IPC Certification Program's 'Space Hardware Addendums' Training and Certification

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Space Hardware Addendums are developed by the IPC Committee Membership in addition to the base certification programs to include the extended requirements for products that must survive the vibration and thermal cyclic environments of getting to and operating in space. The aerospace industry, when specified, recognizes the Space Hardware Addendums in addition to the base standards as meeting many of the requirements for workmanship and specification acceptability.

The Space Hardware Addendums are included as modules for the J-STD-001, IPC/WHMA-A-620 and IPC-6012 Certified IPC Trainers and Certified IPC Specialist programs.

The IPC training and certification programs have two tiers of instruction. Certified IPC trainer candidates are sent to an official IPC certification center by their parent companies to receive intensive training and are then certified to provide application specialist or certified IPC specialist training. The term for certification is two years.

J-STD-001 Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies with Space Hardware Addendum

The IPC J-STD-001 Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies has emerged as the preeminent authority for electronics assembly manufacturing. The standard describes materials, methods and verification criteria for producing high quality soldered interconnections. The standard emphasizes process control and sets industry-consensus requirements for a broad range of electronic products.

Certified IPC trainer candidates who successfully complete the soldering workmanship portions of the course and the certification examination are given the instructional materials needed for training application specialists. The application specialists training is modularized, meaning that training on the entire document is not required. Application specialists must be trained on the introductory section, and then may be trained on other modules covering: wires and terminals, through hole technology, surface mount technology and inspection.

J-STD-001 Space Hardware Addendum

An optional module for those wishing to understand the extended requirements for products that MUST survive the vibration and thermal cyclic environments of getting to and operating in space in addition to or in place of the NASA 8739 .2 and .3 as detailed in the NASA 8739.6. Hands on skills are included in this course.

Topics Covered in the Training Courses

• General requirements, such as safety, tools and electrostatic discharge (ESD)
• Wire and terminal assembly requirements, demonstrations and laboratory
• Through hole technology requirements, demonstrations and laboratory
• Surface mount technology requirements, demonstrations and laboratory
• General soldered connection acceptance requirements (including lead free)
• Machine and reflow soldering process requirements
• Test methods and related standards
• Using statistical process control methodology

Who Should Become an IPC J-STD-001 Certified IPC Trainer or Certified IPC Specialist?  

The requirements for soldered electrical and electronic assemblies has emerged as the preeminent authority for electronic assembly manufacturing. This standard defines the materials, methods and verification criteria for producing high quality soldered interconnections. This standard emphasizes process control and gives companies the tools they need to increase employee skills and performance. J-STD-001 sends a strong message to customers that your company is serious about implementing company-wide quality assurance initiatives. Anyone responsible for quality and reliability of soldered electronic assemblies should attend this hands-on soldering course.  Assembly process engineers, quality assurance supervisors, training managers and others responsible for the quality and reliability of soldered electronic assemblies are excellent candidates for the program. Optional Space Hardware Addendum is available and the training is offered in many languages.

To read this entire article, which appeared in the September 2016 issue of SMT Magazine, click here.