ISO Certification
MCL became ISO 9001:2008 certified in 2014 and adopted the newest version in 2015. Our company is devoted to supply printed circuit boards that have consistent quality, are manufactured according the customer’s expectations, and following industry specifications and standards. Being ISO certified also aids in supplying your defect-free PCBs on time and at a competitive price.
MCL currently has an ISO 9001:2015 certification to better manage risk. ISO 9001:2015 is an international standard dedicated to quality management systems. Specifically, it outlines an intricate framework for an organization to consistently provide products to meet the expectations of customers in an efficient manner. MCL has formal documentation and reporting of all company procedures, processes, and performance.
MCL strives for continuous improvement on a daily basis and with our certification we are able to document, address, revise our processes, and evaluate to better ourselves and increase our customer satisfaction and remain a strategic partner who is committed to the growth of our customers.
RoHS Compliance
The rise in the production and use of electrical and electronic products, such as mobile phones, computers and kitchen appliances, has resulted in an increasing volume of electrical and electronic waste. During the use, collection, treatment and disposal of such waste, products may release harmful (hazardous) substances such as lead, mercury and cadmium, which can cause major environmental and health problems.
The RoHS Directive currently restricts the use of ten substances: lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP).
All products with an electrical and electronic component, unless specifically excluded, have to comply with these restrictions.
REACH
REACH (EC 1907/2006) aims to improve the protection of human health and the environment through the better and earlier identification of the intrinsic properties of chemical substances. This is done by the four processes of REACH, namely the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals. REACH also aims to enhance innovation and competitiveness of the EU chemicals industry
One of the main reasons for developing and adopting the REACH Regulation was that a large number of substances have been manufactured and placed on the market in Europe for many years, sometimes in very high amounts, and yet there is insufficient information on the hazards that they pose to human health and the environment. There is a need to fill these information gaps to ensure that industry is able to assess hazards and risks of the substances, and to identify and implement the risk management measures to protect humans and the environment.
Conflict Material
Pursuant to section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act – commonly known as “Conflict Materials Act”, we certify our products do contain one or more of the following minerals: Tin, Tantalum, Tungsten or Gold or other derivatives of columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite, or wolframite.
We further certify these minerals do not originate from the following countries:
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Angola
- Burundi
- Central African Public
- Republic of Congo
- Rwanda
- South Sudan
- Tanzania
- Uganda
- Zambia
IPC
IPC-A-600 (Acceptability of Printed Circuit Boards) & IPC-6012 (Qualifications for Printed Circuit Boards
What does IPC stand for?
Initially known as Institute for Printed Circuits, the organization changed its name to the Institute for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits. IPC has taken the lead in generating new standards for PCB materials, design, qualification, and performance of PCBs.
What is IPC-6012?
IPC-6012: Quality and performance specification for rigid printed circuit board. IPC-6012 is the specification that establishes the performance and qualification requirements for the fabrication of rigid boards. These specifications are applicable to the technologies listed below:
- Single side
- Multilayer boards
- Active/Passive embedded circuitry printed boards
- Metalcore printed boards
What is IPC-A-600?
IPC-A-600: Acceptability of Printed Boards. IPC-A-600 – also called IPC-600 – sets the level of acceptance criteria for each class of product. It describes the ideal, admissible, and non-negotiable conditions that are observable on printed boards. It represents the visual interpretation of minimum requirements set forth in various printed board specifications such as the IPC-6010 series.
The visual illustrations in the IPC-A-600 document portray specific criteria of the performance requirements of the applicable IPC-6010 series document. Customers and manufacturers can also agree on acceptance criteria that will replace the requirements of the appropriate IPC standard.
What’s the difference between IPC-6012 and IPC-A-600?
IPC-6012 or IPC-A-600? What is the difference between these documents? This could be a tricky question that is running in the industry right now.
IPC-6012 is a performance specification document. It defines default requirements and the specifications for each class of PCBs (class 1, class 2, and class 3).
The PCBs that fall under the class 1 category is the general electric boards with a minimal life and simpler function, such as the boards used in remote controls.
Class 2 PCBs are service electronic products with an extended life. These boards are typically used in television, a computer, or an air conditioner.
Class 3 PCBs have tighter tolerances when compared to class 1 and class 2 PCBs. These PCBs are commonly used in military applications, medical equipment, and the aerospace industry.
IPC-6012: Quality and performance specification for rigid printed circuit board. IPC-6012 is the specification that establishes the performance and qualification requirements for the fabrication of rigid boards. These specifications are applicable to the technologies listed below:
- Single side
- Multilayer boards
- Active/Passive embedded circuitry printed boards
- Metalcore printed boards
ITAR
The International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) is the United States regulation that controls the manufacture, sale, and distribution of defense and space-related articles and services as defined in the United States Munitions List (USML). ITAR mandates that access to physical materials or technical data related to defense and military technologies is restricted to US citizens only.
UL Certification
UL Listing means that UL has tested representative samples of a product and determined that the product meets specific, defined requirements. These requirements are often based on UL’s published and nationally recognized Standards for Safety. Each manufacturer is then certified for specific requirements and PCB types and materials.
UL 94 Rating
UL 94, the Standard for Safety of Flammability of Plastic Materials for Parts in Devices and Appliances testing, is a plastics flammability standard released by Underwriters Laboratories of the United States.The standard determines the material’s tendency to either extinguish or spread the flame once the specimen has been ignited
- HB: slow burning on a horizontal specimen; burning rate < 76 mm/min for thickness < 3 mm or burning stops before 100 mm
- V-2: burning stops within 30 seconds on a vertical specimen; drips of flaming particles are allowed.
- V-1: burning stops within 30 seconds on a vertical specimen; drips of particles allowed as long as they are not inflamed.
- V-0: burning stops within 10 seconds on a vertical specimen; drips of particles allowed as long as they are not inflamed.
- 5VB: burning stops within 60 seconds on a vertical specimen; no drips allowed; plaque specimens may develop a hole.
- 5VA: burning stops within 60 seconds on a vertical specimen; no drips allowed; plaque specimens may not develop a hole.
AS9100
AS9100 series is the industry-recognized set of standards for quality assurance and risk management for those organizations involved with the design, development, production, installation, and servicing in the ASD sector.
Provide confidence to your aviation, space, and defense customers, and organizations that your quality management system has been certified by an accredited certification body and you meet the applicable Aerospace Quality Management System Standard requirements.
AS9102 (FAI Testing Report)
This SAE Aerospace Standard (AS) establishes documentation requirements for the First Article Inspection (FAI).
The purpose of the First Article Inspection is to provide objective evidence that all engineering design and specification requirements are properly understood, accounted for, verified, and documented. The purpose of this standard is to provide a consistent documentation requirement for aerospace components First Article Inspection.
It is intended that the documentation generated will be a quality record of the supplier and customer for review of accountability and planning, for performing periodic surveillance and audits to verify conformance, for evaluating root cause and corrective action for any non-conformances, and for problem investigations.