The IPC Certifications
IPC is an association for in electronics industry which standardizes the assembly and product requirements of electronics components and assemblies. IPC delivers education, delivery, and certification to withstand the demands of industry. The electronics industry is always evolving and to move alongside of it, IPC certification plays an important role in it. There are good IPC certifications like IPC-A-600, IPC-A-6012.
It is always an important decision to select which IPC certification matches to you. If you are working in PCB industry, then your industry needs PCB design, PCB manufacturing. Electronics assembly industries need to check the quality of the board, and Electronics PCB manufacturers need to check standardization of PCB as well. Here comes IPC-A-600. IPC-A-600 certification helps manufacturers to use quality improvement. This improvement goes on and on.
If any defect occurs in electronics assembly industry, then it costs the company too much compared to the defected part. Suppose if the defect is in PCB then all mounted components on it won’t work unless and until the defected piece is changed. The better and safer option is to avoid such defects by use of standardized components, and here also IPC-600-A helps a lot to the electronics assembly industry.
It is always important for suppliers to provide standard components so that quality of product remains good. IPC-A-600 certification helps suppliers send proper things at proper places.
How does IPC-600-A certification work? Here IPC provides training to trainers. Companies working in original equipment manufacturing, fabrication, assembly enroll their representatives to training. Training location is IPC licensed IPC-600-A certification center.
IPC-600-A includes following pointers in training,
● CD of color images/videos containing all the aspects of standards and training. The trainee will get royalty free handbooks which will have forms and reports to take specialized training in an application.
● An instructor will always be there to guide for application specialized training.
● A hands-on inspection on printed board will be done in front of all trainee. It will be based on a solder resist registration, angular ring, the width of conductors like copper, etc.
● Which printed boards should be accepted and which shouldn’t through IPC-600-A
● After training open and closed book tests will be conducted do analyze what trainees have learned from training from IPC-A-600’s specialized application training.
● A student handbook so that the trainee will be the trainer at his organization.
● IPC-A-600 official certificate by IPC
You will learn all about Printed board, how to classify them, their acceptance criteria, the base material, and its surfacing, solder area, conducting wire, standards of holes. You will even teach how to teach. This will help the selected person from the industry to teach his fellow mates.
IPC-A-6012 is specifically for rigid circuit boards. It deals with performance requirements for fabrication of rigid circuit boards. IPC-A-6012 provides us information about single sided and double sided PCBs. It also teaches us about single hole and double hole PCBs. Along with above mentioned PCBs, IPC-A-6012 includes performance requirements of following rigid circuit boards as well.
● Multilayer board with PTH
○ With via(s)
○ Without via(s)
● Multiplayer board containing high density interconnect
● Metal core board
● Active embedded passive circuitry board
In IPC-A-6012 certification course, design criteria are taught for above mentioned rigid circuit boards. These design criteria are based on 2200 series. Similar to design criteria, laminate selection on 4101 series is taught. IPC-A-6012 standards are used to manufacture raw boards by board shops.
It also deals within the inspection process. The raw boards coming from board shops can be inspected based on IPC-A-6012.
IPC-A-6012 uses visual examination of printed boards at following areas,
● Edges
● Laminate imperfections
● Mearling
● Crazing
● Blistering
● Foreign inclusions
● Weave exposure
● Bow and twist
Basically, IPC-A-600 and IPC-A-6012 go hand in hand. Both are required. The IPC training course IPC-A-600 is recommended for those who are working in innovation industry based on printed circuit board. Companies which are trying to make new things and are willing to do it must undergo IPC-A-600 certification.
Companies having money oriented manufacturing business should prefer IPC-A-6012 certification. Those who are creating a number of circuit board and are making quantity based business needs to maintain quality of circuit boards as well, and here IPC-6012 helps them.
An innovation business will become a successful business only when they manufacture with quality and quantity. IPC certifications IPC-A-600 and IPC-A-6012 take care of both.
