Beyond the Board: Early Engagement Means Faster Prototyping for Defense Programs
Defense Speak Interpreted: The Autonomous Plane Battle—Skyborg Vs. Loyal Wingman
American Made Advocacy: Congress Back from Break With Work To Do
New IPC Standard Sets First Global Benchmark for E-Textile Wearable Reliability
April 29, 2025 | IPCEstimated reading time: 1 minute
IPC announces the release of IPC-8981, Quality and Reliability of E-Textile Wearables. This first-of-its-kind standard sets baselines for testing and classifying e-textile wearables, addressing key challenges in product reliability, performance, and quality assurance. IPC-8981 introduces a common framework for evaluating wearables that integrate electronics directly into textile materials—applications that span healthcare, defense, fitness, and consumer technology.
The standard was developed by the IPC E-Textiles Wearables Standard Task Group, led by Vladan Koncar of ENSAIT GEMTEX Lab – University of Lille and Sigrid Rotzler of Fraunhofer-Institut fur Zuverlassigkeit und Mikrointegration. The task group included international experts from both the textile and electronics industries, bringing multidisciplinary insight to the testing needs of e-textile wearables.
“As the first standard of this kind, IPC-8981 provides a solid basis for e-textile developers to make their products more reliable, set quality targets, and choose relevant testing methods,” Rotzler explained.
Added Koncar, “Our IPC-8981 standard and the associated test methods are essential: They help companies from both the textile and electronics sectors collaborate more effectively to develop high-quality products that are ready for market adoption.”
IPC-8981 is supported by 14 newly published IPC-TM-650 Test Methods covering environmental and mechanical durability factors such as abrasion, perspiration, UV exposure, and washing. It also offers guidance on part classification, testing thresholds, and how to reduce unnecessary testing steps to streamline development.
The release of IPC-8981 marks a pivotal step forward for the e-textiles wearables industry—providing the tools needed to transform wearable electronics from promising prototypes into reliable, market-ready solutions.
To purchase IPC-8981, visit the IPC Store. To learn more to join the IPC E-Textiles Wearables Standard Task Group and guide future enhancements to the standard, visit IPC's committee page.
Share on:
Testimonial
"In a year when every marketing dollar mattered, I chose to keep I-Connect007 in our 2025 plan. Their commitment to high-quality, insightful content aligns with Koh Young’s values and helps readers navigate a changing industry. "
Brent Fischthal - Koh YoungSuggested Items
AI Triggers Next Paradigm Shift in PDN
10/23/2025 | Istvan Novak, SamtecArtificial intelligence (AI), together with machine learning (ML), is creating an unprecedented surge of computing and networking infrastructure needs. This, in turn, has dramatically increased the power consumption of computing and networking chips.
Teledyne FLIR Defense to Deliver Portable Chemical Detectors to US Customs and Border Protection
10/21/2025 | BUSINESS WIRETeledyne FLIR Defense, part of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated, announced that it has received an order from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for 15 of its Griffin™ G510x portable chemical detectors, specifically designed to analyze and identify explosives and narcotics, such as fentanyl and nitazenes, within five minutes.
Curtiss-Wright to Supply Turret Drive Stabilization Systems for U.S. Army XM30 Combat Vehicle Prototypes
10/16/2025 | BUSINESS WIRECurtiss-Wright Corporation announced that it has been selected by American Rheinmetall to provide its Turret Drive Stabilization System (TDSS) for the prototype phase of the U.S. Army’s XM30 Combat Vehicle (CV) program, which was recently approved to advance to Milestone B, the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase.
Episode 6 of Ultra HDI Podcast Series Explores Copper-filled Microvias in Advanced PCB Design and Fabrication
10/15/2025 | I-Connect007I-Connect007 has released Episode 6 of its acclaimed On the Line with... American Standard Circuits: Ultra High Density Interconnect (UHDI) podcast series. In this episode, “Copper Filling of Vias,” host Nolan Johnson once again welcomes John Johnson, Director of Quality and Advanced Technology at American Standard Circuits, for a deep dive into the pros and cons of copper plating microvias—from both the fabricator’s and designer’s perspectives.
American Standard Circuits Achieves Successful AS9100 Recertification
10/14/2025 | American Standard CircuitsAmerican Standard Circuits (ASC), a leading manufacturer of advanced printed circuit boards, proudly announces the successful completion of its AS9100 recertification audit. This milestone reaffirms ASC’s ongoing commitment to the highest levels of quality, reliability, and process control required to serve aerospace, defense, space, and other mission-critical industries.