How to Conduct Effective IPC Certification Courses for CIT/CIS?

There are several elements which are important for conducting an effective IPC certification class in order to be credentialed as a CIT (trainer) or a CIS (associate):

· Experienced instructor in the subject matter at hand
· Experienced instructor in using the IPC training portal
· Experienced instructor in the standard where the credential is being sought
· Professional equipment which will lead in general to better training outcomes

The use of an experienced instructor in the subject matter at hand is one of the requirements in conducting an effective IPC certification course. In order to conduct an effective IPC J-STD-001 certification course, whether it is at the CIT or CIS level, the instructor should be a subject matter expert in electronics assembly. This means the instructor should have worked in the electronics assembly, electronics manufacturing or hand soldering and assembly areas for some of their professional career. This knowledge, background and experience level allows the instructor to relate to the students. In addition, because this particular IPC certification class requires the student to have the outcome of having to be able to demonstrate soldering skills, the instructor needs to have soldering abilities and knowledge. This includes the ability to perform and demonstrate the proper hand soldering techniques while at the same time demonstrating that to students. It also includes the instructor’s ability to inspect solder joints so that they can review and comment on the hand soldering work that the student demonstrates on their sample board. If instructing per the IPC 7711/21 PCB rework and repair standards document the instructor will have to all of the skills as mentioned above albeit at an advanced level. This requires excellent hand-eye coordination on part of the instructor on order to pull this off. In order to be an effective instructor in the IPC-A-610 knowledge of manufacturing processes and the ability to teach various inspection techniques and methods including but not limited to lighting methods, the use of magnification aids and others. In order to be effective in certification training for the discrimination skills as found in the IPC-A-610. In terms of the discrimination skills certification as found in IPC-A-600 additional skills in PCB fab should be part of being an effective instructor. With respect to IPC-A-620, the instructor should also have a background in wire harness and cable assembly when instructing on how to discriminate the condition of a wire harness or cable assembly. 

Another skill that the instructor should have in order to conduct an effective IPC certification class is to make sure that the instructor is well-versed in the IPC training portal and the hierarchy of IPC standards. With the advent of online testing and the various IPC certification prerequisites, the complication of certification program has made the IPC trainer who does quite a bit of training invaluable. In addition, when something goes awry in testing or instruction the experienced IPC trainer can navigate through the IPC training hierarchy to find solutions to problems in order to make the class instruction as compact and effective as possible.

Another instructor credential for effective IPC certification training is to make sure that the instructor is well-versed in the standard that they are providing the instruction in. If an instructor has sat in the development of the given standard they can illustrate the thinking behind the given section that is being taught.

Finally, in order to make for an effective IPC certification instruction, the instructor should have all the correct tools at hand. If the certification training is the IPC-J-STD-001 the instructor needs to have all of the proper soldering equipment, magnification aids and soldering materials available for instruction in hand soldering. If the IPC 7721 repair process is being demonstrated the student, as well as the instructor, should have the proper repair materials available for the students in order to have an effective instruction. When the instructor is holding discrimination skills based IPC certification class such as the IPC-A-610, IPC-A-620 or IPC-A-600, the instructor should have the ability to project any magnification aids in order to illustrate a given point.

All of these elements as described above make for a more effective IPC certification experience.

IPC J-STD-001 Revision “H” Updates and Changes

There were some edits, changes, and clarifications in going from “F” to “G” in the IPC-J-STD-001.

As a reminder, the IPC J-STD-001 Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies is the “how to build it” document” for electronics assembly manufacturing. This standard continues to spell out methods, materials and verification data methods for producing quality soldered interconnections to meet a variety of end-user environments. The IPC-J-STD-001 Revision G still focuses in on process control while setting industry-consensus requirements for a broad range of electronic products.

There were some changes in the standards with respect to the wires and terminals section. Pinholes, dewetting and other soldering defects for tinning a wire. There was also some clarification on how wires can or cannot wrap around one another.

In the surface mount section, there were some changes in the new J-STD-001 Revision “G”. There were some clarifications on the circular mounted components such as MELFs in terms of solder touching the component body. There was also a clarification on the solder terminations on various components. In section 10 there was a newly written section that was broken out on how SMT components are to be staked.

Overall there were some fairly minor changes in the document in expectation of a major change on cleanliness testing for process control. This will be handled and voted on as an amendment to the document due out sometime in the next 12-18 months. This effort is being led by a sub-committee.

The changes in the standards in moving form IPC-J-STD-001 “F” to version “G” were fully discussed in a webinar here:

This was presented by James Barnhart IPC-JSTD-001 an IPC Master Instructor.

There are several tools needed to perform the training for the IPC-J-STD-001. One of them is the solder training kit which can be purchased from here. The IPC J-STD-001 revision G can also be purchased from here. Both of these tools are required one per student. The standard can be used over and over again while the soldering kit is used one time per student. The soldering can be done using lead-free solder or a combination of both lead-free and lead-based solder.

In terms of timing the IPC-JSTD-001 G certification training is completed in from 1-5 days with the first days’ material being mandatory and the remainder-SMT, through-hole, wires and terminals and inspection all being “optional”. In the certification training for the instructor level for the IPC-J-STD-001 training program, the entire standard is covered over a period of (5) days. Here is a brief rundown of all of the materials covered in the IPC J-STD-001 training program for trainers:

Use of statistical process controls methods including control charting and upper and lower control limits and confidence intervals

Where to find the various test methods and how they are used as they are related to the IPC-J-STD-001 standard

• Acceptance criteria for visual inspection of solder joints
• Demonstration on SMT assembly techniques
• Demonstration of through-hole assembly techniques
• General requirements in electronics assembly including ESD, MSD, lighting and magnification requirements
• Wire and wire terminal assembly techniques
• Program requirements while being an IPC certified trainer for the IPC-J-STD-001 G program.

IPC J-STD Certification

IPC J-STD Training

The premier Solder Training for the electronics industry worldwide has become the IPC J-STD training and certification program whereby processes and methods for printed circuit board and wire assembly standards are taught. This certification program is based and developed on the industry consensus document the Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies. This document describes how printed circuit board assemblies are put together and assembled.

In IPC J-STD training program, there is an emphasis on hand soldering knowledge and process control. This program is not intended for those who have never hand soldered rather it’s focus is on making sure that hand soldering practices are understood for not only what they are in terms of skill but why they are done in a specific manner. This means that soldering techs, quality control staff and engineering and even design staff should be exposed to these standards. Process control knowledge is part of this course in order to solidify in the mindset of technicians that whole for example cleaning is an important part of the assembly process; it needs to be verified as well. In the case of cleaning for an example, the cleanliness testing requirements are to be verified through ionic cleanliness.

In the IPC JSTD training program, the certification program is multi-tiered, limited in time scope and is bound to the recipient of the certification. The highest level is the master instructor who is employed at the various credentialed training centers. These master instructors have both teaching and industry experience. They must also be able to pass the certified instructor course material and usually instruct “under” an already-certified instructor. These master instructors then teach and certify the certified instructors (called CITs). After being instructed and tested in all of the course material these certified trainers can then instruct applications specialists (CIS) in the course “modules” which can be somewhat customized to the business needs.

In addition to this structure in the IPC JSTD training program the administration of the program, testing is done via an electronic portal. Testing is accomplished at each of the training centers via links and password firewalls through an internet-based training program. In addition to the testing being done electronically, the portal also gives employers visibility on who has been credentialed and who is up to date on the program requirements. The credential is transportable for the employee as the training certificate belongs to the employee.

Why would you want to have a J-STD-001 certification? First of all this program enhances. Employee skills and performance. Secondarily if your company uses and is contractually- obligated to the J-STD-001 standard you can use the IPC JSTD training program to address the standard’s training requirement.

The different aspects of the IPC J-STD training program are listed below:

MODULE 1 - Introduction/Overview of IPC J-STD-001 include EOS/ESD, soldering theory, fluxes, alloys, tools, training requirements and cleaning requirements. This portion of the program also goes into how the IPC J-STD training program is administered.

MODULE 2 - Wires and Terminals cover wire prep, soldering to terminals, terminal inspection and other elements of wire handling.

MODULE 3 - Through-Hole Technology goes through how leads are prepared, how components are mounted and inspection criteria for throughhole devices.

MODULE 4 - Surface Mount Technology teaches students about the inspection criteria for soldering joints on various device types, how to solder and tack into place the SMT device and numerous other points.

MODULE 5 - Inspection Methodology includes the theory of inspection and SPC, a definition of defects and how to disposition them.

Call BEST today to get an IPC JSTD training program schedule and sign up!

Related Topics
IPC-A-610 training

IPC-A-620 training

Solder Certification

IPC 610 Class

The IPC A-610 Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies is a worldwide standard for the inspection of electronic assemblies published by the IPC. It is the source for end product acceptance criteria for the consumer; standard use, as well as high reliability, printed wiring assemblies.

The IPC A-610 certification program is an industry-developed and approved program. It takes training, certification and instructional materials based on the IPC A-610 is available to your company. This certification program will help you meet customer requirements as well as develop any company dedicated to ISO-9000 or other quality assurance initiatives.

If you adopt the IPC A-610 training and certification it would bring your company recognition and legitimacy through the electronics industry. A lot of companies have trained individuals in their respective organizations as Certified IPC Trainers (CITs). The IPC-A-610 training and certification provide certified IPC trainers with training materials and detailed plans for training application specialists (CIS)including those in quality, management, procurement, program management and others. It allows both suppliers and buyers of electronic assemblies to “get on the same page” with respect to the outgoing quality level of the assemblies.

          

In IPC 610 class there are numerous topics covered. They are listed below from the IPC 610 Class for CIT’s:

• Introduction 
• Roles and Responsibilities of IPC Registered Instructors 
• Terms and Definitions 
• Foreword 
• Handling Electronic Assemblies 
• Discrete Wiring Assembly 
• Component Installation Location/Orientation 
• Soldering 
• Mechanical Assemblies 
• Coatings 
• Laminate Conditions 
• Surface Mount Assemblies 
• Marking 
• Cleanliness 
• Review of Instructor Skills & Effective Use of Instructional Materials 

The typical class for an instructor is taught in a classroom and takes 4 days to administer and test out of. While there are no hand soldering or wire preparation skills taught in this class there are plenty of examples which take the student through the meaning of the specifications, drawings, and tables as found in the standard. The class itself is lecture-based and is interspersed with photos to highlight some of the specifications for illustration purposes. At the end of each teaching module in IPC 610 course, a review consisting of sample problems helps students and the instructors to see how well the material is being absorbed by the IPC 610 class instructor candidates. The testing for the IPC 610 course is done online with nearly one-half of the questions being in an open book format with the other half being in a closed book format. Instructors passing the IPC 610 class consist of a copy of the specification, an instructor’s guide, a slide set of the teaching materials and a copy of the IPC-TM50 which goes through terms and definitions.

In the IPC 610 course for application specialists (CIS candidates) the modules which are useful in the particular business are taught along with the required background modules. The background modules for the IPC 610 class are modules 1 and 2 which have to do with the administration of the program, EOS/ESD guidelines, terms and definitions as well as things like the range of magnification required for inspection of the assemblies. The business then “picks and choose” other modules which are appropriate for the business. For example, if a firm is building wire harnesses then perhaps only the sections on soldering and wires/terminals will be instructed and tested in the IPC 610 class. If the business is a contract manufacturer building circuit board assemblies then perhaps only the sections in the IPC 610 course on soldering, throughhole and SMT Repair will be useful in the business. If the business only does wire wrapping ten perhaps the module on wire wrapping will be useful to take out of the IPC 610 class.

Whatever your need come to BEST for your IPC 610 class experience!

Matching Topics :

IPC 620 certification

IPC J-STD-001 certification

IPC Training