Every year, the IPC, the Association Connecting Electronics Industries, releases revisions to its major standards (documents containing details about acceptable practices, upgrades, etc., in the electronics industry). While many revisions to low-profile standards go unnoticed, when major standards like the IPC-J-STD-001 or the IPC-A-610 are revised, everyone in the electronics industry takes notice.
In 2017, IPC released “G” revisions, the most widely applied standard in the electronics manufacturing industry – the IPC-A-610 Standard. Internationally known as the “Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies” standard, the IPC-A-610 gets reviewed every three years, just like the IPC-J-STD-001 standard. These revisions are vital as all electronics manufacturing industry members need to keep up with the ever-transforming technologies in the electronics industry.
In 2014, the “F” revisions were added to the IPC-A-610 standards. The document was upgraded in accordance with the technical developments in the SMT industry (surface mount technology). Some key details of the IPC-A-610 “F” standards included –
New criteria for P-style terminations.
New criteria for BGAs.
Reducing the sizes of plastic packages.
Addition of photos to the document to facilitate easier understanding.