If your company has e-textiles and/or stretchable technologies on its roadmap and you find yourself asking the question, “How can I merge smart fabrics with smart engineering?” IPC has developed a technical and business education workshop to answer these questions and more. IPC E-Textiles 2018 will take place on September 13, 2018 in Des Plaines, Ill., and will bring together innovators, technologists and engineers to collaborate, and identify partners and solutions to propel growth for the e-textiles market.

Topics will deal with all aspects of e-textile development, including: smart textile wearables for consumers, sports, medical, military and safety markets; bringing the Internet of Things (IoT) to textiles; how to develop an e-textiles business model; how to collaborate with the supply chain to get the end-product you envision; and materials and components that make up e-textiles and how to select the right ones for your applications.

Oona Oksjarvi and Mary Alice Gill, of Jabil Circuit’s Nypro Consumer Health Division Clothing+ will present “We’re Successful When You’re Successful,” and will provide information on how to help achieve successful e-textiles manufacturing. Stephanie Rodgers, Apex Mills and Diana Wyman, American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists, will cover “FYI: Fibers, Yarns and Inks for E-textile Products,” and will shed light on the building blocks, capabilities and characteristics of e-textiles.

In addition, Ben Cooper, IoClothes, will present, “Picking a Winning Business Model for Smart Textiles,” and provide a review of existing business models in the textiles industry and opportunities and considerations along the textile value chain.

Prior to the technical education and networking on September 13, IPC E-Textiles 2018 will play host to an open-forum IPC E-Textiles Committee Meeting on September 12. Interested participants will have the opportunity to meet with e-textiles industry colleagues to brainstorm needed standards and test methods and learn how to influence industry standards being developed by the IPC E-Textiles Committee.

“Performance standards, guidelines and certifications allow us to achieve best practices for customer satisfaction and consumer adoption,” said Stephanie Rodgers.   Rodgers who chairs the IPC D-70 E-Textiles Committee and co-chairs the D-72 E-Textiles Materials Subcommittee which is developing the first industry consensus standard for e-textiles materials adds, “for e-textiles, there are limited publications creating a vortex between two industries. The absence of these standards creates cumbersome conversations, excessive development costs and limited long-term success. The work happening with IPC is engaging participants from both supply chains in a forum for identifying and communicating a hybrid language and establishing a protocol for e-textile product development and acceptance.”

For more information on or to register for IPC E-Textiles 2018, visit www.ipc.org/E-Textiles-2018. For more information the IPC E-Textiles Committee, contact Chris Jorgensen, IPC director of technology transfer, at ChrisJorgensen@ipc.org.

IPC's Validation Services Program is proud to announce Alternative Manufacturing Inc.’s (AMI) IPC J-STD-001 and IPC-A-610 Qualified Manufacturers Listing (QML) recertification. AMI is an electronics contract manufacturing company based in Winthrop, Maine and provides PCB assembly, wire harness production, and product assembly for a variety of industries. To earn recertification of the QML, AMI successfully completed an intensive audit based on two of IPC's foremost standards: IPC J-STD-001, Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies and IPC-A-610, Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies.

AMI met or exceeded the electronics industry’s Class 2 testing requirements for dedicated service electronic products. As a result, the company maintains its listing as an IPC trusted source capable of manufacturing in accordance with industry best practices. AMI as a trusted supplier source can be found on IPC's QML/QPL (Qualified Product Listing) database at www.ipcvalidation.org.

“The recertification process validates our commitment to excellence throughout the entire manufacturing process and acknowledges the efforts of each AMI employee owner,” said Greg Boyd, AMI president and CEO. “Each employee not only met but exceeded the expectations set forth by the IPC QML. By achieving and maintaining certification, our current and future customers can be confident in their choice to partner with AMI to support their manufacturing requirements.”

IPC's Validations Services QPL/QML Program was developed to promote supply chain verification. It also provides auditing and certification of electronics companies' products and identifies processes which conform to IPC standards.

"By recertifying, AMI has differentiated itself from the competition by continuing to be part of IPC's global network of trusted industry sources," said Randy Cherry, IPC director of Validation Services. "We are pleased to recognize AMI in this great achievement."

For more information about IPC's Validation Services QPL/QML Program, visit www.ipcvalidation.org or contact Randy Cherry at RandyCherry@ipc.org or +1 847-597-2806. 

IPC’s 2018 Annual Report on the North American PCB Industry, published this week, contains data showing the industry’s turnaround as it emerged in 2017 and how it affects different segments of the industry.

One key finding is IPC’s preliminary estimate of the size of the North American PCB market, which indicates growth of nearly nine percent in 2017. This makes 2017 the first year of any significant PCB market growth since the recovery year of 2010. Preliminary data on North American PCB production in 2017 also indicates solid growth in domestic production. Another notable change is seen in the 2017 market growth for rigid PCBs versus flexible circuits. For the first time since 2011, rigid PCB market growth outpaced flexible circuit market growth.

The military and aerospace market continues to represent the largest share of North American PCB production, reaching 40 percent for the reporting companies. Substantial growth was also seen the medical device and instrumentation market for PCBs. Sales of PCB prototypes experienced unusually strong growth in the flexible circuit segment.

Lead times increased steadily for all types of rigid PCBs during 2017, increasing more than 35 percent on average over the course of the year. In the flexible circuit segment of the industry, capacity utilization increased gradually in each quarter of 2017.

The report covers the size and growth of the region’s PCB market by product type, domestic production, sales and order growth by product type and company size tier, shares of eight vertical markets as percentages of sales, prototype sales, percentages of rigid PCBs with special technologies such as RF and embedded components, and other business data including capacity utilization, inventory turns and lead times for rigid PCB and flexible circuit businesses. The report is based on data collected in IPC’s North American PCB Statistical Program, in which the sample of survey participants represent more than 50 percent of the region’s PCB market.

The 2018 Annual Report on the North American PCB Industry, at $450 for IPC members and $900 for nonmembers, is available for download in IPC’s online store. For information on IPC market research reports and services, visit www.ipc.org/market-research-reports and www.ipc.org/IndustryData, or contact IPC’s market research team at marketresearch@ipc.org.

IPC announced today the April 2018 findings from its North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. Industry shipments and orders in April continued to grow but at a slowing pace. The book-to-bill ratio decreased but remained strong at 1.08.

Total North American PCB shipments in April 2018 were up 8.8 percent compared to the same month last year. This year to date, shipments are 9.6 percent above the same period last year. Compared to the preceding month, April shipments decreased 14.0 percent.

PCB bookings in April increased 2.9 percent year-over-year. Year-to-date order growth was 12.8 percent above the same period last year. Bookings in April were down 16.2 percent from the previous month.

“The North American PCB industry’s slower sales and order growth in April is unsurprising, as the industry settles into a more normal pace of growth after the recovery of the last three quarters,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “Also, business tends to peak in the last month of every quarter, often causing month-to-month decreases in the first month of the quarter, and this normal pattern can be seen in the April data. The outlook for this year remains encouraging, based on strong order growth in the past year and a book-to-bill ratio that has been above parity (1.0) for 15 consecutive months.”

Note: The June 2017 growth rates have been revised since their original publication due to updated data from statistical program participants.

View Chart in PDF

Detailed Data Available

The next edition of IPC’s North American PCB Market Report,containing detailed second-quarter 2018 data from IPC’s PCB Statistical Program, will be available in August. The quarterly report presents detailed findings on rigid PCB and flexible circuit sales and orders, including separate rigid and flex book-to-bill ratios, growth trends by company size tiers, demand for prototypes, sales growth to military and medical markets, and other timely data. This report is available free to current participants in IPC’s PCB Statistical Program and by subscription to others. More information about this report can be found at www.ipc.org/market-research-reports.

Interpreting the Data

The book-to-bill ratios are calculated by dividing the value of orders booked over the past three months by the value of sales billed during the same period from companies in IPC’s survey sample. A ratio of more than 1.00 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next three to twelve months. A ratio of less than 1.00 indicates the reverse.

Year-on-year and year-to-date growth rates provide the most meaningful view of industry growth. Month-to-month comparisons should be made with caution as they reflect seasonal effects and short-term volatility. Because bookings tend to be more volatile than shipments, changes in the book-to-bill ratios from month to month might not be significant unless a trend of more than three consecutive months is apparent. It is also important to consider changes in both bookings and shipments to understand what is driving changes in the book-to-bill ratio.

IPC’s monthly PCB industry statistics are based on data provided by a representative sample of both rigid PCB and flexible circuit manufacturers selling in the USA and Canada. IPC publishes the PCB book-to-bill ratio at the end of each month. Statistics for the current month are normally available in the last week of the following month.

IPC – Association Connecting Electronics Industries® would like to announce the release of additional test coupons for the IPC-2221B Gerber Coupon Generator, an exclusive annual subscription service for IPC member companies. The IPC-2221B Gerber Coupon Generator subscription service is the only service providing new, industry approved test coupons addressing blind, buried, stacked and staggered via structures. The most commonly used coupons for product acceptance are “AB,” “AB/R” and “D” which were introduced in 2016.

The tool is now updated with new features and coupons as requested by our members including updated “B” and “D” Coupon designs that support not only through-hole but also stacked and staggered (a.k.a. “propagated”) structures featuring blind and buried vias. Designated sections of the “B” Coupon for both registration and structural integrity evaluations are now included. The new “H” Coupon design for evaluating surface insulation resistance (SIR) has been introduced as well as the new “S” Coupon design for evaluating through-hole solderability. Finally, the new “P” Coupon design for evaluating the peel strength of outer layer metallic foils has been added.

Additional coupon designs for surface mount solderability testing, moisture and insulation resistance (MIR) testing of laminated base materials and solder mask adhesion testing are slated for release later this year and will be incorporated into the subscription service free of additional charge.

The IPC-2221B Gerber Coupon Generator subscription service is a simple, easy-to-use “Design Parameters/Input File,” that utilizes an auto quality check feature, ensuring the design rules for the test designs are met. What used to take hours to generate Gerber files from the CAD/CAM user will now only take minutes.

The IPC-2221B Gerber Coupon Generator with the new designs is available as an annual subscription, meeting current printed board design parameters to generate Gerber Files of IPC-2221B Appendix A test coupon designs at any time. This allows users to generate coupons when they want, and as often as they need. To learn more, visit www.ipc.org.

IPC's Validation Services Program has awarded Ventec International Group, a global electronics materials manufacturing company headquartered in Suzhou, China, a second IPC-4101 Qualified Products Listing (QPL). Ventec successfully qualified their products, VT-90H and VT-901, to specification sheet 40 of IPC-4101E, Specification for Base Materials for Rigid and Multilayer Printed Boards. 

Ventec, which manufactures and sells polyimide and high reliability epoxy laminates and prepregs, completed an intensive two-day audit where its manufacturing practices, test methods and conformance requirements of IPC-4101 were reviewed. Ventec met or exceeded the IPCs Validation Services QPL requirements for producing base materials used by printed circuit board manufacturers in the electronics industry. As a result, the company is successfully listed as an IPC-4101 trusted source capable of manufacturing in accordance with industry best practices to specification sheets 40 and 41. Ventec and other trusted sources of suppliers can be found on IPC's QML/QPL (Qualified Product Listing) database at www.ipcvalidation.org.

Mark Goodwin, COO USA & EMEA of Ventec International Group commented, "The IPC Qualified Product Listing (QPL) of our polyimide laminate and prepreg provides an independent endorsement of the quality of our production controls and materials for use in high reliability mil/aero applications. The IPC QPL is a trusted reference list for the entire electronics supply chain and we are delighted to be the first copper clad laminate manufacturer to have a polyimide material added to the validation services listing by meeting the requirements of both the rigorous facility audit and the qualification testing program at an independent test laboratory. We are fully committed to consistently meet and exceed the strict requirements of industry standards such as IPC-4101E."   

IPC's Validations Services QPL/QML Program was developed to promote supply chain verification. It also provides auditing and certification of electronics companies' products and identifies processes which conform to IPC standards. "Ventec has differentiated itself from the competition in the polyimide market by becoming part of IPC's global network of trusted industry sources," said Randy Cherry, IPC director of Validation Services. "We are pleased to recognize Ventec for becoming a trusted supplier conforming to IPC-4101E."

For more information about IPC's Validation Services QPL/QML Program, visit www.ipcvalidation.org or contact Randy Cherry at RandyCherry@ipc.org or +1 847-597-2806.    

C-level executives from top electronics companies across the United States – all members of IPC – will gather in Washington, D.C. on May 21-23 for discussions with members of Congress and the Administration on issues that are critical to the future of the electronics industry and U.S. economy. IMPACT Washington, D.C. 2018 is IPC’s premier advocacy event, presenting members with the opportunity to conduct high-level meetings with their elected officials. 

During the two-day event, the group will meet with congressional leaders and senior officials from the Departments of Defense, Commerce, Education and Treasury. Former Congressman Tom Davis and former CBO Director Doug Holtz-Eakin will deliver political and economic analyses.

This year, IPC will present its “Government IMPACT Award” to Senators Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Todd Young (R-IN) for their leadership in supporting a robust domestic electronics industrial base. Senator Donnelly serves on the Armed Services, Agriculture, and Aging committees, and represents the Defense Department’s Executive Agent for Printed Circuit and Interconnect Technology at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, Indiana. Senator Young serves on the committees for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Foreign Relations, Labor and Pensions, and most recently, the House Ways and Means Committee.

Participating member companies include: American Standard Circuits of West Chicago, IL; ASM Assembly Systems of Suwanee, Ga.; Calumet Electronics Corp. of Calumet, Mich.; Chemcut Corporation of State College, Pa.; DIVSYS International, LLC of Indianapolis, Ind.; Eagle Circuits of Dallas, Texas; Isola Group of Chandler, Ariz.; Juki Automation Systems, Inc of Fremont, Calif..; Optimum Design Associates of Pleasanton, Calif.; RS2 Enterprise of Munster, Ind.; STI Electronics of Madison, Ala.; TTM Technologies of Sterling, Va.; Uyemura International Corporation of Ontario, Calif.; VirTex Enterprises of Austin, Texas; and Zentech Manufacturing of Windsor Mill, Md.

IPC President and CEO John Mitchell and Vice President of Global Government Relations Chris Mitchell are available for interviews. More information on confirmed meetings will be forthcoming, and general information is available at: www.ipc.org/IMPACT-2018.

Fueled by strong growth in electric vehicles and autonomous cars, and a dramatic increase in electronics content in conventional automobiles and trucks, automotive electronics are crucial components of engine, ignition, and transmission management; entertainment, navigation, diagnostic tools and safety systems. IPC has gathered thought leaders and subject matter experts from leading electronics and automotive companies to discuss the future of automotive electronics design and manufacturing at “IPC Automotive Electronics Reliability Forum,” June 4-5 in Nuremberg, Germany.

Andreas Aal, semiconductor strategy and reliability expert at Volkswagen, will open up the forum on June 4 with his keynote, “Challenges of Using Advanced Package Technologies in Automotive Applications.” On June 5, Dr. Maxime Makarov, head of electro-physics at Groupe Renault, will discuss electronics reliability during his keynote, “On-Board Electronics Reliability: Assessing the Need to Revise Conventional Approaches.”

During the two-day event, Aal and Makarov will be joined by other automotive and electronics industry technologists from, Continental Automotive, Robert Bosch GmbH, Infineon, Henkel, TTM Technologies, Atotech, MacDermid Enthone, IHS Markit and more, who will provide updates and technical content on such topics as: the automotive electronics market, surface finish and assembly material interactions affecting electronic system reliability and performance, future reliability challenges for new packages, challenges of semiconductor product qualification for extended automotive requirements, and design considerations of high reliability PCBs for high power automotive applications.

“IPC’s Automotive Electronics Reliability Forum will allow attendees to build personal relationships with the innovators who are working on tomorrow’s electronics technologies as well as gain first-hand knowledge of the pioneering projects that are putting automotive electronics breakthroughs into practice,” said Philippe Léonard, IPC Europe director. “The forum is not solely about the automotive industry,” adds Léonard — “it’s about technologies, electronics market, thermal energy in PCBs, onboard electronics reliability, and much more. As the forum covers a wide breadth of relevant and timely topics, it is perfectly suited for engineers and technologists representing Transportation OEMs, Tier 1 systems providers, and assembly, printed circuit board and materials partners.”

Speaker Laurent Coudurier, combustion team manager at Air Liquide concurs, "As reliability is a major driving force for automotive electronics, it is very beneficial to share developments coming from different industrial sectors involved in the supply chain and contributing to improve reliability of electronic assemblies for cars."  

For more information or to register for “IPC Automotive Electronics Reliability Forum,” visit www.ipc.org/Automotive-Reliability-Forum.

IPC – Association Connecting Electronics Industries, the global industry association representing the $2 trillion global electronics industry, today warned that the Trump administration’s plan to impose higher tariffs on goods imported from China could harm many small- and medium-sized U.S. electronics manufacturers that rely on Chinese materials, components and equipment to produce their products.

In comments submitted to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, IPC said a survey of its U.S. members found that 87 percent of them import raw materials, components, and/or equipment from China. Asked to rate the effect of these tariffs on their businesses on a scale of 0 (no impact) to 100 (threat to survival), 35 percent said the impact would be severe and could endanger their companies. About one-quarter (23 percent) predicted moderate impacts, and 42 percent indicated minimal impacts. Of those companies that rated the impact low, many expressed confidence that they could restructure their supply chains and pass costs along to their customers.

IPC survey respondents also expressed concern that the tariff increases would increase the cost of base materials to produce high-reliability electronics. Higher prices would depress demand among customers and make U.S. Manufacturers less competitive in the global marketplace. Another respondent suggested the tariffs will create cost confusion in the marketplace and impose new administrative burdens as inventoried goods are mixed with newly imported goods.

Protection of intellectual property consistently ranks as a top priority for the electronics industry, and IPC maintains a set of industry standards and a certification program that enable electronics manufacturers to show how they are protecting their customers’ intellectual property. IPC also is working with the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a new standard on this issue.   

“As we work to address intellectual property issues, we must not further undermine U.S. companies by imposing increased costs on them,” writes IPC President and CEO John Mitchell. “Doing so will only weaken their competitiveness in the global economy and jeopardize their long-term sustainability at a time when the U.S. Government should be taking active measures to shore up the industrial base.

“Instead, IPC encourages the USTR to postpone new tariffs and prioritize bilateral negotiations with your Chinese counterparts and the pursuance of remedies under existing trade agreements,” Mitchell says.

IPC and the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) will host a conference series on “Critical and Emerging Environmental Product Requirements” this June.

The conference series, to be held in the Boston, Chicago and Silicon Valley areas on June 4, 6, and 8, respectively, will feature well-known United Kingdom (UK) regulators Steve Andrews, deputy head of the resources and waste division at the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra); Chris Smith, senior technical advisor for the office of product safety and standards at the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Andrews and Smith, who oversee development and UK implementation and enforcement of European Union (EU) regulations affecting the electronics industry, will provide an update on the EU’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive exemptions, implementation and enforcement; EU Waste regulations, Brexit, and more.

Andrews and Smith will join Dr. Sharon McGuiness, assistant chief executive, chemicals and prevention division, at the Ireland Health and Safety Authority, who will cover EU chemicals management including Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and
Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation enforcement; RoHS tie-in, and other chemicals legislation.

In addition to these presentations, the conference will feature a U.S. regulatory wrap-up by Chris Cleet, senior director, environment and sustainability at ITI. Presentations on China environmental issues, including China RoHS II development and product stewardship in Southeast Asia, will be presented by Weiwei Luo, environmental attorney at Beveridge and Diamond, P.C.

“Coping with global environmental compliance requirements is a difficult task. Just when you think you understand what is needed, new developments appear seemingly from nowhere,” said Chris Cleet. “For example, the redefined meaning of ‘article’ as applied to the REACH regulation significantly impacts manufacturers of electrical and electronic products sold in the EU. Simply misunderstanding the impact could be disastrous for your business. ITI and IPC’s conference will provide the information you and your company need to comply with legal, regulatory and customer requirements.”

For detailed information on the agenda, specific speakers and the dates and locations of their participation, or to register for the “ITI and IPC Conference on Critical and Emerging Environmental Product Requirements,” visit www.ipc.org/ITI-IPC-conference-2018.