Nov 11, 2011 Want to get a handle on commonly used electronics industry acronyms and terminology? Look no further than the definitive resource, IPC-T-50J, Terms and Definitions for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits. Recently released by IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries®, the J revision of IPC-T-50 contains nearly 400 new or revised terms, including terminology for chip scale and area array packaging, cable and wire harness technology, semiconductor packaging, assembly processing, moisture sensitive components and microvia technology.
“The terms and definitions within the standard are written to provide clarity of detail, so that a reader utilizing English as a second language can understand the subtleties of the meaning of each term,” says Mike Green, engineer, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, and co-chair of the IPC 2-30 Terms and Definitions Committee. Of the revision process itself, Green says the document undergoes regular review, “IPC-T-50 is the one IPC document that is scrutinized one definition at a time.” The committee meets through web-based conferencing every other week as well as face-to-face twice a year, with input from an international audience, including the International Electrotechnical Commission, Japan Electronics Packaging and Circuits Association and European Institute of Printed Circuits.
“If you’re looking to take the mystery out of haloing, head on pillow, mouse-bites, pad cratering, moisture/reflow sensitivity classification and other terms and acronyms that the electronics industry commonly uses, then IPC-T-50 is the document to reference,” says John Perry, IPC technical projects manager and staff liaison to the committee.
For sharp-eyed users of the older version of the document, IPC-T-50H, Perry confirms that neither the committee nor IPC has lost its sense of the use of the alphabet for document revision control, “An ‘I’ could have easily been confused with ‘L’ or the number ‘1,’ even more so when people call out the document within internal procurement documentation and make an error.” He also warns, that when the time comes, not to look for the revision “O” which could be confused with the numeral zero.
IPC members may request a free single-user download of IPC-T-50J by sending an e-mail to MemberTechRequests@ipc.org within 90 days of the document’s publication date. After that date, IPC members may purchase the standard for $46. The nonmember price is $93. For more information or to purchase IPC-T-50J, visit www.ipc.org/T-50j.
IPC (www.IPC.org) is a global trade association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 3,000 member companies which represent all facets of the electronics industry, including design, printed board manufacturing, electronics assembly and test. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $2.02 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; Bangalore, India; and Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, China.
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