While there is still some concern about the reliability of lead-free components, OEMs of consumer products have found ways to adapt to RoHS laws while still producing sturdy products. According to an article at RoHS-News, two firms, E-Certa Inc. and Sanmina SCI, teamed up for a study looking at the effects of RoHS on consumer products. The results find that OEMs of consumer products have found ways to design lead-free versions that are sufficiently reliable, erasing the fears that lead-free components risk product failure.
The military and aerospace industries are not convinced, however, that lead-free parts are sufficiently reliable. Those industries still shy away from RoHS-compliant parts. Consumer products don’t face the same difficult environments or the same length-in-service as military and aerospace products. While a cell phones and TVs experience relatively stable temperatures – as well as short lifecycles – military and aerospace components are subject to extreme temperature variances over years if not decades.