised IPC-1752B
Standard
In addition to the motivation of staying
ahead of the growing number of regulated
substances, business processes and proce-
dures that support FMD can also be useful.
The expectation that FMDs must be provided
can be a requirement for gaining new business
or for qualification of an item as a prerequisite
to be purchased. A company can also include
FMD responsiveness in ongoing supplier eval-
uation performance ratings that may influ-
ence awarding future business. Once an FMD
is received in well-formed XML format, load-
ing this data to the customer's system can be
automated for maximum efficiency and reused
through the FMD cascade process. We have
seen it work and only need more FMDs enter-
ing the road.
SMT007
References
1. M. Myles, Supply Chain Data Exchange for
Material Disclosure. Journal of Surface Mount
Technology, Vol. 19-1, 2006.
2. R. Franz, Beyond "Lead-Free": An Update
on the IPC-1752A Standard for Materials Decla-
ration. Electronics Design, Jan. 8, 2015.
3. 2017 Assent Compliance Inc.
This paper was first presented at the 2018
IPC APEX EXPO Technical Conference and
published in the 2018 Technical Conference
Proceedings.
Roger L. Franz is an engineering
system analyst at TE Connectivity.
by Dan Feinberg, I-Connect007
At the recently concluded Augmented World Expo (AWE) in Santa Clara, Califor-
nia, Flex invited I-Connect007 to attend an event where they presented an update
on their XR progress
since the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. At
this year's CES, they announced the launch of an extended reality (XR) reference
design for the next generation of XR headsets. The company has now introduced
an augmented reality (AR or, as we now call it, XR) reference design to reduce time
to market for companies wishing to make and market XR devices.
Read the full article here.
Seeing Clearly: XR Headsets and Flex's Reference Design at AWE
