Regardless of the industry, the standards of quality have risen to a level that only the best of manufacturers or service providers can deliver. In order to be profitable, manufacturers of electronic parts and assemblies for example, strive to make their employees and contractors reach a certain level of expertise to be able to produce quality products at the least possible time and cost. This is quite a challenge but with the help of electronic manufacturing training, what seems unattainable has become real.
Coping up with standards is not the only focus for manufacturers. They also need to lower turnaround time while increasing productivity in order to cope up with customer demands. Behind an effort to excel, manufacturers need to be profitable to be able to continue with their operations. After all, profit is the main goal of every business. This is one of just a few reasons why manufacturers implement the standards of IPC-the Association Connecting Electronics Industries, in their effort to to comply with global demands for quality electronics assemblies.
What is IPC and Why Is It Important?
Electronics covers a wide scope in technology. It is involved in every known industry including aerospace, telecommunications, medical, and equipment manufacturing. Because of its role in the manufacture of original equipment, the production of electronic products needs to go through stringent quality standards.
The IPC is the forerunner of the best practices in the electronics industry. Its standards for quality manufacturing have become the benchmark of quality of over 3,000 companies around the world. One of its modules, the IPC-A-610 Acceptability of Electronics Assemblies Training and Certification Program is one of the most sought-after standards in electronics manufacturing. It is a customer-focused program designed to set acceptability standards for manufacturers of electronic printed circuit boards.
But compliance is not the end goal of the IPC-A-610. Although it entails a set of instructions for engineers and technicians to perform, it actually sets the criteria for the product to be acceptable to the customer. This makes the IPC a critical factor not only in the manufacturing but in the marketing of electronic parts and assemblies. Aside from the IPC-A-610, IPC has a lot of other modules that are designed to achieve excellent quality on other areas including IPC soldering training. All of these modules are widely accepted by manufacturers and consumers throughout Europe, Asia and America.
IPC is a Benchmark of Quality
The IPC standards include guidelines as the basis for manufacturers, suppliers, end users and government agencies to determine quality right from the acquisition of raw materials to the delivery of finished products. Aside from standards that are designed to achieve quality objectives, it has also established a language and criteria that everyone in the electronics industry can understand. This works to eliminate confusion in workers down the line. It allows managers, supervisors, contractors and even competitors to speak the same language on a global scale. IPC enables everyone involved in the electronics assembly process to know what needs to be done. Every process is based on specific guidelines in order to get consistent quality results.
Because IPC is designed to uphold quality, you can be sure that wastes are minimized and your finished products have a high percentage of acceptability. This is very beneficial to manufacturing companies because it can help them to avoid producing rejects and lessen the possibility of reworks which is one of the major causes of delays and added costs.
While the demand for electronic parts is soaring, the requirement for quality by original equipment manufactures has become stiffer. Competition has made the market of finished electronic products so focused on quality. This has made manufacturers realize that the use of inferior quality materials and workmanship can drastically reduce their profit potentials. In order to gain competitive advantage, they have to comply with IPC standards. They need to do this by all means or stay at the bottom of the electronics manufacturing business.
