Target Condition: Are Autorouters Friend or Foe?
Fresh PCB Concepts: Assembly Challenges with Micro Components and Standard Solder Mask Practices
IPC Standards: Ticket to a Safe Passage
October 26, 2023 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
John Watson, CID, is a customer success manager with Altium who also teaches PCB design at Palomar College in Carlsbad, California. He’s noticed that most of his students are primarily new to the industry and not familiar with IPC standards. In his classes, he teaches how to use these standards while trying to help students access the documents more easily.
When we met with John, we asked him to discuss the importance of understanding IPC standards, the price you’ll pay if you decide not to follow them, and his plans for getting new designers on board with standards as early as possible in their careers.
Andy Shaughnessy: John, many of your students have never had an introduction to IPC standards and don’t know why they could help them with their designs. Where is the disconnect?
John Watson: True, but there’s an underlying issue. There’s another group of designers who don't follow any standards. When I ask them what standard they’re following, they respond that they don’t follow standards. But that’s like building a house with no measuring tape. I look at PCB design and manufacturing as an all-in-one package, where it’s combined with a fabrication drawing and an assembly drawing; it’s a contract and bill for services.
IPC standards are the drivers of the fabrication process. They guide designers and explain what they should be doing. When I ask these designers why they don’t use them, often they’ll say, “I want to reinvent the wheel.” I’ll tell them, “Do you know how difficult that is? You have an entire system and structure here of standards that have been developed through experts in the industry, and you want to ignore them?”
Barry Matties: At the very least, that unnecessarily elevates risk.
Watson: That's right. You're asking a fab house to build a board not based on any guidelines. If you don't aim for anything, you're bound to hit it. That’s what can happen if you don't have a guideline to direct you when you're designing the PCB. It’s a recipe for failure.
To read this entire conversation, which appeared in the October 2023 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.
Share on:
Suggested Items
New IPC VP Joe Schneider Building Stronger Focus on U.S., Canada
06/19/2025 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007IPC has hired Joe Schneider as a vice president to strengthen its regional focus and address the specific needs in the U.S. and Canada. Joe brings a rich background in OEM and contract manufacturing, including with industry giants like Siemens and Abbott Laboratories. In this interview, he shares his vision for the region, which emphasizes workforce development and supply chain challenges.
Standards: The Roadmap for Your Ideal Data Package
05/29/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineIn this interview, IPC design instructor Kris Moyer explains how standards can help you ensure that your data package has all the information your fabricator and assembler need to build your board the way you designed it, allowing them to use their expertise. As Kris says, even with IPC standards, there’s still an art to conveying the right information in your documentation.
LSI ADL Technology Leverages IPC Membership for Growth, Training, and Industry Leadership
05/28/2025 | Michelle Te, IPC CommunityWhether attending the EMS Leadership Summit at IPC APEX EXPO, or subscribing to workforce training, LSI ADL Technology has noted several positive changes directly related to its IPC membership. “Collaboration, brainstorming, and sharing best practices have been the most important aspects of our partnership with IPC,” says Jonathan Verity, assistant general manager at LSI ADL Technology.
TT Electronics' Cleveland Ohio Facility Re-Certified to Aerospace and Defence Standards AS9100 and Nadcap
05/23/2025 | TT ElectronicsTT Electronics has successfully completed recertification of the Cleveland facility to AS9100 and Nadcap standards. This milestone underscores the company’s unwavering dedication to quality in manufacturing for the aerospace and defence sectors, a commitment proudly upheld for more than 15 years.
IPC-CFX, 2.0: Expanding the Digital Backbone of Electronics Manufacturing
05/21/2025 | Chris Jorgensen, IPCSince its initial release in March 2019, IPC Connected Factory Exchange (CFX), the global standard for plug-and-play, machine-to-machine, and machine-to-system communication serving as the backbone for digital manufacturing, has seen continuous enhancement through multiple version updates. In 2024, the standard matured as adoption spread, with a global committee of EMS, OEM, machine vendors, and software solution providers twice releasing version updates to build on the standard's base framework and enhance its usability in industry.