We offer these documents to use as guides in your design and quality control.  Feel free to adapt them to your use.  We make no proprietary claim or copyright to this material. 

 

RoHS - Products destined for the European Union
If you're manufacturing products destined for the EU, you need to understand the requirements of the RoHS Directive to ensure that your products comply.  DSM can provide materials and finishes that are compliant, however you must alert us to your requirement.

 

The RoHS Directive stands for "the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment".  This Directive bans the placing on the EU market of new electrical and electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants.

Cosmetic Inspection Standard for Plated Parts
There are times when the appearance of the part is critical to your product.  There are other times when minimum cost is the highest priority.  How can you communicate this information with manufacturing and quality control?  Adopt a time-and-distance inspection process that defines how to look at the part and what to look for.  Click here to download the standard we recommend.

 

Plated coatings for metal
This document is a summary of several kinds of plating for metal alloys like aluminum, steel, and stainless steel.  The most frequently used coatings include chromate, anodize, zinc, nickel, and chrome.  We also discuss gold, silver, passivate, and several others.  Click here to download a summary of plating specifications. 

 

Design Guide for Bends
To minimize delay and expense, you might design your parts so they can be made with standard tooling.  This design guide discusses recommendations for the inside bend radius for various sheet metal thicknesses, along with recommended minimum dimensions.  Click here to download your free copy.