In recognition and acknowledgement of his extraordinary contributions to IPC and the electronics industry, Dave Hillman, Rockwell Collins, was presented with the IPC Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame Award at IPC APEX EXPO on Tuesday, February 27 at the San Diego Convention Center. IPC’s most prestigious award, the Hall of Fame is given to individuals who have provided exceptional service and advancement to IPC and the electronics industry.

An active IPC volunteer and leader for IPC and the electronics manufacturing industry for nearly 30 years, Hillman is a metallurgical engineer in the Advanced Operations Engineering Department at Rockwell Collins, as well as a Rockwell Collins Fellow, serving as a consultant to manufacturing on material and processing problems.

Author of more than 200 industry papers and presentations, chair of numerous committees at IPC and a sought-after speaker in the industry, Hillman’s knowledge and expertise in the issues of tin whiskers, BGA voiding, solder joints, wire solderability, tin-lead solder, lead-free processes and conformal coating materials is extensive. Active in IPC’s Emerging Engineer program as a mentor, Hillman has also mentored more than 100 young engineers at Rockwell Collins.

In 1999, Dave earned an IPC President’s Award for his contributions to IPC standards development and in 2015 was amongst an illustrious group of inaugural winners of the Dieter Bergman IPC Fellowship Award for his commitment to global standardization efforts.

“Dave’s contributions to IPC have been invaluable,” said John Mitchell, IPC president and CEO. “He is not only dedicated to creating better standards for the industry, but he also generously shares his knowledge and expertise with the next generation of engineers. His contributions for the past three decades have been far reaching, his time spent, immeasurable and his achievements, vast. He is an ideal recipient for IPC’s highest honor.”

For more information on the IPC Hall of Fame and other awards presented at IPC APEX EXPO, contact Sandy Gentry, IPC communications director, at +1 847-597-2871 or SandyGentry@ipc.org.

IPC® announces the winners of the IPC APEX EXPO 2018 Innovation Awards, a celebration of the innovators and forward thinkers who are changing the technological landscape of the electronics industry.

Thirty-four products and services were submitted by 32 exhibiting companies and were reviewed, rated and scored by a panel of industry experts who provided a numerical value based on the following criteria: How is this product innovative?  How is this product changing the manufacturing industry?  What value will customers experience with this new product?

The IPC APEX EXPO Best of Innovation Awards will be presented on Wednesday, February 28 during the morning keynote to the following companies:

• DfR Solutions takes a Best of Innovation Award for their Temperature-based FEA with Sherlock Automated Design Analysis™ Software, the first-of-its-kind Automated Design Analysis software tool for analyzing, grading, and certifying the expected reliability of products at the circuit card assembly level.
• A Best of Innovation Award goes to JBC Tools for JBC Net, a pioneering software system that manages and optimizes the hand soldering process, standardizes parameters and controls operator performance.
• Metcal has earned a Best of Innovation Award for its Connection Validation Robotic Soldering System. Robotic soldering is becoming more commonplace as manufacturers look to reduce risk and increase productivity. Metcal’s new CV Robotic Soldering System addresses these needs by combining its patented CV technology and a new Smart Interface System.
• Orbotech, Inc. has earned a Best in Innovation Award for its Ultra Dimension, an Automated Optical Inspection Series for advanced PCB manufacturing processes -- the first AOI solution to integrate four leading solutions into a single system: pattern inspection, laser via inspection, Remote Multi-Image Verification and 2D metrology.

“The IPC APEX EXPO Innovation Awards allow us to celebrate the innovators and forward thinkers who are changing the technological landscape of the electronics industry,” said John Mitchell, IPC president and CEO. “The product and service submissions were certainly innovative and the companies did an exceptional job in identifying their product’s unique value in the industry. The innovative submissions directly indicate the strength of the electronics industry and its ability to respond to new challenges resulting from emerging technologies,” Mitchell added.

Members of the award review board include: Dale Lee, Plexus Corporation; Todd MacFadden, Bose Corporation; Dave Geiger, Flextronics International; Don Dupriest, Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control; Jeff Timms, ASM Assembly Systems; and Rick Lies, Chemcut Corporation.

For more information on all IPC APEX EXPO activities, visit www.IPCAPEXEXPO.org.

IPC has issued a position paper, “IPC Priorities for an Ambitious EU Industrial Policy Strategy” in support of EU Industry Day, taking place February 22-23, 2018.

Last September, the European Commission published a Communication on a renewed EU industrial policy strategy that emphasizes crucial aspects for the electronics industry, such as the need for substantial investment in advanced manufacturing, skilled and talented workforce as well as research and innovation.

EU Industry Day will update stakeholders on the Commission's strategic approach to industrial policy and actions to further develop industrial competitiveness in Europe.  During this forum, stakeholders contributing to European industrial competitiveness can showcase their activities, learn from each other, discuss cross-cutting issues and develop joint visions for the future.

“IPC welcomes the EU Industrial Policy and related efforts to address these issues that are critical for our members,” said IPC President and CEO John Mitchell. “With more than 650 members in Europe, the majority of which are small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), IPC has long advocated for an ambitious industrial agenda for Europe.

“I also encourage our member companies to participate in IMPACT Brussels 2018 this fall, when we will meet with EU officials to address the EU Industrial Policy and other issues, such as environmental regulations. A save-the-date for IMPACT Brussels 2018 will be sent to our members soon.”

For more information on IPC’s position paper, “IPC Priorities for an Ambitious EU Industrial Policy Strategy,” visit IPC’s website.

IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries® Pb-free Electronics Risk Management (PERM) Council has developed the first single document dedicated solely to assisting design engineering in the development of electronics that are completely lead-free (Pb-free) and meet the demanding requirements of aerospace, defense and high performance (ADHP) products and systems.

IPC/PERM-2901, Pb-free Design and Implementation Guide, provides an in-depth review of printed board defects, manufacturing and soldering processes, supply chain control, selection, use and assembly with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products and obsolescence management.

While the commercial electronics industry has almost eliminated the need for tin-lead (SnPb) based electronics systems and products, the ADHP industry, due to a lack of industry-accepted reliability models for Pb-free interconnections, has continued to rely on SnPb for their products. As it becomes more cost-prohibitive for the ADHP industry to continue to use SnPb products, and with failure mechanisms for Pb-free materials being significantly different than SnPb materials, gaining knowledge and understanding of how Pb-free materials affect the ADHP industry has become critical.

Although many technical papers and industry studies have been published addressing the Pb-free soldering process over the past 20 years, the IPC/PERM-2901, Pb-free Design and Implementation Guide is the first to assist design engineering, quality assurance and manufacturing engineering in understanding and appreciating the differences in mechanical and physical behaviors of Pb-free soldering and providing avenues for risk mitigation.

This guideline specifically addresses the “delta” differences between SnPb and Pb-free solder technologies relative to manufacturing the same products. The differences in these solder technologies are generally categorized (with respect to Pb-free solder alloys) as:

• Typically poorer wetting ability
• Differences in appearance and inspection criteria
• Typically higher melting temperature
• Potential tighter process window for repair/rework
• Increased potential of tin whiskers

The PERM Council, comprised of global participants from government, military, medical, academia and other not-for-profit organizations, along with private companies, was created to address the need for how Pb-free materials directly affect product performance, reliability and service life.

The European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) profoundly affected the electronics industry when lead was listed as a restricted substance. According to Linda L. Woody, formerly of Lockheed Martin and former PERM Council Chair, “ADHP systems and products have a broad range of performance requirements, and have relied on SnPb products for decades. We created the guideline to ease the transition from SnPb to Pb-free, and to help the industry meet the demanding requirements of the ADHP systems and products.”

For more information or to purchase IPC/PERM-2901, Pb-free Design and Implementation Guide, visit the IPC Online Store.

IPC's Validation Services Program is proud to announce the recertification of two IEC Electronics Corporation facilities, located in Newark, New York and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Both facilities are certified to IPC-J-STD-001, IPC-A-610 and IPC/WHMA-A-620 Qualified Manufacturers Listing (QML) at the Class 3 level.

“We are pleased to be certified and part of the IPC Qualified Manufacturers List (QML) for Validation Services,” said Mark Northrup, IEC’s vice president of Advanced Technical Operations & Strategy. “We know that IPC is a globally recognized trusted source for standards and training programs within the electronics manufacturing industry. We believe the QML certification process helps to bring those elements together and illustrate our commitment to quality with respect to the life-saving and mission critical products we manufacture. We are also honored to provide support for the upcoming DoD Executive Agent Defense Electronics Supplier Roundtable via the DoD Trusted Electronics Supplier Program as we continuously strive to minimize supply chain risk for our customers.”

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.

"Different from other audit programs, IPC's Validation Services Programs uniquely provides technical and in-depth assessments of products and processes in accordance with IPC standards," said Randy Cherry, IPC director of Validation Services. "We are pleased to recognize both IEC Electronics Corporation Newark, New York and IEC Corporation Albuquerque, New Mexico for recertifying and continuing to be members of IPC's network of trusted QML suppliers."

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 — Association Connecting Electronics Industries® announced today that all 149,700 sq. ft. of exhibit floor space has sold out for IPC APEX EXPO® 2018, making it the largest IPC APEX EXPO in the last decade. The premier technical conference and exhibition will take place February 27–March 1, 2018, at the San Diego Convention Center.

To visitors, the sold-out status means that the show floor will be busy and informative, with 479 exhibitors introducing new product technologies, innovations and demonstrations of the industry's newest advancements, many of which will also be highlighted in the dedicated New Products Corridor on the show floor. Top-rated suppliers in every major electronics industry category will present best-in-class equipment, materials, processes and services to help attendees gain greater efficiency while improving their bottom lines.

"One of the top objectives for attendees is to see new products on the show floor. IPC APEX EXPO has been recognized as the 'best show to do business,' and provides ample opportunities to network with existing customers, meet new customers, grow business and increase revenue," said Alicia Balonek, senior director of trade shows and events. “For many attendees, IPC APEX EXPO provides them the unique opportunity to see the largest gathering of the electronics industry's top suppliers all under one roof,” Balonek added.  

Exhibit hours are Tuesday, February 27 from 10 am–6 pm, Wednesday, February 28 from 9 am–6 pm and Thursday, March 1 from 9 am–2 pm. To view a complete list of companies exhibiting at IPC APEX EXPO, visit www.IPCAPEXEXPO.org/exhibitors.

For more information about the show or to register, visit www.IPCAPEXEXPO.org. Exhibits-Only registration is free to individuals who pre-register online ($35 on-site). To maximize event experience, individuals can take advantage of the All-Access Package which includes the technical conference; professional development courses; standards development meetings, IPC luncheons and more.

The best technical conference paper of IPC APEX EXPO® 2018 has been selected. Voted on through a ballot process by members of the IPC APEX EXPO Technical Program Committee, the paper authors will receive their awards during the opening keynote session on Tuesday, February 27.

Taking top honors, the winning paper is, “Equivalent Capacitance Approach to Obtain Effective Roughness Dielectric Parameters for Copper Foils” by Marina Y. Koledintseva, Oracle. Her co-author was: Tracey Vincent, CST of America. This paper will be presented during Technical Conference Session 16 (PCB Signal Integrity/ High Speed/ High Frequency) on Wednesday, February 28.

This year, two papers were selected in the honorable mention category. Honorable mention went to, “Derivation of Equation on Thermal Life Prediction of Plated Through Hole for Printed Wiring Board” by Yoshiyuki Hiroshima, Fujitsu Advanced Technologies Limited. His co-authors were: Shunichi Kikuchi and Akiko Matsui, Fujitsu Advanced Technologies Limited; Yoshiharu Kariya and Kazuki Watanabe, Shibaura Institute of Technology; Hiroshi Shimizu, Hitachi Chemical Company, Ltd.; and Jack Tan, HDP User Group International, Inc. This paper will be presented during Technical Conference Session 12 (PCB Reliability) on Wednesday, February 28.

Honorable mention also goes to “Bottom Heating during Manual Rework” by Lars Bruno, Ericsson AB. This paper will be presented during Technical Conference Session 20 (Rework) on Wednesday, February 28.

The papers were evaluated on their technical content, originality, test procedures and data used to deduce conclusions, quality of illustrations and the clarity and professionalism of writing as well as value to the industry.

To register for the IPC APEX EXPO technical conference or for more information on all the activities taking place including standards development committee meetings, professional development courses, the exhibition and more, visit www.IPCAPEXEXPO.org.

When the IPC APEX EXPO show floor opens on Tuesday, February 27, more than 20 equipment vendors, software providers and customers from across the electronics industry will participate in an IPC Connected Factory Exchange (CFX) Showcase. The IPC CFX Showcase -- a technological demonstration operating in real time -- will deliver standardized machine data from participating exhibitors through the cloud and onto visitors’ mobile phones.

“When visitors enter the show floor or a participating exhibitor’s booth, they will scan a QR code using their phone, which will bring up a mobile device website driven by the CFX cloud server,” said Dave Bergman, IPC vice president of standards and training.

“Visitors can then observe real-time analytical reports, such as overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), unit counts and more as well as the live data stream showing actual machine activity. This is a first-of-its-kind demonstration and with no software to install, this illustrates the true nature of IoT, with IPC CFX as a one hundred percent open industry standard,” Bergman added. “We’re essentially turning the IPC APEX EXPO show floor into a factory floor!”

“The critical roadblock that has been keeping industry from accessing Industry 4.0 benefits has been the issue of reliable and meaningful data across disparate machines and devices,” said Jason Spera, co-chair of the 2-17 Connected Factory Initiative Subcommittee that is developing the IPC CFX standard, and CEO of Aegis Software. “IPC CFX is open, totally comprehensive in scope and native to the machines,” he added.

In addition to the IPC CFX Showcase, members of the 2-17 Connected Factory Initiative Subcommittee will review the current building blocks of the standard and will address new developments in how the standard enables complete digital modeling from design through manufacture with feedback paths of information from manufacturing back to design. On Wednesday, February 28, IPC will host an Industry 4.0 Buzz Session. The Buzz Session will feature short presentations, a panel discussion and opportunities for attendees to ask questions.

For more information on the IPC CFX Showcase or Buzz Session on Industry 4.0, visit www.ipcapexexpo.org and for more information on the CFX standard, visit, www.ipc.org/Connected-Factory-Initiative

IPC announced today the November 2019 findings from its North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. Sales and orders in November were strong and continued to outpace last year. The book-to-bill ratio stands at 1.08.

Total North American PCB shipments in November 2019 were up 17.2 percent compared to the same month last year. Year-to-date sales growth as of November is 7.7 percent ahead of the same period last year. Compared to the preceding month, November shipments increased 0.7 percent.

PCB bookings in November increased 11.1 percent year-over-year. Year-to-date order growth is up to 4.4 percent. Bookings in November fell 18.6 percent from the previous month.

“Business is booming for the North American PCB industry as sales and orders outpace last year’s performance by a substantial margin,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “A strong book-to-bill ratio following three months of positive ratios indicates the likelihood for continued sales growth through the first quarter of 2020.”

Note: The January 2019 ratio has been revised since its original publication due to updated data from statistical program participants.


Note: The November 2018, January 2019, June 2019 and October 2019 growth rates have been revised since their original publication due to updated data from statistical program participants.

View Chart in PDF

Detailed Data Available

Companies that participate in IPC’s North American PCB Statistical Program have access to detailed findings on rigid PCB and flexible circuit sales and orders, including separate rigid and flex book-to-bill ratios, growth trends by product types and company size tiers, demand for prototypes, sales growth to military and medical markets, and other timely data. PCB companies that are IPC members doing business in North America are invited to contact marketresearch@ipc.org for information about participating in 2020.

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 by the end of each month.