InfoPower

In the beginning stages of a new product’s design, engineers and product developers usually know how their products will be marketed. That decision determines which national or international standards need to be followed, and which safety agency they will work with in obtaining approvals for their products.

Accessory Power systems are literally passports to global markets offering end users the versatility to connect to country-specific power mains.

In comparison to the fireworks of traditional welding’s molten metal, ultrasonic welding is more a wisp of smoke and a tip of the magician’s hat. In the mid to late 1990s, ultrasonic welding had ventured well beyond its plastics and automotive roots of the 1960s and 1980s respectively. By the dawn of the new millennium, ultrasonic welding had expanded far beyond toys and automobile subsystems—it was wired into the consumer electronics industry, including medical devices and components. Though lacking the cachet of robotics and CAD-CAM, ultrasonic welding was already well versed in the language of manufacturing.

Underwriters Laboratories’ (UL) 94 Standard for Safety Tests for Flammability of Plastic Materials for Parts in Devices and Appliances defines acceptable flammability ratings of plastic materials for parts in devices and appliances in North America. The First Edition of UL 94 appeared in September of 1972. And on September 16, 1988, the Department of Defense (DoD) adopted UL 94. Since then, there have been several updated editions of UL 94.

Previously we covered RoHS history and the successive directives published by the EU regarding the restrictions of the quantities of certain hazardous substances used in electrical and electronic equipment in European countries: lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), hexavalent chromium (CrVI), polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), and four different phthalates: DEHP, BBP, BBP, and DIBP.