Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1367446
18 SMT007 MAGAZINE I MAY 2021 Feature Article by Dan Feinberg I-CONNECT007 I have participated in many areas of IPC for several years, particularly the Government Rela- tions Committee and the Suppliers Council. Now, there are many IPC committees, and most of them are focused on standards. Many IPC members take part in the committees— aer all, electronic design and manufacturing standards is one of the key reasons IPC was founded. e results of the committees' efforts represent a significant part of the value the IPC has contributed to the industry since it was founded in 1957. PCB Suppliers Council Back in the day, only PCB fabrication com- panies could be full members of IPC. Aer all, the Institute for Printed Circuits (its origi- nal name) was initially organized by PCB fab- rication companies in the United States who, at that time, dominated the global industry. ere was a need for common standards, espe- cially as the industry had begun to move from single-sided print-and-etch boards to double- sided, and had started to move from side-to- side wired interconnects (accomplished by inserting an eyelet into every hole) to plated- through interconnects. In other words, mov- ing to double-sided PTH with solder or gold overplating to simple multilayers, and from silk screening to photo-defined geometries. is required significant advancements in pro- cess and materials technology. Everyone was doing it differently and there were no com- monly used standards for either the process or the result. Hence the founding of IPC. How- ever, because fabricators founded IPC, only the fabricators could be full members. As the leading suppliers became involved—since they had to invent and improve the raw materials as well as many of the processes that were used to employ them—they were allowed to join as associate members. As things progressed through the 1960s, many suppliers felt like second-class citizens, which, in my humble opinion, they/we were. IPC: Driving Our Industry for 64 Years Held in Boston in 1994, the first IPC Printed Circuits Expo opened to rousing reviews. From left to right: Jerry Siegmund, Peter Sarmanian, Sam Altschuler, Dan Feinberg, and David Bergman.