Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

The Shaughnessy Report: What Are the Standards of Design?

Some people think standards are boring, but I disagree. If you mention “standards” to a group of PCB designers—or fabricators and assembly providers, for that matter—you’ll trigger a lively discussion every time. 

Everyone has something to say about standards. As you’ll see in this month’s issue of Design007 Magazine, some designers don’t use IPC standards at all, preferring to blaze their own trail. But as our contributors point out, that’s like building a house without any plans; why not take advantage of the contributions of subject matter experts and avoid mistakes? 

IPC standards can seem overwhelming to anyone who is new to the industry. How many standards are there, anyway? It can be confusing for new designers to determine which standards hold the answers they need. Plus, most recent grads say they get almost no information about standards in school. In this issue, our experts discuss some ideas for making standards more accessible to new PCB designers and design engineers at the college level. 

To help shed some light on the world of standards, IPC has released an updated version of the IPC Checklist, a handy guide that illustrates which standards cover which topics, from front-end design through assembly. One section explains the entire chain of production, while another details every single step of a typical PCB design cycle. Managers can refer this resource to new hires on their first day and say, “Read this.” 

We think the IPC Checklist is so useful that we have published it as an I-007eBook, available by clicking here. Check out the checklist! 

This month, we begin by talking to John Watson, who is working to put IPC standards into the hands of his PCB design students at Palomar College. Columnist Dana Korf discusses the new standards for additive manufacturing. Jen Kolar and Cory Grunwald discuss how Monsoon Solutions built its internal documentation process around the relevant IPC standards. Gerry Partida discusses the repercussions when designers don’t follow IPC standards. Kelly Dack explores the IPC Checklist, and Barry Olney discusses how standards can give an extra advantage to high-speed designers. IPC’s Patrick Crawford explains which standards should be top of mind for PCB designers, and Matt Stevenson breaks down his criteria for selecting the right PCB design tool. 

It's show time, and we are covering SMTA International and productronica. See you on the road!