Targeting Excellence in Electronics Assembly
The IPC-A-610 “Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies” is the most widely used standard published by the IPC with an international reputation as the source for end product acceptance criteria for consumer and high reliability electronic assemblies. This is an industry developed and approved program that includes training, certification and instructional materials based on the IPC-A-610 and will be conducted by the SMCBA IPC Training Center.
Certification will demonstrate your commitment to customer requirements and greatly assists any company dedicated to ISO-9000 or other quality assurance initiatives. The IPC training and certification has immediate recognition, legitimacy and value with thousands worldwide having been trained and certified as IPC-A-610 Certified IPC Trainers.
A comprehensive and technical program, the IPC-A-610 Training and Certification provides trainers with high quality materials and detailed instructional plans for training IPC Application Specialists from assembly operators, quality, inspection, buyers, sales personnel and management.
How the program works: The program has two tiers of instruction. Certified IPC Trainer (CIT) candidates receive intensive training on the IPC-A-610 from an IPC Training Centre. Candidates are certified after completing the course and passing the certification examinations. Certified IPC Trainers are provided with instructional materials for training Certified IPC Application Specialists (CIS) in a modular program. Certification is for two years and CITs must then recertify through an IPC Training Center.
IPC-A-610 Certified IPC Trainer Course Topics:
- Establishing and maintaining integrity of the certification program
- Purpose and application of IPC-A-610
- Hardware installation
- Soldering criteria, including lead free connections
- Soldered requirements for connecting to terminals
- Soldered connection requirements for plated-through holes
- Surface mounting criteria for chip components, leadless and leaded chip carriers
- Swaged hardware, and heatsink requirements of mechanical assemblies
- Component mounting criteria for DIPS, socket pins, and card edge connectors
- Jumper wire assembly requirements
- Solder fillet dimensional criteria for all major SMT component groups
- Soldering anomalies such as tombstoning, dewetting, voiding, etc
- Criteria for component damage, laminate conditions, cleaning and coating
- Steps to effectively using the lesson plan and materials, tips on inspection and a review of important Certified IPC Trainer skills
Who Should Become an IPC-A-610 Certified IPC Trainer?
Anyone responsible for the quality and reliability of electronic assemblies should consider becoming an instructor. Trainers and quality supervisors experienced in electronic assembly are excellent candidates for A-610 training as are engineering and manufacturing supervisors with assembly responsibilities.
Certified IPC-A-610 Trainers receive materials for conducting modular training for Certified IPC Application Specialist (CIS). The modular approach lets users control cost by tailoring training to the specific needs of their workforce. The materials provided in the CIT kit are:
- Full color teaching visuals illustrating every aspect of the IPC-A-610 document and training information, and all reports and forms required for conducting Application Specialist (CIS) training
- Soft copy of the Instructor Guide, providing complete instructions for conducting the Application Specialist (CIS) training and testing (see note 2 below)
- IPC-A-610 Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies and IPC-T-50 Terms and Definitions for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits - both in softcopy
- Open and closed book exams are now conducted online on the IPC Certification Portal
Please Note:
- The IPC no longer produces hard copies of exams or certificates - all online
- Additional CIS training and certification materials including hard copies of the instructor guide and standards can be purchased from the IPC by a IPC-A-610 Certified IPC Trainers
Trainers may teach the course at any location and set a training fee if applicable.
The certification term for an IPC-A-610 Certified IPC Trainer (CIT) is two years.
CIT re-certification is available only through an IPC-A-610 Authorised Training Centre.
IPC/WHMA-A-620 (Cable and Wire Harness Acceptability) Training and Certification
IPC/WHMA-A-620 Requirements and Acceptance for Cable and Wire Harness Assemblies, is modelled after IPC-A-610; IPC's most widely used standard with an international reputation as THE source for end product acceptance criteria for consumer and high reliability printed circuit board assemblies.
IPC/WHMA-A-620 is the first industry consensus standard for cable and wire harness fabrication and installation. Classes of products are defined and include criteria for Acceptable, Process Indicator and Defect conditions to support the collection of visual quality acceptability requirements for each class. The training program has been updated to cover the changes in Revision D of the standard.
The 620D has more than 680 full colour illustrations and includes greatly expanded criteria for molding, potting, splicing, crimp contacts without insulation support, inline insulation, displacement connectors, connectorization, rigid and conformable cable, flexible sleeving, broomstitching, testing and more. The new revision includes updated criteria for wire prep, soldering to terminals, crimping of stamped and formed contacts and machined contacts, insulation displacement connectors, ultrasonic welding, splicing, connectors, molding, marking, coax/biax cables, wrapping/lacing, shielding, assembly and wire-wrap Terminations.
IPC/WHMA-A-620 describes acceptability criteria for crimped, mechanically secured and soldered interconnection and the corresponding lacing/restraining criteria associated with cable and harness assemblies. It can be used as a stand alone document for purchasing product or to support your ISO certification documentation requirements.
The IPC-A-620 Training and Certification course is conducted over three days and includes the following topics:
- Cable and wire dimensioning, tolerances and preparation
- Crimp terminations: - Stamped and formed contacts - Machined contacts
- Insulation displacement connections
- Ultrasonic welding
- Soldered terminations
- Splices
- Connectorisation
- Moulding and potting
- Marking and labelling
- Co-axial and twin-axial assembly
- Wire bundle securing
- Shielding
- Installation
- Testing of Cable/Wire Harness Assemblies
Successful completion of this course will provide you with IPC Certification which demonstrates commitment to customer requirements and greatly facilitates certification to ISO Certification or other quality assurance initiatives. By having earned this portable credential, you'll receive immediate recognition, legitimacy and value throughout the electronics industry.
Training and Certification Levels:
There are two levels of training available:
Certified IPC Trainer (CIT) for the IPC/WHMA-A-620 or
Certified IPC Application Specialist (CIS) (operators)
Successful CIT applicants will receive a kit to conduct CIS level training.
The SMCBA is a Licenced IPC Training Centre for the IPC programs - 