IPC Standards Committee Reports – Printed Board Design, Cleaning & Coating, Testing, Process Control, Product Assurance

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

These standards committee reports from IPC APEX EXPO 2016 have been compiled to help keep you up to date on IPC standards committee activities. This is the first in a series of reports.

Printed Board Design

The 1-10c Test Coupon and Artwork Generation Task Group announced the release of the IPC-2221B Gerber Coupon Generator. The Generator allows for the creation of Gerber files for AB/R and D test coupon designs found in Appendix A of IPC-2221B, Generic Standard on Printed Board Design, for plated hole integrity and registration evaluations.

The 1-13 Land Pattern Subcommittee met to discuss updates to the IPC-7351C Land and Pad Pattern (Surface mount & through hole) Development Issues and recommendations The updated document will now adapt JEDEC footprint naming conventions and have updated graphics. The document should be out for industry review later this year.

The 1-14 DFX Standards subcommittee met to review industry review comments on the DFX document. When this document is released at the end of the year it will be a welcome addition to IPC’s document library. Some of the areas the document will include are DFM (design for manufacturing), DFR (design for reliability) and DFA (design for assembly).

Cleaning and Coating

The 5-31g Stencil Cleaning Task Group worked on IPC-7526, Stencil and Misprinted Board Cleaning Handbook.

The 5-32b SIR and Electrochemical Migration Task Group discussed the status of several ongoing projects regarding SIR testing.            

The 5-32c Bare Board Cleanliness Assessment Task Group worked to formalize an industry round robin testing program to support the adoption of IPC-5704, Cleanliness Requirements for Unpopulated Boards for cleanliness evaluation in conjunction with IPC-6012, Performance of Rigid Printed Boards.

The 5-33a Conformal Coating Task Group worked on Revision C of IPC-CC-830, Qualification and Performance of Electrical Insulating Compounds for Printed Wiring Assemblies. Included in the discussions were modifications clarifying this document is for material qualification only, addressing UT coatings, and adding the B-54 coupon. The 5-33AWG Task Group also meet to work on the CC-830 Handbook.

The 5-33b Solder Mask Task Group met for the first time in nearly five years to discuss initiating a revision effort for IPC-SM-840, Qualification and Performance Specification of Permanent Solder Mask, to address new ultra-thin mask materials and new tests for evaluating their performance and integrity.

Testing

The 7-11 Test Methods Subcommittee reviewed proposals for revising a number of IPC-TM-650 test methods devoted to evaluation coating materials such as conformal coating and solder mask, including hydrolytic stability, insulation resistance and dielectric withstanding voltages. 7-11 members provided feedback on what would be required to validate these new procedures in a Gage R&R test program.

The 7-12 Microsection Subcommittee provided dispositions to industry comments to the Final Draft of IPC-9241, Microsectioning Guideline (formerly MS-810). The document will be submitted for official ballot review in May 2016.

The D-32 Thermal Stress Test Methods Subcommittee met to discuss the next steps moving forward on the revision of TM 2.6.7.2, Thermal Shock and 2.6.27, Thermal Stress. A PIN was drafted and approved for submittal to the IPC Technical Activities Executive Committee (TAEC).

The 7-32c Electrical Continuity Task Group met to resolve comments to the Final Draft for Industry Review of IPC-9252B, Requirements for Electrical Testing of Unpopulated Printed Boards. The document will be balloted for a targeted Q3 2016 release.

Process Control

The 7-23 Assembly Process Effects Handbook Subcommittee discussed the format and content of the new IPC-9111, Troubleshooting for Printed Board Assembly Processes. The document is being prepared for Final Industry Review.

The 7-24 Printed Board Process Effects Subcommittee celebrated the publication of IPC-9121, Troubleshooting for Printed Board Fabrication Processes. This document replaces the PCB sections of IPC-PE-740A, which was last published in the late 1990s, and it includes more than 650 process defects with causes and actions as well as hundreds of photos. The document will now go into an amendment process, with electronic updates being made available to industry on a more frequent basis.

Product Assurance

The 7-30 Product Assurance Committee reviewed the status of the projects in its scope and started planning for the 2016 Fall Standards Meetings.

The 7-31b IPC-A-610 Task Group reviewed comments on IPC-A-610, Acceptability for Electronic Assemblies. The Task Group met to resolve comments on criteria comment to both IPC-A-610, Acceptability for Electronic Assemblies, and IPC J-STD-001, Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies. For the first time, the group also met at the same time with the Task Groups working on IPC J-STD-001, Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies and IPC/WHMA-A-620 Requirements and Acceptance for Cable and Wire Harness Assemblies to resolve differences between the three documents addressing the same criteria.

The 7-31f Task Group responsible for IPC-A-620, Requirements and Acceptance for Cable and Wire Harness Assemblies, met to continue revision work on the document. The Task Group also met with the Task Groups working on IPC J-STD-001, Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies and IPC-A-610 Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies to resolve differences between the three documents addressing the same criteria.

The 7-31j Task Group met to continue revising IPC-A-630, Acceptability Standard for Manufacture, Inspection and Testing of Electronic Enclosures.

The 7-31k Wire Harness Design Task Group and 7-31h IPC-HDBK-620 Handbook Task Group worked on IPC-HDBK-620, Handbook and Guide to Supplement IPC-A-620.

The 7-31m Fiber Optic Cable Acceptability Task Group met to discuss final changes to be made to IPC-A-640, Acceptance Requirements for Optical Fiber, Optical Cable and Hybrid Wiring Harness Assemblies for its working draft comment review. The task group’s counterpart standard, IPC-D-640, Design and Critical Process Requirements for Optical Fiber, Optical Cable and Hybrid Wiring Harness Assemblies was in ballot with no negative votes at the time of the meeting. The group anticipates IPC-D-640 to be published in late spring, and it will then concentrate solely on IPC-A-640, which it plans to be ready for ballot before IPC APEX EXPO 2017.