IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
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84 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2026 How did the council get started, and how has it evolved since then? The origins of IPC Designers Coun- cil France (IDCF) go back to when I joined the Executive Board of the IPC Design Council. There, I had the opportunity to exchange ideas with many American design ex- perts, including Gary Ferrari, Mike Creeden, and Rick Hartley. I also discovered the numerous Designers Council chapters throughout the United States, creating a network of designers on a large scale while still being available locally. I was immediately convinced this format could appeal to French designers, who are spread across many small and medium-sized companies and are often one of only a few designers, or even the only designer, in their organization. It didn't take much persuasion to convince Pierre- Jean Albrieux, CEO of IFTEC, that it would benefit the French electronics industry to have its own Designers Council. IFTEC, a long-standing player in the French electronics industry and partner of the Global Electronics Association, was well-positioned to initiate the group. In February 2018, IFTEC and IPC Europe orga- nized the first IPC Design Day in Paris, and I was responsible for the technical content. That event marked the official birth of IDCF and the formation of its board. Since then, IDCF has offered working groups throughout the year and an annual confer- ence open to the whole industry. Our most recent conference in June attracted 135 attendees. As the council has grown, has its mission changed, or are you still addressing the same fundamental needs within the design community? Our mission remains to address gaps perceived by the industry by fostering exchanges among all design stakeholders, from electronics engineers to manufacturers. Our approach is to highlight IPC rules and recommendations when they exist and to propose additional guidance when they do not. How important are IPC standards and your part- nership with the Global Electronics Association to that work? Is the Association the council's primary focus? The partnership works on two lev- els. Technically, IPC standards and certifications are a great source of good practices that engineers and designers often don't know about or may have forgotten. Logistically, the Global Elec- tronics Association provides great support with registration and reser- vations, conference room bookings, welcoming and catering for participants, and the technical organization of broadcasts for remote attendees. IDCF members believe IPC is the standards orga- nization most dedicated to our industry, but we may also need to consult standards from organizations such as JEDEC, IEC, ISO, and UL for complemen- tary recommendations. When we last spoke, the council had several work- ing groups developing practical resources for de- signers. What has come out of that work, and what are your groups focused on now? We still have several working groups in progress. Their aim is to produce practical and efficient tools that are available to the whole industry. Although French is used in the working groups, we are all aware that electronics is now a global industry. That is why our tools are offered in English and can be used outside France. This is probably also why we have received requests for them from far beyond French borders. The tools developed so far include: • A Design Desk Reference, published by the Global Electronics Association as IPC-DR-DES-2022, which we are hoping to review in 2026 • A Master Drawing Template with instructions • A DFM tool for bare PCBs that summarizes cost-sensitive parameters and returns an assessment based on IPC producibility levels to judge manufacturability and, indirectly, PCB cost T h o m a s R o m o nt