Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

One World, One Industry: Better by Design—Bringing PCB Design Professionals Together

As a member-driven organization, IPC works diligently to help our member OEMs, EMS companies, PCB manufacturers, and suppliers build electronics better. And we all know that you cannot build a great product without a great design.

To focus on the critical role design plays in the development of electronics, we created IPC Design to bring together printed board design professionals to connect with other designers, enjoy education and training opportunities, mentor and encourage the next generation of designer engineers, and above all, help advance the art and science of printed board design.

We welcome all designers to participate in IPC Design by becoming an affiliate—a free, zero-obligation way to expand your professional network. At no cost to you, you will have the opportunity to interact with academia and the next generation of circuit board professionals, while also being the first in line for IPC events, including webinars, competitions, and other opportunities for you to connect with fellow designers. As IPC joins the industry in getting back to “business as usual,” affiliates will be given the chance to voice their needs and help create the next generation of IPC Design activities.

Affiliation in IPC Design is completely free. You can register online.

IPC Design affiliates have already contributed their time to the development of a PCB Design Desk Reference, a table-top guide to designing boards in accordance with IPC design standards, which will be available later this year.

The IPC Design Competition, scheduled for IPC APEX EXPO 2022, will test the design aptitude of professional designers from around the world. The preliminary heat will consist of a full board build-up: starting with a schematic, some mechanical/packaging constraints, and a pre-defined component library, competitors will be required to complete a design task in accordance with relevant IPC standards, culminating in a standard-compliant documentation package and IPC-2581 file. Finalists are chosen from this round and invited to APEX EXPO 2022. The in-person event will consist of a very low-complexity board (blinky-board or similar) with predefined stackup and component library; the best layout wins!

Also, at IPC APEX EXPO 2022, IPC Design will host a “Day of DFX” with panels covering topics such as designing for manufacturing, testability, assembly, and much more.

IPC provides educational opportunities in design, whether you or your team need an introductory course or advanced design knowledge. Designing for smaller, more complex, and more robust electronics devices requires creative thinking and extensive theoretical and applied knowledge. To meet these challenges, IPC Design courses were developed to help designers across different sectors of the industry acquire and sharpen skills required to design and manufacture innovative products that ensure organizational profitability. Currently, IPC offers two introductory, two intermediate, and five advanced design courses.

In addition to design courses, we offer the IPC Designer Certification program at IPC-licensed training centers worldwide. Both certifications, one basic and one advanced, provide objective evaluation of core competencies in PCB design, providing instruction in how to transform an electrical circuit description into a PCB design that can be manufactured, assembled, and tested. 

IPC courses are taught by industry veterans who provide intensive training for learners to deliver effective and reliable design to customers. Information on IPC Design courses and certification can be found by visiting ipc.org.

We hope you’ll participate in all the opportunities offered through IPC Design. As always, please reach out to me with any questions or comments. I look forward to hearing from you.

This column originally appeared in the August 2021 issue of PCB007 Magazine.