Welcome
Welcome to my blog, which I hope you'll find to be an interesting mixture of real-world experience, ideas, comments and observations.
Tom Gaskell
I've worked in industry as a consultant, manager and quality trouble-shooter for most of my career.
After spending 14 years in a multi-national consulting organisation and 10 years working in telecomms design and manufacturing start-ups, I set up the Cambridge (UK)-based quality, manufacturing and business consultancy Primilis (http://www.primilis.com) in 2006.
Category Archives: European Directives
CE marking misconceptions
To the uninitiated, product regulatory and approvals requirements seem baffling and over-complicated beyond belief; ‘bureaucracy gone mad’. CE marking is a prime example. Most products that are to be placed on the market in Europe need to have the familiar … Continue reading
When you launch a new product, what haven’t you thought about?
Quality is all about meeting requirements, even the ones that you don’t know about yet. Recently I have been working with some entrepreneurs and start-ups who have tremendous drive and enthusiasm and some great product ideas but are not very … Continue reading
Testing for RoHS compliance
How do you know if you comply with the RoHS directive? It isn't enough to rely on written assurances from your suppliers or manufacturer, although their Declarations of Conformance form a key part of your 'evidence'. It's highly likely that … Continue reading
Posted in European Directives
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More RoHS exemptions?
You may have seen in the press that as the deadline for implementing the RoHS Directive approaches (1 July) some additional exemptions have been requested by industry. If you haven’t seen it, here is a summary: The EC has acknowledged … Continue reading
Posted in European Directives, Manufacturing
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RoHS FAQs 1
The subject of the new EU RoHS Directive (Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances 2002/95/EC, sometimes called the lead-free directive, effective 1 July 2006) comes up in every business conversation I'm having at the moment. Many themes are … Continue reading
Posted in European Directives, Manufacturing, Technology
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Vapour Phase is 'in' again
Vapour Phase. Doesn't it sound old-fashioned?! It reminds some of us of the early days of surface mount before infra red and hot air reflow became properly established. The vapour cost a fortune and a simple plumbing error could leave … Continue reading
Posted in European Directives, Technology
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What to do with your old BGA rework machine
So lead-free/RoHS is almost with us and many companies are facing the need to update their prototyping or rework facilities. Many BGA rework machines, especially older models, can't work at lead-free temperatures. (Well, they say they can on paper but you … Continue reading
Posted in European Directives, Technology
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