Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/539281
July 2015 • The PCB Design Magazine 31 Now all of a sudden we're getting bombarded with requests for design certification. Certifica- tion is just a well-rounded course. It's not every- thing. It's not really detailed, but at least it gets them a start. Matties: What was the driving force for the cre- ation of ciD? Ferrari: Dieter Bergman asked me, "What can we do for the design community?" Obviously, there is very little for the design community. The electrical engineers have IEEE and there's ASME for mechanical, etc. All the designers have is sore eyes from looking at the tube all day; they have nothing. I said, "What we need to have is a society where the designers can learn." We formed it as a chapter-based society within IPC; it went worldwide. The chapters brought in guest speakers and went on plant tours. That was the start. Then we said, "What else can we do?" The designers came back and said, "We'd like to have an education system because the engineer has a degree, this guy has that, and we don't have a formal degree. We'd like to have some- thing that proves that we're not just connect- the-dots people, that we know manufacturing, assembly, test, etc." Engineers just have to know the electronics part of it. The designerscreated the CID and CID+ programs. We like to call it For designers, by designers. We went through a long process but I won't go into that. It was a certification that is supported worldwide, and all of those years IPC took a financial loss. We just broke even on the workshops, but not on the membership and any of the benefits. I can't say that it was a moneymaking endeavor. Recently, in 2014, they outsourced it to li- censed training centers. Now their only in- come from the program is from the materials that they sell. The cost of the materials went up. Some designers say, "Gee whiz, that's an ex- pensive course." It is, but it isn't, because if you compare it against the cost for doing assembly training, or 6012 training, and other similar courses, it's a lot less expensive. Matties: or the cost of a poor design. Ferrari: Or the cost of a poor design, exactly. It gives them enough information, I say, to be dan- gerous. They learn a tremendous amount about fabrication, assembly, and test. At least it gets them started in the right direction and most im- portant, they know when to ask a question. Matties: there are two issues in the design com- munity. one is the aging population. two is the lack of new entrants coming into this. Ferrari: We're seeing that grow. I have attended several workshops and I see a lot of younger people coming in. Matties: how are we attracting younger people? What's the magnet, if you will, to pull them in? Ferrari: That's the sad part. There's no real for- mal thing to point at. When I worked with IPC, I used to make the rounds to the colleges, com- munity colleges and all the designers council chapters, and that helped jazz it up. That ele- ment no longer takes place. I think what's driv- feature GARy FERRARI SHARES HIS THOUGHTS ON PCB DESIGN AND MORE continues