Mil-aero and automotive engineers who want to increase their knowledge of electronics subjected to harsh use environments should attend IPC’s High Reliability Forum in Linthicum (Baltimore), Md., May 15-17, 2018.

Attendees will find out why failure analysis is critical to ensuring reliability of electronics products as Bhanu Sood, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, leads a half day tutorial on May 15, “Achieving Improved Reliability with Failure Analysis.” Sood will provide numerous failure analysis case studies to illustrate how to arrive at the root causes of field failures on PCBs, active components and assemblies.

On May 16, keynote presenter, Anaya Vardya, American Standard Circuits, will discuss how his company is able to remain competitive in the electronics industry – from its focus and mission to the people the company hires and how employees face day-to-day challenges. 

On May 17, panelists from Elektrotek, Lockheed Martin and SAIC and will analyze conformal coating reliability, use of material combinations and component gold stripping during a panel discussion titled “Forgotten Tribal Knowledge.”

Other topics of discussion include: HDI microvia reliability for any temperature extreme; system-level effects on solder joint reliability; how MSI applied technology beat the microvia hidden threat; a review of metallization interfaces on microvia reliability; reliability coupons; revisions to IPC-6012: test coupons, test boards and reflow resting

"The IPC High Reliability Forum is the premier place to discuss and learn about the newest innovations in the manufacturing of high reliability products," said Alicia Balonek, senior director of trade shows and events. "From solder joint and microvia reliability, to a special presentation on the results from the Department of Commerce study on the printed circuit board industry, this event provides a forum for forward-looking discussion, networking, and growth that will benefit the electronics industry."

Adds Sood, “The IPC High Reliability Forum will provide a stimulating and in-depth review of practices for engineering personnel working on electronics used in complex operations and where the risk of significant – and potentially catastrophic consequences – is high. If you work with electronics in harsh use environments, the forum is a must-attend event.”

There is still time to register for the IPC High Reliability Forum. For more information, visit http://www.ipc.org/Reliability-Baltimore.

IPC announced today the March 2018 findings from its North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. Industry shipments and orders continued to grow at a brisk pace in March. The book-to-bill ratio retreated from its peak but remained strong at 1.13.

Total North American PCB shipments in March 2018 were up 10.4 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, March shipments increased 15.0 percent.

PCB bookings in March increased 13.8 percent year-over-year. Year-to-date order growth was 16.8 percent above the same period last year. Bookings in March were up 8.5 percent compared to the previous month.

“The North American PCB industry’s robust recovery continued in March,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “Year-over-year growth has been consistently positive for sales in the last seven months and for bookings in the last 10 months. The outlook for this year is also encouraging, based on strong order growth in recent months and a book-to-bill ratio that has been above parity (1.0) for more than a year.”

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 first-quarter 2018 data from IPC’s PCB Statistical Program, will be available next month. 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.

The annual Quality Benchmark Study for Electronics Assembly, one of IPC’s most popular studies, is currently underway. The survey is online and available in both English and Mandarin Chinese. The deadline for participation has been extended to April 30.

This confidential survey is open to all companies that do electronics assembly worldwide, including OEMs and contract manufacturers. Participants who complete the survey will receive the report on the findings at no cost.

The study covers the industry's most widely used and important quality measurements, including yields, defect rates, cost of poor quality, test and inspection methods used, customer returns, supplier performance, certifications and more. Companies use the results to benchmark their operations to world-class quality measurements.

The report shows industry averages and percentile data by product type, region and company size tier. Product types covered in the survey include electronic end-products, rigid PCBs, flexible circuits and rigid flex, mechanical assembly, cable and wire harness, rigid backplanes, discrete wiring terminals and connectors. The report will be published in English and Chinese by September of this year.

IPC protects the confidentiality of participants’ data using a secure survey platform and server. IPC publishes only aggregate results and does not share any company-specific information. The survey asks for the participants’ IPC company ID number, which is used to provide additional data security.

Participants can start the 2018 Quality Benchmark Survey for Electronics Assembly or review the questionnaire in English at www.ipc.org/quality-benchmark-2018 and in Chinese at www.ipc.org/China-quality-benchmark-2018.

For assistance or to obtain the required company ID number, participants may contact IPC at +1 847-597-2868 or MarketResearch@ipc.org.

IPC, in conjunction with Global Industrie/Midest, Snese and IFTEC, conducted an IPC Hand Soldering Competition in Paris on March 27-30, 2018. The competition was fierce as 48 competitors went soldering iron to soldering iron to compete for the coveted hand soldering competition crown. For the first time in the IPC hand soldering competition history, the top three winners came from the same company, Matra Electronique in France. Taking first place with a cash prize of €300 and winning a JBC soldering station was Nathalie Kaladgwe, who earned 440 points out of a possible 445. Kaladgwe will be invited to compete at the IPC World Championship Hand Soldering Competition at IPC APEX EXPO 2019, San Diego, in January 2019.

Second place and a cash prize of €200 this year went to Mickael Delannoy, who earned 438 out of a possible 445. Julie Delannoy took third place and a cash prize of €100. Participants in the hand soldering competition were tasked with building a functional electronics assembly, an innovative design this year, within a 60-minute time limit. Master Instructor Trainers from IFTEC served as independent judges and evaluated each assembly based on workmanship, overall functionality, compliance with IPC-A-610G Class 3 criteria and speed to complete the printed circuit board. “The best-of-the-best hand soldering talent in France came to compete at Global Industrie/Midest,” said David Bergman, IPC vice president of international relations. “The competition was tough, but each competitor rose to the challenge. We look forward to hosting more hand soldering competitions across the globe.”

Bergman added, “IPC would like to thank hand soldering competition gold sponsors: JBC, Thales, Weller, Hakko and Davum TMC; silver sponsors: Almit, Metronelec and NCAB Group; bronze sponsor: CIF, IFTEC, MicroCare, SDEP, Optilia and Davum TMC; Contributors: Laser technologie France and Les Cahiers, for their support.”

IPC is planning to hold additional hand soldering competitions in Europe, later this year in June. Watch for announcements from IPC with locations and times. For more information on IPC events visit, www.ipc.org/events.

Don Dupriest, Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control, has been elected chair of the IPC Technical Activities Executive Committee (TAEC) for a two-year term. Dupriest succeeds Chris Mahanna of Robisan Laboratory, Inc., who held the role for IPC's top standards development oversight committee for the past two years.

As a Lockheed Martin Fellow on Lockheed Martin’s Technical staff, Dupriest provides leadership in interconnect technology development for electronic manufacturing and is responsible for advanced technology, process development and product manufacturability for electronic systems.

An active IPC volunteer for more than 25 years, Dupriest has provided invaluable service to IPC. A previous chair of the TAEC, he is also a member of IPC’s Hall of Fame and President’s Award recipient. Dupriest currently co-chairs the IPC D-35 Printed Board Storage and Handling Subcommittee.

Dupriest was elected to the TAEC post while attending a mentorship meeting for IPC Emerging Engineers. “I have to admit I was surprised to hear I was elected – I guess this is what happens when you miss your first TAEC meeting in twenty plus years,” he joked. “The committee voted to change the rules to allow a second term.” Dupriest added, “I am honored to be chosen and trusted by my peers to lead and serve as the first second term chairman of the TAEC.”

Citing his goals for chairmanship, Dupriest stated, “I typically jump right in when approaching any task, so I plan to do that with the TAEC. We now have greater use of task groups within committees to speed up creating content and resolution of requirements under development, but there is always room for improvement.

“I’d like to see what else we can do to better execute standards development by revising the Project Initiation Number (PIN) process for each new document at IPC. I’d like the process to better describe potential influences on other general committees and documents; i.e., requirements that might be impacted by the new PIN, giving general chairs a broader idea of activities outside their purview that may be impacted by new document development. I am also interested in keeping the communication lines open between general chairs so that we keep one another informed.”

Mentioning his commitment to mentoring the next generation of engineers, Dupriest indicated his interest in bringing emerging engineers to TAEC meetings to give them an idea of what to expect once they are members of IPC.

For additional information on the IPC TAEC and its activities, visit www.ipc.org/TAEC.aspx.

IPC announced today the February 2018 findings from its North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. Year-over-year shipment and order growth continued in February, and the book-to-bill ratio climbed to 1.17.

Total North American PCB shipments in February 2018 were up 8.8 percent compared to the same month last year. This year to date, shipments are 9.3 percent above the same period last year. Compared to the preceding month, February shipments decreased 0.9 percent.

PCB bookings in February increased 7.2 percent year-over-year, raising year-to-date order growth to 15.9 percent above the same period last year. Bookings in February were down 7.1 percent compared to the previous month.

“The North American PCB industry continued its robust recovery in February, with positive year-over-year sales growth for the sixth consecutive month,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “The outlook is also positive, based on strong order growth in recent months, and on the PCB book-to-bill ratio, which is above parity (1.0) for the 13th consecutive month and reached a new 12-year high in February.”

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 first-quarter 2018 data from IPC’s PCB Statistical Program, will be available next month. 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, 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® IPC released the results of its first-quarter 2018 global Pulse of the Electronics Industry survey at IPC APEX EXPO 2018 in San Diego on February 28. The survey shows worldwide business environment scores as positive and strengthening. The outlook for the next six months and 12 months climbed to their highest levels since the quarterly survey was launched in July 2017.

Sales Growth and the Current Business Climate

Average sales growth for the responding companies has been positive for the last three quarters and is projected to exceed the last year’s growth rates in the first quarter of 2018.

Average sales growth predicted for Q1 2018 is positive in all regions and all industry segments. Regionally, companies in the Americas are predicting the highest average sales growth for Q1.

The current business environment is moving in a positive direction based on responses to the Q1 2018 survey in January. It is positive for all industry segments, but strongest for OEMs and PCB fabricators.

Eight key business indicators are measured and weighted to produce the composite score index for the current direction of the business environment. As of Q1 2018, growth in sales and orders are the strongest positive drivers, but the direction of order backlogs and profit margins are also positive contributors to the first-quarter worldwide score. These drivers prevailed over the quarter’s negative business indicators, which include higher labor and material costs, challenges in recruiting workers, and rising inventories.

Outlook for First Half of 2018

As of Q1 2018, the expected direction of the business climate worldwide for the first half of 2018 is positive and substantially stronger than survey participants’ expectations in the last two quarters. Each of the seven indicators of the business climate for the next six months that can be reported is positive. These indicators – which are measurable results from the participants’ own businesses – include sales, production, markets, prices of the companies’ products, capital investment, exports and the number of full-time employees. (While the expected direction of prices is factored into the composite score, results are not reported for this indicator in adherence to U.S. anti-trust guidelines.)

Sales, production and markets are the leading positive drivers of the six-month business outlook in all regions. Respondents in Asia have the strongest expectation for market growth. All industry segments expect all the key business indicators to continue strengthening over the next six months, but subtle differences are seen in the degree of strengthening in exports, which is highest for OEMs, and in capital investment, which is highest for PCB fabricators.

Twelve-Month Outlook

Composite scores on the business outlook for the next 12 months have been strong in each of the last three quarters, but the Q1 2018 score is the highest to date. Scores on the 12-month outlook are strong in all regions and industry segments. They are highest for companies in Asia, and for PCB fabricators and OEMs.

Ninety-three percent of all survey respondents worldwide, as of January 2018, described the business outlook for the next 12 months as positive. The percentage was high in every region and industry segment.

“The industry’s positive outlook has been strong since this program was launched last summer, but the first-quarter 2018 results are extraordinary,” said IPC’s director of market research Sharon Starr, who presented the findings at IPC’s APEX EXPO last month. “This level of optimism was evident everywhere at this year’s APEX EXPO,” she added.

The complete reports on the survey results are available quarterly by subscription at an annual rate of $495 for IPC members and $990 for nonmembers. For more information or to subscribe, go to www.ipc.org/PulseReports.

IPC launched the Pulse of the Electronics Industry initiative in 2017 in response to its members’ need for more visibility into trends in the business environment. It was designed to generate timely insights on the state of the industry and its outlook, and the business indicators driving it. Data are collected quarterly from executives in all segments of the industry worldwide. All electronics manufacturers and suppliers can participate in the quarterly surveys and receive a summary report on the findings at no cost. The second-quarter 2018 survey will be available next week. To participate, contact marketresearch@ipc.org.

IPC’s statistical programs for the global assembly equipment and solder industries are now open to new participants for 2018. The deadline for IPC members to sign up is April 6. Participation is free to IPC-member companies as a benefit of membership.

The statistical programs give participating IPC members access to timely market and management data that would be impossible for them to collect themselves and prohibitively expensive for individual companies to obtain from research firms. As a neutral and trusted third party, IPC collects sales, orders and other business data from the participating companies using a secure and confidential online survey system. In exchange, these companies receive the aggregate data monthly and comprehensive quarterly reports that reveal the latest market and management trends for the industry.

Participating companies use the data to inform their marketing, sales, planning, forecasting and financial activities. It helps them to track changes in their market shares, compare their business performance against industry averages in their size tiers and product segments, and identify growing and declining markets.  

The solder statistical program is conducted in both English and Chinese. The report covers the volume of electronics-grade solder shipments by product type and by regional market, with quarterly growth rates and a lead-free breakdown. It also reports on the quarterly percentages of lead-free solder using SAC alloys. The assembly equipment statistical program tracks equipment sales in value and units by region and product type. Data are reported for pick-and-place equipment, ovens, screen printers, fluid dispensers, component storage towers and software, as well as AOI and x-ray inspection, test, board handling, selective soldering, rework and cleaning equipment, and other equipment categories. Three-month and 12-month sales predictions by the participating companies in aggregate are included in both programs’ reports.

IPC members interested in participating this year can sign up by contacting IPC at marketresearch@ipc.org or by phone at +1 847-597-2868, by April 6.

IPC – Association Connecting Electronics Industries®, the global industry association representing the $2 trillion global electronics industry, expressed concern today following President Trump’s announcement that he will impose significantly higher tariffs on electronics imported from China.

Steep and broadly applied tariffs will increase the cost of technology products for U.S. consumers and businesses without an appreciable impact on the balance of trade between the two countries. The new tariffs, moreover, are likely to lead to the imposition of retaliatory trade barriers by China and other nations and disrupt the established supply chains of U.S. companies, affecting their agility and competitiveness in the global marketplace.

“This action undermines the Trump’s administration’s meaningful efforts to boost the U.S. economy and undervalues the interconnected nature of the electronics supply chain,” said IPC President and CEO John Mitchell. “IPC appreciates the Trump administration’s decision to solicit comments from the public, which we will provide on behalf of the electronics industry.”

Mitchell added, “IPC supports efforts to ensure open and fair trade through the negotiation, implementation, and enforcement of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements. We encourage efforts by officials in the U.S. and China to resolve these differences swiftly, with as little economic disruption as possible.”

Protection of intellectual property consistently ranks as a top priority for the electronics industry. To this end, IPC maintains a set of industry standards and a certification program that enable electronics manufacturers to demonstrate 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.   

IPC's Validation Services Program has awarded an IPC-4101 Qualified Products Listing (QPL) to Arlon Electronic Materials Division, an electronics material manufacturing company headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

Arlon completed an intensive two-day audit where their manufacturing practices, test methods and IPC-4101 conformance requirements were reviewed to meet IPC Validation Services QPL requirements. Arlon produces and sells military-grade, copper-clad laminates, prepregs and packaging substrates to the global electronics industry. Arlon successfully qualified their product 85N to slash sheets 40 and 41 of IPC-4101E, Specification for Base Materials for Rigid and Multilayer Printed Boards.  Arlon successfully qualified their product 38N meeting the requirements of slash sheet 42.

Arlon met or exceeded IPC’s Validation Services QPL requirements for producing base materials used by printed circuit board manufacturers in the military electronics industry. The company is now listed as an IPC-4101E trusted source capable of manufacturing in accordance with industry best practices for IPC slash sheets 40, 41 and 42. These are all the polyimide-based slash sheets covered in IPC-4101E.  Arlon and other trusted sources of suppliers can be found on IPC's QML/QPL (Qualified Product Listing) database at www.ipcvalidation.org.

Brad Foster, Arlon’s president, stated, “IPC’s offering of validation services to the industry is an important first step to informing OEMs and fabricators which materials IPC has qualified. Because of Arlon’s long-standing history of supplying tried and proven products into military, avionic and space applications, we felt it was important for us to meet IPC’s QPL requirements for IPC-4101E on slash sheets 40, 41 and 42.  Arlon is the only laminator to date to gain IPC’s QPL recognition with all three polyimide slash sheets. Meeting IPC’s QPL requirements reaffirms to our customers that they can trust in the products they purchase from Arlon.”

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.

"Arlon 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 Arlon for being the first U.S. facility as a trusted supplier conforming to IPC-1401E as well as covering all three polyimide specification sheets."

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.