Standards
What are they?
“Put at its simplest, a standard is an agreed, repeatable way of doing something. It is a published document that contains a technical specification or other precise criteria designed to be used consistently as a rule, guideline, or definition. Standards help to make life simpler and to increase the reliability and the effectiveness of many goods and services we use. Standards are created by bringing together the experience and expertise of all interested parties such as the producers, sellers, buyers, users and regulators of a particular material, product, process or service.” Courtesy of the British Standards Institute – BSi
So why is this relevant to me?
“Quality and reliability are the cornerstones of competing in the marketplace and critical to your company’s reputation and profitability. By implementing IPC standards throughout the manufacturing process, you help ensure better performance, longer life and compliance with lead-free regulations.” Courtesy of IPC
As so much manufacturing has been moved to sub-contractors (CEM) companies have encountered huge problems trying to maintain quality in production and reliability in the field.
You might say that, for the majority of “disposable” items such as phones, computers, TV’s etc, this is actually not important because you simply replace the product. However such activities put your company’s reputation and trademark at significant risk even to the extent of business closure. Believe me, when your 3 year old TV goes bang and there is a football match you want to watch that day, you really wish that the product was more reliable!
Of course if the end product is safety critical and some poor soul might be injured or killed, this puts a far more serious emphasis on quality and reliability.
The WEEE directive was introduced with the specific challenge of reducing Waste in Electrical and Electronic Equipment that is the fastest growing waste stream in our country.
So what is it about?
“IEC's standards are vital since they also represent the core of the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), whose 100-plus central government members explicitly recognize that international standards play a critical role in improving industrial efficiency and developing world trade.” Courtesy of the International Electro-Technical Commission (IEC)
Quality – Reliability – Reducing Waste
Did you know that under European Law, a manufacturer is mandated to work in compliance to recognised International Standards. If your product fails and someone is injured or killed, then YOU may well be held liable for the claimant’s damages that, very likely, might put you out of business. Keep in mind that your insurance company will not cover you if you have failed to employ “proper practice” or “due diligence”.
Most multi-national companies work closely to such standards and seek to ensure their suppliers do likewise. They usually require that definitive measurable data be generated that enables them to monitor and trace defects that might otherwise compromise the end product reliability.
Arguments continually arise between user and vendor as to the quality of the item in question. Only by good measurement practice can these be resolved and good measurement involves minimising the number of variables that can influence the result.
Electronic assemblies are >90% chemistry and at every manufacturing stage there are residues remaining. How these might react when under electrification has become more problematic as circuits have become smaller and lower voltages are employed. Dendrites are the result, lower voltage and narrower spacing means that there may not be enough energy to destroy these fragile “filaments” and circuit failure will be the result. New test equipment can measure SIR changes at levels <10E12 and there are SIR standards applicable to 14 different process stages.
Circuit boards and components may often be in storage for many months prior to the assembly process. Temperature and humidity conspire to create oxidation of exposed metals. These oxides grossly and adversely affect the creation of good solder joints without which they are weak and will fail prematurely. These can be accurately measured by the amount of force employed to achieve the desired “wetting” and referred to as Solderability Tests. Again, new test equipment can measure force at mN (Millinewton) levels and there are 6 applicable standards.
Process materials such as solder fluxes, alloys and pastes, solder resists and conformal coatings should all have been thoroughly tested before they reach the end user. However, are they stored and used correctly? Will they work synergistically when the other process materials are in place?
Manufacturers rely on good measurement practice that ensures the minimum number of variables. The problem is that when they arrive at the point of use, variables do exist and consequently arguments arise between vendor and user that are costly and time consuming. Consequently there are increasing process control methods that are being developed that are intended to relieve such arguments.
It can be argued that a good engineer, through experience, can determine whether the parts are going to be fit for use, but this gives only a qualitative rather than a quantitative answer and not exactly traceable results!
Where can I get more information and how can I get involved?
Your immediate point of reference is your trade association such as SMART Group whose prime function is knowledge transfer.
Standards are under constant review by their specific committees who carry out this work voluntarily. It is certainly true that companies can enjoy an edge over their competitors if they are involved in the writing process, but you can be assured that they are obligated to provide good solid evidence that demonstrates an effective metric.
There are standards that cover every aspect of electronic manufacturing whether from bare board production to component manufacturing and the assembly process joining the two together.
On September 30th 2009 at the Electronics Technology event at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, there will be a special “Standards Workshop” run by the SMART Group and IPC. Come along and find out more.
Graham Naisbitt - Managing Director of Gen3 Systems Limited.
Graham Naisbitt is Vice Chairman of SMART Group, works on several IPC committees and is Vice Chairman of 4 Task Groups. He serves on the BSi EPL 501 and IEC TC91.
28th May 2009