The IPC Association Connected Electronics Industry Association is a global trade association that sets certain standards for the manufacture of PCBs and other types of electronic components. In addition to manufacturing, it also provides standards for assembly, electronic equipment protection, training, market research, and public policy advocacy.

IPC has members all over the world, with more than 4,500 companies. These members come from all aspects of the electronics industry, such as designers, circuit board manufacturers, suppliers, assembly companies and equipment manufacturers.

1. The history behind IPC

IPC is a member-driven organization, established in 1957 by 6 printed circuit board manufacturers under the name of "Printed Circuit Board Research Institute". The organization was established to eliminate supply chain barriers, formulate industry standards and support industry development.

Later, the organization changed its name to the Institute of Interconnect and Packaging Electronic Circuits. Since 1999, they have adopted IPC under the slogan "Connected Electronics Industry Association". However, the complete form of IPC represents the Institute of Printed Circuits. IPC is headquartered in Bannockburn ll, and has offices in major countries such as the United States, China, India, Sweden and Russia.

2. Why are IPC standards important?

The IPC standard ensures that manufacturers manufacture safe, reliable and high-performance PCB boards by paying attention to manufacturing details and committed to maintaining quality throughout the manufacturing process.

These standards can help different companies maintain the same parameters in terms of PCB quality assurance and reliability so that they can meet customer expectations and production process improvements in many different ways.

3. The IPC standard supports PCB manufacturers in many ways, such as

* Maintain the quality and reliability of the final product: IPC standards will help manufacturers make products with higher quality and reliability. When the manufacturer maintains the standard from the first step of the manufacturing process, the final product will have better performance and a longer service life. The quality and reliability of products should be maintained to compete in the electronics industry, so manufacturers should always maintain these two factors.

* Maintain consistency: Maintaining the consistency of quality and other parameters is the most difficult task for manufacturers. By maintaining IPC certification, PCB manufacturers can maintain their consistency and ultimately improve customer satisfaction.

* Better communication: IPC standards ensure that the same language is used internally and externally to define terms related to the life cycle of electronic devices, which also reduces the risk of communication errors. With the help of IPC standards, customers, suppliers, suppliers, regulators and other personnel involved in the process will be able to communicate better with each other.

* Maintain reputation: IPC is an internationally recognized standard, so everyone in the electronics industry knows it. If you hire a new employee who knows nothing about your company, and you follow the IPC standards in the industry, then he/she can undoubtedly follow your reputation without difficulty. Therefore, this process will improve the quality of your products and increase your reputation, so that you will be able to attract more customers to buy your products.

* Reduce cost: When you follow the IPC standard in every step of the manufacturing process, the final product will have better quality and will be reliable in use, so there is no need to check the quality of each product it is manufactured, This will reduce the cost of testing. Since everyone in the process communicates using the same terminology, the possibility of delays and rework due to poor communication is also reduced, and delays and rework also cost the company.

4. PCB circuit design needs to follow the IPC standard. I have already introduced the importance of IPC in What is the IPC standard. Here are some commonly used IPC standards.

* IPC-2581: It is a standard for sending information between PCB circuit designers and manufacturers or assembly companies. It helps to provide a standardized format for exchanging design data, thereby helping to ensure consistent production results.

* IPC-2221: This is a standard for designing PCBs, which addresses topics related to PCB circuit design, such as design, layout, materials, mechanical and physical characteristics, electrical characteristics, thermal limitations, parts lists and more.

* IPC-6012B: It determines the qualifications and performance required for rigid PCB manufacturing. It meets the requirements of the product in terms of structural integrity, solderability and conductor spacing.

*IPC-A-600F: It sets acceptable standards for PCBs. It describes what the target conditions of the PCB are, and what are the acceptable and non-conforming conditions for all components of the PCB. It describes everything from gold fingers to copper plating.

* IPC-TM-650: IPC released the test method of PCB board under IPC-TM-650, which provides guidelines for evaluating all aspects of PCB. It provides a method for testing the electromagnetic migration tendency of the surface of the test board, measuring the resistance to current passing through the surface of the PCB substrate, and a method for testing the cleanliness of ions.

In addition to these standards, there are more standards for every aspect of PCB circuit design, even the smallest aspect you can't imagine. All these positions are dedicated to providing reliable and better electronic products.