The use of lead in commercial and industrial products has fallen sharply in recent decades. Until now, however, small amounts of lead were still permitted in a few areas of application. For example, the RoHS Directive currently still allows up to 4% lead in copper alloys such as brass, the material used in SKINTOP® and SKINDICHT® brass glands, as an exception for electronic products. This exemption has recently been extended until June 30, 2027. A further extension is formally possible.
As early as 2020, LAPP was the first manufacturer in the world to present cable glands in a lead-free brass variant. Seize the opportunity at an early stage together with us and rely on sustainable lead-free cable glands that can be used in the long term.
What is a lead-free cable gland?
Lead-free cable glands are also cable glands. The only difference is that they are produced without the common two to four per cent lead content as an additive in brass, which is permitted under the RoHS Directive and is common in the market.
Lead-free cable glands and lead-free cable gland accessories from LAPP can be identified by the designation "LF" (Lead-Free). This means that you get our hitherto customary and popular cable glands, such as the SKINTOP® MS-M and MS-SC-M or our lock nut SKINDICHT® SM-M, with the same performance, also as lead-free versions. New to our portfolio, you can now also find the SKINDICHT® BL-M blanking plugs, SKINDICHT® MR-M reducers, SKINDICHT® ME-M enlargers, SKINDICHT® MA-PG/M adapters and SKINDICHT® SM-PE M lock nuts with claws as lead-free variants.
Since its launch just over a year ago, we have made lead-free brass an integral part of life at LAPP, successfully mastered the challenge of alternative materials, and will gradually supplement other product families to include lead-free variants for you.
As the global market leader for integrated cable and connection solutions, we didn’t wait, but we were the first manufacturer in the world to establish cable glands made of lead-free brass early on and to this day have expanded our lead-free product portfolio for you.
As always proactive rather than reactive – so you can react early and sustainably to upcoming changes.
What are REACH and RoHS?
To protect humans, animals, and the environment, various regulations such as RoHS and REACH establish requirements for the use of chemicals, their restrictions, and areas of application. The REACH regulations also define the allowable lead content for copper alloys.
What challenges are there when manufacturing products with lead-free metals?
The addition of lead in copper alloys, including brass, ensures good chip breaking and light lubrication. This reduces friction and thus also heat generation during the manufacture of cable glands. The low material hardness of brass with added lead is another advantage that enables fast and easy processing.
The production of cable glands using lead-free materials and the procurement of raw materials therefore entailed complex process adaptations and higher costs. Currently, lead-free brass materials are often not available in the same coverage. The tensile behaviour when processing lead-free materials is different to that with the addition of lead in the material. This means that chip removal during production is a challenge, especially if both variants of the semi-finished products are used in production.
Additional work, which leads to overall higher costs and will inevitably have an impact on the prices of lead-free product variants, especially in the transitional period.
What are the differences between lead-free cable glands?
Lead-free cable glands are visually identical to those made of brass containing lead.
The product properties of cable glands with and without lead are also comparable. Both the internal LAPP laboratory and external testing institutes have confirmed that:
- mechanical properties,
- corrosion resistance and
- EMC properties are comparable.
Both variants of the LAPP cable glands are also dust-tight in accordance with IP 68 and protected against continuous submersion up to a maximum of 10 bar and 100 metres of water depth for a maximum of 30 minutes.
Like the lead-containing cable glands, lead-free cable glands can be delivered to you immediately off the shelf in the M12 to M63 metric sizes.
What are the areas of application and in which environments are they used?
Our lead-free cable glands are a good choice whenever the RoHS Directive and the REACH Regulation for lead are relevant for your machinery or systems.
Particularly if you manufacture or operate machines with long planning times or life cycles, it makes sense to rely on components that are lead-free and are decoupled from any currently applicable and future bans in the RoHS or REACH regulations.
On the point of international sales markets or value chains and legislation, forward-looking sustainable action can also have a rewarding effect on your planning
How do you identify lead-free cable glands from LAPP?
When selecting lead-free cable glands, look out for the designation "LF" in the article numbers of our products.
Products with this suffix are lead-free alternatives to the classic cable glands while still retaining the same product properties.
With our lead-free cable glands, you are therefore always on the safe side and can plan sustainably and for the long-term, even if the regulations are amended in future.