Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1509257
60 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2023 Feature Interview by Andy Shaughnessy I-CONNECT007 IPC provides a wide range of standards that cover PCB design, fabrication, assembly, materials, components, land patterns, and much more. Design standards fall under the purview of Patrick Crawford, so I asked him to share some background on the processes for developing and updating standards. Pat- rick explained which design, fabrication, and assembly standards PCB designers should be familiar with, and how standards can help designers avoid making costly mistakes. Patrick, as the manager of design standards for IPC, what standards do you think every new PCB designer needs to understand? I would consider the IPC-222x series of docu- ments—IPC-2221, Generic Standard on Printed Board Design, and its sectional design stan- Managing Design Standards dards—to be essential reading, although which sectional standard you invest in will depend on exactly what you're working on. For example, if you're working on a rigid-flex board, then a copy of IPC-2223 is probably required, and so on. I would also highly recommend a copy of IPC-7352, Generic Guidelines for Land Pat- tern Design, and IPC-2231 DFX Guidelines. e land pattern document will be invalu- able as you begin to design lands for SMT and through-hole components, especially when designing in compact form—factors with elec- trical and mechanical clearances to consider. e DFX guidelines document is a higher-level design guide, in that it provides an overview of the entire design process and what to consider when designing or manufacturing, testing, end-of-life, etc. It's written to be understood