Fellow designers;
 
I recently talked to EIA concerning component land pattern naming schemes, and the
lack of them. With the introduction of PLCCs and SMT ICs, there has been good work
done with land pattern names. No matter the package or part number we are able to
determine and select the land pattern in accordance with the land pattern name.
 
One of the large obstacles in out industry is the lack of generic patterns and naming
schemes that we may use to identify generic parts. I.E. Resistors, caps, etc.
 
I am asking for your support and solidarity in the inception of common pattern naming
schemes. In the next few months, (April I believe) EIA representatives will be meeting
with the major electronic manufacturers for an annual meeting.
 
This will seem like a very minor problem to the manufacturers and one that isn't worth
editing/changing data sheets to accommodate, but this problem has caused so much
confusion and problems in our industry for countless years, that it is about time it was
cured.
 
Many of you are seasoned professionals that no longer see this as a problem because
you now have a scheme or a routine, and aren't as concerned. For new designers and
startup companies this is a large concern. It causes custom library names and internal
part numbers that cause the same amount of problems as the original problems.
 
I'm not asking that you expend your time but asking for your support. IPC is not responsible
nor tasked with developing these schemes, but rather consolidating and documenting
these names.
 
EIA and their counterparts aren't particularly responsible for this either, but group known
as ECA (Electronics Components Admin.) in conjunction with component manufacturers
are the only ones that are capable of making this standard and implementing it.
All the names and schemes in the world are nothing without component manufacturers
support.
 
I will, at a later time, provide names and email addresses that you may send a note of your
support to, as well as manufacturers, to support and embrace such a change.
 
This would cause the manufacturer to provide a name with every component that would correlate
to a particular pattern. We will no longer have to save patterns has cryptic names but as a pattern.
No longer would we have several manufacturer part numbers for the same pattern, but one unified
pattern name.
 
I thank you for your time, and ask this of you, not for me, but for our industry.
 
Thank you and God bless....
 

Chris Robertson
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(no I'm not taking this time to plug any business, or books)