ROCHESTER, NY, May 24, 2005 – EMA Design Automation is offering a new service to help companies satisfy the European Union’s restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances for electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS) directive.

“Conventional thinking implies that you can solve the problem in manufacturing, but by then it is very expensive to fix, and there is a much higher risk of delays, which means lost market opportunities,” said Manny Marcano, president of EMA Design Automation. “At that point the options are limited, and a complete design iteration may be required. In addition, changes at that point create ECNs, which create more work in documentation. Our unique approach offers a design methodology that accomplishes compliance at the intellectual property point in engineering. We’re offering a service and design methodology that solves the problem early in the design phase before components are selected or costs committed.”

According to a press release, the EMA design methodology uses data from the PartMiner CAPS database into the schematic design tool, OrCAD Capture CIS. The Component Information System (CIS) database contains component data, including RoHS data, showing both high-level compliance indications and detailed parametric values. This allows an engineer to see part information and RoHS compliance data while selecting parts in the schematic tool. Using this design process reportedly allows an engineer can determine whether parts used in the design are compliant.

The first level of service offered creates a CIS database with the following RoHS information:

A bill of materials created from new designs will contain this information so that engineering, procurement and manufacturing all work from the same data, the press release stated. This component database, including RoHS data from CAPS, can also be used to update legacy designs with alternate, RoHS-compliant parts.

The second level of service provides a deeper analysis of the parts. EMA can capture various parameters on each of the six hazardous substances from various component manufacturers. Typically, this data is provided at the component level and not at the homogeneous part level; however, based on a customer’s requirements, EMA can track data at the homogeneous level.

With the third level of service, EMA provides on-site consulting services to help indicate potential issues in new and existing designs caused by component changes. Common design problems are often seen as signal integrity, timing or other high-speed problems.

“The basis of our solution is to build products that are ‘Lead-Free by Design',” said Marcano. “We give engineers an easy way to select parts taking RoHS into account. The methodology handles RoHS data collection and reporting, which allows engineers to once again focus on the details of the design.”