Virtually all of today’s commercially produced electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) carry a printed wiring board that allows products to perform their intended purpose. Printed wiring boards serve as the “brain” of electronic products and provide product users with “interactive” or customizable program functions—ultimately, it’s what allows us to tell our coffee makers how many cups to brew or our washing machines how much water to use.
Printed wiring boards are typically made of plastic laminates with metal circuitry and electronic components soldered onto the circuitry. The type of wiring board used in an electronic product depends on the material and the sophistication of the application (i.e., cell phone vs. high-speed digital applications). The trend in today’s EEE leans toward smaller, yet more powerful, devices. This translates into a higher concentration of heat sources and the possibility of electronic components overheating. Electrical faults, in addition to possible external sources of ignition, only increase the potential for fire hazards. For this reason, the majority of printed wiring boards are designed to meet flammability standards set by organizations such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL). Flame retardants, however, react differently when added to different materials, and their incorporation into wiring board materials can affect their overall performance. For this reason,
flame retardants are not interchangeable.
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