Circuits Assembly - November 2007 - (Page 36)

Standards Development ‘Living Documents, Subject to Change’ Michael L. Martel The origins – and future – of standards, the foundation of electronics manufacturing. oday, every step in electronics manufacturing – from the components to the board to the physical and electrical connections themselves – is governed by standards. Standards regulate the acceptability of workmanship, the choice and quality of materials, and the end-product performance. With the global proliferation of successful, reliable electronics in virtually every aspect of our individual lives, from personal products such as mobile phones, to critical medical electronics and defense avionics, standards are the unseen yet powerful guidelines behind the explosive success of electronics technology. Standards did not come about by themselves. Time was, there were no standards; some 50 years ago, conceiving and developing them became the mission of the IPC and many hard-working visionaries over the decades since. Electronics would not be where it is today were standards not developed and implemented. How standards came about, however, is a story that, although true, reads something like fiction, with remarkable twists and turns – including luck, chance, timing and a dash of humor. When IPC began, in 1957, in conjunction with the birth of the printed wiring board industry, representatives from six of the major independent PWB manufacturers met in Chicago to officially form a trade association. At this meeting, they outlined a number of key objectives. One of them was to develop standards and specifications to provide believable yardsticks for manufacturers and users to move forward in using the products of the new industry. T Living Documents Standards are not carved in stone; they are living documents, subject to perpetual reexamination and revision as times, legislation and technology changes. “All standards are in the works right now, constantly under review and revision,” says IPC's Dieter Bergman. In his opinion, the most popular standard worked on currently is IPC-7095, “Implementation of BGA Technology.” “We’re just finishing the B revision, which is intended to characterize the conditions for lead-free,” he says. For standards, “Two things will change. One is the development system; the other is the information delivery system: the conversion of standard information into useful code. Take, for example, the land pattern calculator based on IPC-7351. Thousands of free downloads of the LP Viewer have spurred the need for automation into different engineering and CAD/CAM tools. “The future holds a Web-based search engine with precise ability to focus on a particular subject and show a quick look to the subscriber of all the standard requirements as published, and provide access to requirements for design, performance, test, accept/reject criteria, and so on. “These concepts are the beginning. Having electronic snapshots in a database of text, illustration and tables permits conversion to other languages. The tools, therefore, become the entry to global standards development – and global use.” ■ Ed.: For the complete article, visit circuitsassembly.com/cms.content/ view/5609. Michael L. Martel is a freelance writer; mmc@mmc-marketing.com. 36 Circuits Assembly NOVEMBER 2007 circuitsassembly.com http://circuitsassembly.com/cms.content/view/5609 http://circuitsassembly.com/cms.content/view/5609 http://circuitsassembly.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Circuits Assembly - November 2007

Circuits Assembly - November 2007 Contents Caveat Lector Industry News Market Watch Talking Heads Focus on Business Global Sourcing On the Forefront Screen Printing Better Manufacturing Pb-Free Manufacturing from a Tier III EMS Perspective ‘Living Documents, Subject to Change’ Creating Ideal Solder Joints An Alternative Drying Process for MSDs ‘Customer Satisfaction is More than a Score’ Optoelectronic Substrates: Will They Happen? Tech Tips Wave Soldering Process Doctor Test and Inspection Getting Lean Materials World Equipment Advances Product Spotlight Assembly Insider Technical Abstracts Ad Index

Circuits Assembly - November 2007

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