Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1467185
MAY 2022 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 63 modularity for reuse, use of recycled material in product packaging, the intelligent utilization of tools or ISO 14040 to conduct LCA—there are those that are essentially targeted toward the PCB design itself. ese strategies mostly focus around three areas: design for repair- ability, design for recyclability, and design for reuse. ose of you who have used the IPC- 2231 DFX Guidelines document called Design For eXcellence may think that at least one of those is familiar. For the unacquainted, the IPC-2231 DFX Guidelines document provides a framework to establish a design review process for the layout of printed board assemblies. is design review assesses the manufacturability attributes of printed boards, namely design for manufac- turing, fabrication, assembly, testability, cost, reliability, environment, and reusability. Ah, there it is: design for reus(ability)—DFR. Yes, at least one IPC document does currently touch upon a review of eco-design principles in the layout of printed boards. However, as of IPC-2231A, these sections (design for envi- ronment and design for reusability) are not as robust as they should be in the face of the European Green Deal or any of its tenets of circularity (and likely impending regulations thereof, as well). I don't write this to disparage our document, but rather to signal that IPC is aware that elec- tronics manufacturing companies will soon be responsible to regulatory bodies around the world—not only the EU—as well as to the envi- ronment. We are actively reviewing the IPC- 2231A to revise it within the next two years. As part of that revision, we are making a point to include (among other things) discussion of PCB designers, and their teams can begin to implement review processes for creating and assessing eco-design benchmarks for their designs. As the IPC-2231 is a guideline, these will not be normative requirements, but rather best practice suggestions from the 1-14 DFX Subcommittee and our friends from iNEMI, who will be joining us to help review the reus- ability and environment sections of the docu- ment (and add sections as necessary). But we won't stop there. While a revision of the DFX Guidelines document is IPC's pri- ority, we anticipate that we may be able to expand IPC eco-design activities to include the creation of a new eco-design for electronics guideline that provides a holistic coverage of circularity concepts and how they touch every step of the electronics manufacturing pipeline. We feel that this is an excellent opportunity to make a real difference in eco-design for circu- lar electronics, but again, it all starts with the IPC-2231 DFX Guidelines document. To that end, if you consider yourself to be an eco-design "expert," or know someone who is, please reach out to me. I would love to hear how you think IPC can help the electronics industry navigate the new circular economy. e European Green Deal is likely just the beginning of an explosion of "greening" around the world. While IPC is determined to help electronics manufacturing companies become greener themselves, it will take con- tinued input from industry, both through con- sortia like iNEMI and standards development activities through organizations like IPC, to produce meaningful change. When it comes to confronting these new opportunities in sustainability and circularity, I think that we should embrace the spirit of the late, great Stan Lee and say, "Excelsior!"—or as we mortals would say, "Ever upward." DESIGN007 References 1. "Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Commit- tee of Regions," Eur-Lex. 2. inemi.org. Patrick Crawford is the man- ager of design programs and related industry programs at IPC. To read past columns or contact him, click here or email PatrickCrawford@ipc.org.