Hi Brian, There are LOTS of counterfeit and sub-standard electronic components of all kinds about, I though this was widely understood. The best ones I came across were capacitors where the counterfeiters hadn’t even bothered putting anything inside! Just two unconnected wires sticking out the bottom, all the value and regulatory markings were present. Imagine if these were surge suppressors. There are two possibilities in your case. 1. If the filter was branded with a manufacturer’s name and part number, and is of sub-standard quality to that manufacturer’s normal production, then the product is clearly counterfeit. It may or may not perform as specified. 2. It could just be a cheap filter which again may or may not, perform as specified. If it is counterfeit I wouldn’t get too het up about it, the scale of the problem is not something you can do anything about. You should of course advise your client who may already know anyway. If there are genuine safety concerns then the wider authorities should in my opinion also be informed, though your client may not appreciate this course of action. As Michael points out, Far Eastern manufacturers are quite notorious for substituting components and materials, either to cut costs or because they genuinely don’t understand the importance of why something was specified. You have to watch these manufacturers like hawks which, for anything other than the cheapest, low quality, high volume, consumer products often negates the cost advantage of manufacturing in the Far East. Thankfully some Western companies are waking up to this, but so are some Far Eastern and quality and integrity is improving in some companies. T
----- Original Message ----- From: Kunde, Brian Sent: 10/30/12 08:41 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [PSES] Possible Counterfeit EMC Components? I recently preformed a safety evaluation of a product made in the far east which contained a suspicious looking rf line filter. Instead of the nice silkscreened markings showing the company name, numbers and a schematic of the filter components, it just had a basic printed label. When I removed the filter and turned it over I found that the case was not soldered but just spot welded in four spots. Are line filter companies cutting corners to save money or might this filter be a counterfeit? The filter manufacturer's website doesn't show this model filter (anymore?) but you can buy them from several online electronic component companies. Has anyone run across counterfeit components and is this something we need to keep an eye out for? My biggest concern is with safety certified components which smaller companies like ours have to purchase through distributors who get them from who knows where. Is this a real concern or am I just being paranoid? Thanks, The Other Brian ______! __________________________ LECO Corporation Notice: This communication may contain confidential information intended for the named recipient(s) only. If you received this by mistake, please destroy it and notify us of the error. Thank you. - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]! et> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]> - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]>
