Cheryl is very correct...

I also know from personal experience that Tom Hausherr and his cohorts are
by and large very great guys and have been working hard on what finally has
become the IPC-7351 spec without compensation for many years now... I think
it all started with Tom's spearheading a movement to get Metric adopted...
the presentations he did at our meetings in San Diego on routing BGA's were
so telling of just how ridiculous it was to be building parts in mm and
routing them in inches when it closed off channels to route between the pads
under a BGA for example... I think his past experience with developing
libraries of parts for the PADS community gave him the inspiration to get a
project going to make a Metric Library that everyone could use...and it was
built by volunteers who spent time making parts and contributing them to his
effort and then the inspiration to actually replace the IPC-SM-782 with a
standard that not only the designers could use but would benefit the
assembly and manufacturing communities as well.

JaMi Smith jumped in and identified and corrected some very bad flaws in the
orientation they were using for their library parts based upon what the
component manufacturers were doing in packaging for Pick and Place etc. and
they had to go back and rewrite much of the spec to correct this.... all
without someone paying them to do any of this... and finally they went into
meetings with the Europeans to get approvals there as well...  So it's going
to be a long time before they have recovered what they have invested in the
development of this spec... and I saw nothing but noble motives in what Tom
was doing, so I expect it will eventually be very beneficial for the entire
industry and should make all our lives better through the use of the spec.
Not everyone will adopt it... not everyone needs to. But the more that do,
the better it will be.

I don't know why they pulled the IPC-SM-782 calculator off... I think it
should still be available to anyone that is using the IPC-SM-782 spec to
still build their parts... even if the new IPC-7351 spec supercedes it we
should still support the old one with a disclaimer that the new one is
available and supercedes it... People will not adopt the new one over night
and we need to serve the entire designer community. In the interests of
fairness... I say we should reinstate it and put a note on the website where
folks can get the new and improved one... that way they aren't left with a
broken link and no idea what happened and an angry discovery that the tool
they have been using is no longer available...

Maybe we can get the IPC to do that for us...I'll ask, pretty please.

Best regards,


Bill Brooks - KG6VVP
PCB Design Engineer , C.I.D.+, C.I.I.
Tel: (760)597-1500 Ext 3772 Fax: (760)597-1510
e-mail:[log in to unmask]
http://www.dtwc.com
http://pcbwizards.com


-----Original Message-----
From: Cheryl Johnson [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 8:35 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [DC] IPC Design Specifications (or new subject maybe)

As a member of IPC Designer's Council (since Dieter was in Colorado having
workshops about possible design specs - before there was a Designer's
Council!) I know that the IPC DC is a group of volunteers who are not "duly
compensated" with other than knowing that they are helping our industry.
The companies and individuals that work on these specs for the most part are
filling a void - truly giving of their time for the good of the industry.
Having been on the "core team" for most of the 13 years of on and off
existence of the Colorado Designer's Council (hard to keep volunteers!), I
have truly appreciated the efforts of the IPC to come up with Designer
specific specs and certifications.

As a Girl Scout cookie mom for several years, church parish council member,
booster clubs for all my kids activities (I have 5) and a proverbial all
around "volunteer" when I am not working full time as a pcb designer - I'd
like to Thank IPC for their efforts.

I'd also like to offer - "If you don't like the way it is getting done - why
don't you volunteer to help?"

Sincerely,
-----------------------------------
Cheryl Johnson, C.I.D.+
Manager
ExcelStor US Office, Engineering Services
Email: [log in to unmask]
Tel: (303) 684-7291
Fax: (303) 684-7268
Mobile: (303) 809-5815
-----------------------------------

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