IPC is a trade association whose aim is to standardize the assembly and production requirements of electronic equipment and assemblies. It was founded in 1957 as the Institute of Printed Circuits. Its name was later changed to the Institute for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits to highlight the expansion from bare boards to packaging and electronic assemblies. In 1999, the organization formally changed its name to IPC with the accompanying tagline, Association Connecting Electronics Industries. IPC is accredited by the American National Standards Institute as a standards developing organization and is known globally for its standards. It publishes the most widely used acceptability standards in the electronics industry. IPC is headquartered in Bannockburn, Illinois, United States and maintains additional offices in Washington, D.C.; Atlanta, Ga., in the United States; Brussels, Belgium; Moscow, Russia; Bangalore, India; and Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, China.
Standards
IPC standards are used by the electronics manufacturing industry. IPC-A-610, Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies, is used worldwide by original equipment manufacturers and EMS companies. There are more than 3600 trainers worldwide who are certified to train and test on the standard. Standards are created by committees of industry volunteers. Task groups have been formed in China, the United States, and Denmark. Standards published by IPC include: ;General documents
IPC-T-50 Terms and Definitions
IPC-2615 Printed Board Dimensions and Tolerances
IPC-D-325 Documentation Requirements for Printed Boards
IPC members are eligible to participate in IPC’s statistical programs, which provide free monthly or quarterly reports for specific industry and product markets. Statistical programs cover the electronics manufacturing services, printed circuit board, laminate, process consumables, solder and assembly equipment segments. Comprehensive annual reports are distributed for the EMS and PCB segments, covering market size and sales growth, with breakdowns by product type and product mix as well as revenue trends from value-added services, trends in materials, financial metrics, and forecasts for total production in the Americas and the world. Monthly market reports for the EMS and PCB segments provide recent data on market size, sales and order growth, book-to-bill ratios and near-term forecasts.
IPC Apex Expo
IPC organizes the IPC Apex Expo, the largest electronics manufacturing industry trade show in North America, attracting more than 9,000 professionals from 45 countries. In 2020 the show took place in the San Diego Convention Center. IPC Apex Expo 2021 is scheduled for Jan 23-28, also in San Diego.
