IPC’s Schuld to drive assembly-technology standards
Jana Knezovich, Contributing Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 2/19/2009 8:11:00 AM
Today’s trend toward high-density interconnect is driving the need for standards, as designers work to determine best practices for efficiently getting more components into less space. In addition, they must weigh approaches such as whether to imbed passives versus using surface-mount techniques, and they must contend with environmental factors ranging from lead-free to more recent concerns driving halogen-, chloride- and bromine-free electronics.
To help its members deal with standards, IPC—the Association Connecting Electronics Industries (www.ipc.org) has named Kevin Schuld to its staff as director of assembly technology. Schuld will work with standing IPC technical committees to develop standards for the design, printed-circuit-board manufacturing, and electronics-assembly industry.
Bringing more than 20 years of electronics industry experience to his new role, Schuld has long been a participant in developing standards and an advocate of their benefits. For Hitachi in the mid-1990s, Schuld developed standards to enable improved local sourcing of printed circuit board suppliers. It became evident to him, he said in a recent interview, that clear standards for non-proprietary activities across the industry save time and costs while achieving important quality goals.
IPC VP of standards and technology Dave Torp, also present during the interview, noted that environmental regulations frequently use definitions different from industry practice. He said IPC standards seek to develop agreed-upon language that all sides can work with, including acceptable levels of occurrence of a substance and how to test for the substance.
The IPC retains strong working relationships with other industry organizations that have an interest in standards, Torp emphasized. For instance, IPC and the JEDEC Solid State Technology Association (www.jedec.org ) often work on joint standards, including a current effort related to moisture/reflow-sensitive surface-mount devices.
Other relationships leverage each other’s work, said Torp, citing these examples:
• The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (www.nemi.org) identifies both technology and infrastructure gaps and works to eliminate them. iNEMI’s working group on board flexure is expected to have recommendations that may be included in IPC standards.
• The Geneva, Switzerland-based International Electrotechnical Commission (www.iec.ch) has adopted some of the IPC-developed standards, giving them IEC nomenclature. Some of IEC’s standards have been similarly adopted by IPC.
• IPC also maintains a close partnership with the Fachverband Elektronik Design (www.fed.de) in Germany, which translates IPC standards into the local language and deploys them to German companies.
In addition, IPC maintains a wholly-owned subsidiary in the People’s Republic of China to contend with local regulations. That organization has translated IPC English-language standards into Chinese and recently converted some Chinese-originated standards to English for broader international use. Schuld said he will be working closely with Huawei Technologies Corp. (www.huawei.com), the Shenzhen, PRC-based global telecom giant, to develop IPC-A-610 international standards for the Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies.
Schuld allowed that one of the biggest challenges he expects to face in the standard-writing forum is gaining consensus. The volunteer participants (as many as 225 people with active interest in one key standard) come from a range of manufacturing backgrounds, from aerospace and military to commercial and consumer. Each has unique objectives, constraints, and approaches to solutions. Writing standards to arrive at consensus, he said, requires a lot of discussion, consideration, and negotiation.
Current economic pressures in the global environment may cause specific individuals to have to drop off their level of volunteering on IPC committees; however, IPC sees continued active involvement collectively, according to Torp. “What standards do is to save people money in the big picture,” he said. “When you can manufacture to standards and eliminate specifications, we see more emphasis on building the standards. When a standard [serves] a viable need to the industry, people will get involved.” What may decrease, he added, are “niche” standards, which address a narrow industry need.
To accommodate the current environment’s constraints, said Torp, IPC is actively improving its virtual collaboration tools. Their goal is to make it easier for more people to contribute across geographies without having to travel for face-to-face meetings.
When opportunities to come together do present themselves, there is still nothing like a face-to-face meeting. Schuld underscored that the IPC standards development committee meetings will be an important component of the upcoming IPC APEX EXPO 2009, March 29 through April 2 in Las Vegas (www.ipcapexexpo.org).
Schuld’s earliest priorities will be developing these IPC standards:
• IPC-A-610, Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies;
• IPC J-STD-001D, Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies;
• IPC-AJ-820, Assembly and Joining Handbook;
• IPC/WHMA-A-620, Requirements and Acceptance for Cable and Wire Harness Assemblies;
• IPC/JEDEC J-STD-020D, Moisture/Reflow Sensitivity Classification for Non-hermetic Solid State Surface Mount Devices; and
• IPC/JEDEC J-STD-033C, Handling, Packaging, Shipping and Use of Moisture/Reflow Sensitive Surface Mount Devices.
Related: Test & Measurement World and EDN editor-in-chief will serve as moderator at the Test and Inspection Summit Wednesday, April 1, 1:30 pm–3:30 pm, at the APEX EXPO.
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