IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1546209
16 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2026 job. A poorly organized schematic starves the layout designer. A careless footprint sends Assembly hunting for torches and pitchforks. Confusing fabri- cation notes leave CAM engineers performing something akin to an archaeological dig, trying to determine what the designer really meant. Missing tolerances become Quality's version of a murder mystery, and somewhere in Purchasing, a buyer discovers you've specified a laminate that hasn't been manufactured since disco was popular. The best PCB designers eventually discover that their real job isn't routing traces. It's under- standing every organism downstream that's forced to consume whatever they produce. Good designers learn enough electrical engi- neering to understand intent, and enough: • Mechanical engineering to appreciate packaging • Fabrication to know what can actually be built • Assembly to avoid creating soldering nightmares • Inspection to know what can actually be measured • Procurement to avoid specifying parts obtainable only during a leap year under a full moon But doesn't this concept apply to every member of the PCB project ecosystem? I think it does. As a PCB project "environmentalist," I am sensitive to the great void in communication I see between our industry species. We still do not seem to under- stand one another's roles, language, diet, function, and habitat. For this reason, I've been compelled to put together some course content to help all of us in this PCB ecosystem understand each other's roles, communication, expectations, and deliverables. Keep an eye out for this upcoming offering by the Global Electronics Association: From Blueprint to Build: A Survey of the PCB Design & Manufacturing Ecosystem. Throughout this class, we'll leave our natural habitat from time to time. We'll wander into Manu- facturing's territory. We'll visit CAM and observe Quality in its native environment. We'll peek into Assembly. We'll even attempt to communicate with Procurement, a fascinating species known to survive almost entirely on spreadsheets, supplier lead times, and coffee. The class will venture into the PCB designer's lair, an unnecessarily dark and mysterious place where multiple monitors glow into the early hours and caffeinated beverages mysteriously disap- pear, to get an overview of how much of the digital DNA that nourishes the entire engineering ecosystem is created. Along the way, we'll discover that every discipline has predators, natural enemies, survival instincts, and a unique role in keeping the project alive. Because once you understand how every organism survives, you begin performing your own role with a new awareness. You stop seeing your deliverables as the finish line and recognize them as the nourishment the next organism needs to survive. You understand how your work influences every heartbeat throughout the ecosystem. I hope you'll join me for this Association-spon- sored class as we follow a PCB project from blue- print to build, and discover why every PCB project organism matters. I-CONNECT007 Kelly Dack, CIT CID+, spe- cializes in DFx-driven PCB design and applications engineering at Pioneer Circuits, Inc. To read past columns, click here. TA RG E T C O N D I T I O N TA RG E T C O N D I T I O N " Nature has a term for organisms that can't adapt: extinction. Engineers have a different term: 'Rev B.'"