Hi Bev.:
- I think Nortel, Lucent, Boeing, Raytheon, etc. have enough technical
expertise internally to generate their own specs, IF NECESSARY.  I think the
folks who are hurting are the small and mid-size OEM's/EMSI who do not have
the time/talent internally to generate specs/stds and who need a set of
requirements in which their customers can have confidence.  Not to demean the
present generation of specifications and standards, but there is little in the
way of an end-item assembly standard that meets the needs of those folks who
must produce at the upper end of Class 2, or for a Class 3 customer.
Consequently, it is often cost effective to generate an internal standard,
usually based on J-STD-001A or B, or on IPC-A-610B which both meets the
customers needs and is tailored to the process/products that are being
produced.   If one is doing business with an EEC member nation it is good
business to incorporate the IEC-61191 Series.  If doing business with NASA
&/or the European Space Agency it will be essential to pay heed to
incorporating those sections of NHB/ESA Standards which differ from J-STD-001
and A-610.
- While I believe the IPC Standards have a good technical basis, and provide
sorely needed industry wide standardization, I recognize that there are areas
where additional definition is needed to achieve the desired end product.   I
don't advocate internal standards for everyone (far from it) but there are
those who have a valid technical and marketing need for something tailored to
their activities and products.
Regards,  Jim Moffitt, Moffitt Enterprises Consulting

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