IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1546580
SEPTEMBER 2026 I I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE 85 • A Layout Instructions Checklist • An Assembly Drawing Checklist Except for IPC-DR-DES-2022, these resources are available for free by request through the IPC Designers Council France LinkedIn page. How do the working groups operate? The working groups are the council's day-to-day ac- tivity. Each has its own operating rules, but groups generally meet for about an hour every two weeks. We propose topics after each conference, and peo- ple join the groups that interest them. Currently, two groups are active, working on design for testability and design for selective wave assembly. We also have several pending topics, including design for conformal coating, design of experiments to optimize PCB baking parameters, PCBA cleanliness and cleaning, the influence of glass fabric selection on material properties, high- voltage clearance and creepage distances for airborne applications, and design of experiments on via plating. Participation in these groups continues to grow. At the very beginning of the council, groups had three to five people. Today, we regularly have 15 to 20 people attending each meeting. Communication and documentation between de- sign and manufacturing remain persistent chal- lenges. How is the council working to improve that connection? This is still an issue because electronic applications are so diverse that it is impossible to have a single document covering all of them. Our solution is a document that covers the common requirements. Designers should not consider it a definitive tool, but a basic document that helps them avoid forgetting information and gives structure to a requirements list. It often needs to be customized for their specific requirements. It is also a good opportunity to encourage designers to use standardized definitions of requirements—the IPC definitions, for sure—to avoid misunderstandings between designers and manufacturers. I would also add that simply participating in the working groups is often a source of professional development. The very direct exchanges between those who draft documents and those who use them can highlight misunderstandings caused by certain wording and help identify both superfluous and missing information. The industry is talking more about co-design, and the council already brings many of those stake- holders to the same table. How does IDCF encour- age greater collaboration across design and man- ufacturing? DFX is definitely a co-design approach because it takes into account all requirements, from the elec- trical engineer to the manufacturers. Our council was born from the observation that the industry has heavily segmented the different players involved in designing and manufacturing products according to their specific roles. This structuring into a customer-supplier chain has stifled communication among these stakeholders, and our aim is to restore a space for dialogue free from commercial or competitive connotations. How do you see co-design? The term "co-design" has now become more of a synonym for integrating hardware into component design, or vice versa, and there is still a barrier between the component world and the hardware world. We are in contact with other organizations involved in component and package design, such as IMAPS, but these exchanges remain sporadic. Each "world" focuses on its own specific issues without necessarily considering the impact its solu- tions will have on the other. So, misunderstandings persist, and it is diffi- cult to envision pooling efforts in the short term. Even if some of our pending working groups have elements of co-design behind them, I fear it will be the industrial reality that forces us to work together. Thank you, Thomas. Keep us informed as the coun- cil moves ahead. Yes, will do, Marcy. Thank you. I-CONNECT007