Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1471044
80 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2022 Building printed circuits can be a tricky busi- ness. ere are many attributes that go into the production process. Initially, there is the sales interface with the customer, the receipt of the data for the initial quotation. en there is the procurement process for raw materials, which must be done to the customer specifi- cations. It could be the base materials, plating, mask, or screen, and that is just for the physical build part of the process. ey may have spe- cial requirements for acceptance, dimensional tolerances, hole tolerances, and the like. at is all just the customer documentation. ey may stipulate the industry standard(s) that are to be used for the general manufacturing pro- cess—IPC 6012, 6013, etc., and the electrical acceptance standards, for instance, IPC 9252. Now, if that isn't enough, throw in Department of Defense (DoD) or aerospace specifications. is month let's dive into the DoD and how this affects electrical test (ET). e cur- rent build specification for the Department of Defense for rigid product is MIL-PRF-31032. However, we still see specification calls for MIL-PRF-55110 and MIL-PRF-50884 (flex). We periodically see IPC-ET-652 called out, but new builds should use IPC-9252. For the ET arena, the call to the older spec- ifications, 55110 and 50884, are not usually an issue if the revision level is specified. It isn't safe to assume "latest rev" when you see this called out. e Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) requires these specifics to be called out for traceability. So, make sure when these speci- ET and the DoD Testing Todd by Todd Kolmodin, GARDIEN SERVICES USA