Thank you to everyone for your candid comments on this editorial. IPC wanted to respond as well but we were waiting to hear back from Mel Parrish, IPC TAEC Chair, who was unfortunately without power because of the tornados last week. These comments have been posted on the Assembly magazine blog as well. IPC thanks you again for your support of the standards and your contributions to making them reflect industry needs.
Kim Sterling, IPC
Title: Industry consensus, expert knowledge represented in IPC-A-610 and IPC-J-STD-001
By: Dave Torp
Posted: May 4, 2011 4:21 PM
At the foundation of any of IPC's standards are subject-matter experts and other industry volunteers who devote thousands of hours of work on standards development committees to develop industry-consensus documents. These committee members represent companies from all areas of the electronics industry, including OEMs, EMS providers, sub-assembly manufacturers, suppliers, consultants, test laboratories and governmental agencies as well as academia. In the case of IPC-A-610, there are currently more than 150 committee members. J-STD-001 has more than 100 committee members. The compendium of knowledge that is incorporated into each standard revision is astonishing. The guidance that these documents provide the electronics industry is second to none. IPC standards as well as other ANSI-approved standards in other industries can make easy targets for self-proclaimed industry experts who neither understand the process nor have volunteered. However, these standards continue to be developed in a process committed to openness, fairness, equal representation and due process, and they provide the foundation and set benchmarks for the entire electronics assembly market segment worldwide. To those IPC volunteers who have spent countless hours advancing the standards, IPC thanks you. Dave Torp, Vice President Standards and Technology, IPC
Title: Much of Smith's information is obsolete and out of date
By: Mel Parrish
Posted: May 5, 2011 10:59 AM
After reading this article, a few members of several technical committees discussed it. James Smith's opinions about IPC-A-610 and J-STD-001 seem to span from mis-information to dis-information. Many of Smith's references pertain to obsolete programs and practices from long ago. The standards committees work continuously to improve the standards with each revision and the participation and adoption are international as demonstrated by the numerous translations of IPC-A-610. The latest revisions of IPC-A-610 and J-STD-001 were published in April 2010. Acceptability ranges from the "Target" through "Process Indicator" conditions that are all acceptable and should not be reworked. "Defect" conditions are based on the concern for conditions that will or are likely to result in product failure based on the committee's experience. Smith indicates that these standards are based upon the "Zero Defects" principles and practices of the 1960s. The current revisions of IPC-A-610 and J-STD-001 have no references to zero defect practices and principles.
If rework and repair operations are of great concern, then IPC-7711/21 is the document which would outline the best practices for rework and repair of circuit assemblies. Smith states that "many manufacturers are forced into adopting IPC-A-610 and IPC-J-STD-001." IPC standards are voluntary standards - no company is required to manufacture in accordance with any IPC standards except as voluntarily agreed between those companies. Smith makes many points in his article; however, many of them are simply an expression of his opinions and not based on content within the current standards. Mel Parrish, IPC Technical Activities Executive Committee Chairman.
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