IPC Automotive Electronics Reliability Forum Highlights Future of Automotive Electronics Design and Manufacturing

Fueled by strong growth in electric vehicles and autonomous cars, and a dramatic increase in electronics content in conventional automobiles and trucks, automotive electronics are crucial components of engine, ignition, and transmission management; entertainment, navigation, diagnostic tools and safety systems. IPC has gathered thought leaders and subject matter experts from leading electronics and automotive companies to discuss the future of automotive electronics design and manufacturing at “IPC Automotive Electronics Reliability Forum,” June 4-5 in Nuremberg, Germany.

Andreas Aal, semiconductor strategy and reliability expert at Volkswagen, will open up the forum on June 4 with his keynote, “Challenges of Using Advanced Package Technologies in Automotive Applications.” On June 5, Dr. Maxime Makarov, head of electro-physics at Groupe Renault, will discuss electronics reliability during his keynote, “On-Board Electronics Reliability: Assessing the Need to Revise Conventional Approaches.”

During the two-day event, Aal and Makarov will be joined by other automotive and electronics industry technologists from, Continental Automotive, Robert Bosch GmbH, Infineon, Henkel, TTM Technologies, Atotech, MacDermid Enthone, IHS Markit and more, who will provide updates and technical content on such topics as: the automotive electronics market, surface finish and assembly material interactions affecting electronic system reliability and performance, future reliability challenges for new packages, challenges of semiconductor product qualification for extended automotive requirements, and design considerations of high reliability PCBs for high power automotive applications.

“IPC’s Automotive Electronics Reliability Forum will allow attendees to build personal relationships with the innovators who are working on tomorrow’s electronics technologies as well as gain first-hand knowledge of the pioneering projects that are putting automotive electronics breakthroughs into practice,” said Philippe Léonard, IPC Europe director. “The forum is not solely about the automotive industry,” adds Léonard — “it’s about technologies, electronics market, thermal energy in PCBs, onboard electronics reliability, and much more. As the forum covers a wide breadth of relevant and timely topics, it is perfectly suited for engineers and technologists representing Transportation OEMs, Tier 1 systems providers, and assembly, printed circuit board and materials partners.”

Speaker Laurent Coudurier, combustion team manager at Air Liquide concurs, "As reliability is a major driving force for automotive electronics, it is very beneficial to share developments coming from different industrial sectors involved in the supply chain and contributing to improve reliability of electronic assemblies for cars."  

For more information or to register for “IPC Automotive Electronics Reliability Forum,” visit www.ipc.org/Automotive-Reliability-Forum.

Electronics Industry Says Trump Administration Tariffs on China Could Harm U.S. Electronics Companies

IPC – Association Connecting Electronics Industries, the global industry association representing the $2 trillion global electronics industry, today warned that the Trump administration’s plan to impose higher tariffs on goods imported from China could harm many small- and medium-sized U.S. electronics manufacturers that rely on Chinese materials, components and equipment to produce their products.

In comments submitted to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, IPC said a survey of its U.S. members found that 87 percent of them import raw materials, components, and/or equipment from China. Asked to rate the effect of these tariffs on their businesses on a scale of 0 (no impact) to 100 (threat to survival), 35 percent said the impact would be severe and could endanger their companies. About one-quarter (23 percent) predicted moderate impacts, and 42 percent indicated minimal impacts. Of those companies that rated the impact low, many expressed confidence that they could restructure their supply chains and pass costs along to their customers.

IPC survey respondents also expressed concern that the tariff increases would increase the cost of base materials to produce high-reliability electronics. Higher prices would depress demand among customers and make U.S. Manufacturers less competitive in the global marketplace. Another respondent suggested the tariffs will create cost confusion in the marketplace and impose new administrative burdens as inventoried goods are mixed with newly imported goods.

Protection of intellectual property consistently ranks as a top priority for the electronics industry, and IPC maintains a set of industry standards and a certification program that enable electronics manufacturers to show how they are protecting their customers’ intellectual property. IPC also is working with the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a new standard on this issue.   

“As we work to address intellectual property issues, we must not further undermine U.S. companies by imposing increased costs on them,” writes IPC President and CEO John Mitchell. “Doing so will only weaken their competitiveness in the global economy and jeopardize their long-term sustainability at a time when the U.S. Government should be taking active measures to shore up the industrial base.

“Instead, IPC encourages the USTR to postpone new tariffs and prioritize bilateral negotiations with your Chinese counterparts and the pursuance of remedies under existing trade agreements,” Mitchell says.

IPC and ITI to Host Conference on Critical and Emerging Environmental Product Requirement

IPC and the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) will host a conference series on “Critical and Emerging Environmental Product Requirements” this June.

The conference series, to be held in the Boston, Chicago and Silicon Valley areas on June 4, 6, and 8, respectively, will feature well-known United Kingdom (UK) regulators Steve Andrews, deputy head of the resources and waste division at the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra); Chris Smith, senior technical advisor for the office of product safety and standards at the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Andrews and Smith, who oversee development and UK implementation and enforcement of European Union (EU) regulations affecting the electronics industry, will provide an update on the EU’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive exemptions, implementation and enforcement; EU Waste regulations, Brexit, and more.

Andrews and Smith will join Dr. Sharon McGuiness, assistant chief executive, chemicals and prevention division, at the Ireland Health and Safety Authority, who will cover EU chemicals management including Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and
Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation enforcement; RoHS tie-in, and other chemicals legislation.

In addition to these presentations, the conference will feature a U.S. regulatory wrap-up by Chris Cleet, senior director, environment and sustainability at ITI. Presentations on China environmental issues, including China RoHS II development and product stewardship in Southeast Asia, will be presented by Weiwei Luo, environmental attorney at Beveridge and Diamond, P.C.

“Coping with global environmental compliance requirements is a difficult task. Just when you think you understand what is needed, new developments appear seemingly from nowhere,” said Chris Cleet. “For example, the redefined meaning of ‘article’ as applied to the REACH regulation significantly impacts manufacturers of electrical and electronic products sold in the EU. Simply misunderstanding the impact could be disastrous for your business. ITI and IPC’s conference will provide the information you and your company need to comply with legal, regulatory and customer requirements.”

For detailed information on the agenda, specific speakers and the dates and locations of their participation, or to register for the “ITI and IPC Conference on Critical and Emerging Environmental Product Requirements,” visit www.ipc.org/ITI-IPC-conference-2018.

IPC to Host High Reliability Forum in Baltimore

Technical conference to focus on electronics subjected to harsh use environments

Mil-aero and automotive engineers who want to increase their knowledge of electronics subjected to harsh use environments should attend IPC’s High Reliability Forum in Linthicum (Baltimore), Md., May 15-17, 2018.

Attendees will find out why failure analysis is critical to ensuring reliability of electronics products as Bhanu Sood, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, leads a half day tutorial on May 15, “Achieving Improved Reliability with Failure Analysis.” Sood will provide numerous failure analysis case studies to illustrate how to arrive at the root causes of field failures on PCBs, active components and assemblies.

On May 16, keynote presenter, Anaya Vardya, American Standard Circuits, will discuss how his company is able to remain competitive in the electronics industry – from its focus and mission to the people the company hires and how employees face day-to-day challenges. 

On May 17, panelists from Elektrotek, Lockheed Martin and SAIC and will analyze conformal coating reliability, use of material combinations and component gold stripping during a panel discussion titled “Forgotten Tribal Knowledge.”

Other topics of discussion include: HDI microvia reliability for any temperature extreme; system-level effects on solder joint reliability; how MSI applied technology beat the microvia hidden threat; a review of metallization interfaces on microvia reliability; reliability coupons; revisions to IPC-6012: test coupons, test boards and reflow resting

"The IPC High Reliability Forum is the premier place to discuss and learn about the newest innovations in the manufacturing of high reliability products," said Alicia Balonek, senior director of trade shows and events. "From solder joint and microvia reliability, to a special presentation on the results from the Department of Commerce study on the printed circuit board industry, this event provides a forum for forward-looking discussion, networking, and growth that will benefit the electronics industry."

Adds Sood, “The IPC High Reliability Forum will provide a stimulating and in-depth review of practices for engineering personnel working on electronics used in complex operations and where the risk of significant – and potentially catastrophic consequences – is high. If you work with electronics in harsh use environments, the forum is a must-attend event.”

There is still time to register for the IPC High Reliability Forum. For more information, visit http://www.ipc.org/Reliability-Baltimore.

North American PCB Industry Growth Continues Upward

IPC Releases PCB Industry Results for March 2018

IPC announced today the March 2018 findings from its North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. Industry shipments and orders continued to grow at a brisk pace in March. The book-to-bill ratio retreated from its peak but remained strong at 1.13.

Total North American PCB shipments in March 2018 were up 10.4 percent compared to the same month last year. This year to date, shipments are 9.6 percent above the same period last year. Compared to the preceding month, March shipments increased 15.0 percent.

PCB bookings in March increased 13.8 percent year-over-year. Year-to-date order growth was 16.8 percent above the same period last year. Bookings in March were up 8.5 percent compared to the previous month.

“The North American PCB industry’s robust recovery continued in March,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “Year-over-year growth has been consistently positive for sales in the last seven months and for bookings in the last 10 months. The outlook for this year is also encouraging, based on strong order growth in recent months and a book-to-bill ratio that has been above parity (1.0) for more than a year.”




Note: The June 2017 growth rates have been revised since their original publication due to updated data from statistical program participants.

View Chart in PDF

Detailed Data Available

The next edition of IPC’s North American PCB Market Report,containing detailed first-quarter 2018 data from IPC’s PCB Statistical Program, will be available next month. The quarterly report presents detailed findings on rigid PCB and flexible circuit sales and orders, including separate rigid and flex book-to-bill ratios, growth trends by company size tiers, demand for prototypes, sales growth to military and medical markets, and other timely data. This report is available free to current participants in IPC’s PCB Statistical Program and by subscription to others. More information about this report can be found at www.ipc.org/market-research-reports.

Interpreting the Data

The book-to-bill ratios are calculated by dividing the value of orders booked over the past three months by the value of sales billed during the same period from companies in IPC’s survey sample. A ratio of more than 1.00 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next three to twelve months. A ratio of less than 1.00 indicates the reverse.

Year-on-year and year-to-date growth rates provide the most meaningful view of industry growth. Month-to-month comparisons should be made with caution as they reflect seasonal effects and short-term volatility. Because bookings tend to be more volatile than shipments, changes in the book-to-bill ratios from month to month might not be significant unless a trend of more than three consecutive months is apparent. It is also important to consider changes in both bookings and shipments to understand what is driving changes in the book-to-bill ratio.

IPC’s monthly PCB industry statistics are based on data provided by a representative sample of both rigid PCB and flexible circuit manufacturers selling in the USA and Canada. IPC publishes the PCB book-to-bill ratio at the end of each month. Statistics for the current month are normally available in the last week of the following month.

IPC Assembly Quality Benchmark Study Open to Participants, Survey Deadline Extended to April 30

The annual Quality Benchmark Study for Electronics Assembly, one of IPC’s most popular studies, is currently underway. The survey is online and available in both English and Mandarin Chinese. The deadline for participation has been extended to April 30.

This confidential survey is open to all companies that do electronics assembly worldwide, including OEMs and contract manufacturers. Participants who complete the survey will receive the report on the findings at no cost.

The study covers the industry's most widely used and important quality measurements, including yields, defect rates, cost of poor quality, test and inspection methods used, customer returns, supplier performance, certifications and more. Companies use the results to benchmark their operations to world-class quality measurements.

The report shows industry averages and percentile data by product type, region and company size tier. Product types covered in the survey include electronic end-products, rigid PCBs, flexible circuits and rigid flex, mechanical assembly, cable and wire harness, rigid backplanes, discrete wiring terminals and connectors. The report will be published in English and Chinese by September of this year.

IPC protects the confidentiality of participants’ data using a secure survey platform and server. IPC publishes only aggregate results and does not share any company-specific information. The survey asks for the participants’ IPC company ID number, which is used to provide additional data security.

Participants can start the 2018 Quality Benchmark Survey for Electronics Assembly or review the questionnaire in English at www.ipc.org/quality-benchmark-2018 and in Chinese at www.ipc.org/China-quality-benchmark-2018.

For assistance or to obtain the required company ID number, participants may contact IPC at +1 847-597-2868 or MarketResearch@ipc.org.

IPC Hand Soldering Competition Winner Crowned at Global Industrie/Midest 2018 in Paris

IPC, in conjunction with Global Industrie/Midest, Snese and IFTEC, conducted an IPC Hand Soldering Competition in Paris on March 27-30, 2018. The competition was fierce as 48 competitors went soldering iron to soldering iron to compete for the coveted hand soldering competition crown. For the first time in the IPC hand soldering competition history, the top three winners came from the same company, Matra Electronique in France. Taking first place with a cash prize of €300 and winning a JBC soldering station was Nathalie Kaladgwe, who earned 440 points out of a possible 445. Kaladgwe will be invited to compete at the IPC World Championship Hand Soldering Competition at IPC APEX EXPO 2019, San Diego, in January 2019.

Second place and a cash prize of €200 this year went to Mickael Delannoy, who earned 438 out of a possible 445. Julie Delannoy took third place and a cash prize of €100. Participants in the hand soldering competition were tasked with building a functional electronics assembly, an innovative design this year, within a 60-minute time limit. Master Instructor Trainers from IFTEC served as independent judges and evaluated each assembly based on workmanship, overall functionality, compliance with IPC-A-610G Class 3 criteria and speed to complete the printed circuit board. “The best-of-the-best hand soldering talent in France came to compete at Global Industrie/Midest,” said David Bergman, IPC vice president of international relations. “The competition was tough, but each competitor rose to the challenge. We look forward to hosting more hand soldering competitions across the globe.”

Bergman added, “IPC would like to thank hand soldering competition gold sponsors: JBC, Thales, Weller, Hakko and Davum TMC; silver sponsors: Almit, Metronelec and NCAB Group; bronze sponsor: CIF, IFTEC, MicroCare, SDEP, Optilia and Davum TMC; Contributors: Laser technologie France and Les Cahiers, for their support.”

IPC is planning to hold additional hand soldering competitions in Europe, later this year in June. Watch for announcements from IPC with locations and times. For more information on IPC events visit, www.ipc.org/events.

Don Dupriest Elected to Chair Top IPC Standards Leadership Committee

Don Dupriest, Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control, has been elected chair of the IPC Technical Activities Executive Committee (TAEC) for a two-year term. Dupriest succeeds Chris Mahanna of Robisan Laboratory, Inc., who held the role for IPC's top standards development oversight committee for the past two years.

As a Lockheed Martin Fellow on Lockheed Martin’s Technical staff, Dupriest provides leadership in interconnect technology development for electronic manufacturing and is responsible for advanced technology, process development and product manufacturability for electronic systems.

An active IPC volunteer for more than 25 years, Dupriest has provided invaluable service to IPC. A previous chair of the TAEC, he is also a member of IPC’s Hall of Fame and President’s Award recipient. Dupriest currently co-chairs the IPC D-35 Printed Board Storage and Handling Subcommittee.

Dupriest was elected to the TAEC post while attending a mentorship meeting for IPC Emerging Engineers. “I have to admit I was surprised to hear I was elected – I guess this is what happens when you miss your first TAEC meeting in twenty plus years,” he joked. “The committee voted to change the rules to allow a second term.” Dupriest added, “I am honored to be chosen and trusted by my peers to lead and serve as the first second term chairman of the TAEC.”

Citing his goals for chairmanship, Dupriest stated, “I typically jump right in when approaching any task, so I plan to do that with the TAEC. We now have greater use of task groups within committees to speed up creating content and resolution of requirements under development, but there is always room for improvement.

“I’d like to see what else we can do to better execute standards development by revising the Project Initiation Number (PIN) process for each new document at IPC. I’d like the process to better describe potential influences on other general committees and documents; i.e., requirements that might be impacted by the new PIN, giving general chairs a broader idea of activities outside their purview that may be impacted by new document development. I am also interested in keeping the communication lines open between general chairs so that we keep one another informed.”

Mentioning his commitment to mentoring the next generation of engineers, Dupriest indicated his interest in bringing emerging engineers to TAEC meetings to give them an idea of what to expect once they are members of IPC.

For additional information on the IPC TAEC and its activities, visit www.ipc.org/TAEC.aspx.

North American PCB Industry Rebound Continues

IPC Releases PCB Industry Results for February 2018

IPC announced today the February 2018 findings from its North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. Year-over-year shipment and order growth continued in February, and the book-to-bill ratio climbed to 1.17.

Total North American PCB shipments in February 2018 were up 8.8 percent compared to the same month last year. This year to date, shipments are 9.3 percent above the same period last year. Compared to the preceding month, February shipments decreased 0.9 percent.

PCB bookings in February increased 7.2 percent year-over-year, raising year-to-date order growth to 15.9 percent above the same period last year. Bookings in February were down 7.1 percent compared to the previous month.

“The North American PCB industry continued its robust recovery in February, with positive year-over-year sales growth for the sixth consecutive month,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “The outlook is also positive, based on strong order growth in recent months, and on the PCB book-to-bill ratio, which is above parity (1.0) for the 13th consecutive month and reached a new 12-year high in February.”




Note: The June 2017 growth rates have been revised since their original publication due to updated data from statistical program participants.

View Chart in PDF

Detailed Data Available

The next edition of IPC’s North American PCB Market Report,containing detailed first-quarter 2018 data from IPC’s PCB Statistical Program, will be available next month. The quarterly report presents detailed findings on rigid PCB and flexible circuit sales and orders, including separate rigid and flex book-to-bill ratios, growth trends by company size tiers, demand for prototypes, and other timely data. This report is available free to current participants in IPC’s PCB Statistical Program and by subscription to others. More information about this report can be found at www.ipc.org/market-research-reports.

Interpreting the Data

The book-to-bill ratios are calculated by dividing the value of orders booked over the past three months by the value of sales billed during the same period from companies in IPC’s survey sample. A ratio of more than 1.00 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next three to twelve months. A ratio of less than 1.00 indicates the reverse.

Year-on-year and year-to-date growth rates provide the most meaningful view of industry growth. Month-to-month comparisons should be made with caution as they reflect seasonal effects and short-term volatility. Because bookings tend to be more volatile than shipments, changes in the book-to-bill ratios from month to month might not be significant unless a trend of more than three consecutive months is apparent. It is also important to consider changes in both bookings and shipments to understand what is driving changes in the book-to-bill ratio.

IPC’s monthly PCB industry statistics are based on data provided by a representative sample of both rigid PCB and flexible circuit manufacturers selling in the USA and Canada. IPC publishes the PCB book-to-bill ratio at the end of each month. Statistics for the current month are normally available in the last week of the following month.

IPC Pulse of the Electronics Industry Survey Shows Strong Business Outlook

IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries® IPC released the results of its first-quarter 2018 global Pulse of the Electronics Industry survey at IPC APEX EXPO 2018 in San Diego on February 28. The survey shows worldwide business environment scores as positive and strengthening. The outlook for the next six months and 12 months climbed to their highest levels since the quarterly survey was launched in July 2017.

Sales Growth and the Current Business Climate

Average sales growth for the responding companies has been positive for the last three quarters and is projected to exceed the last year’s growth rates in the first quarter of 2018.

Average sales growth predicted for Q1 2018 is positive in all regions and all industry segments. Regionally, companies in the Americas are predicting the highest average sales growth for Q1.

The current business environment is moving in a positive direction based on responses to the Q1 2018 survey in January. It is positive for all industry segments, but strongest for OEMs and PCB fabricators.

Eight key business indicators are measured and weighted to produce the composite score index for the current direction of the business environment. As of Q1 2018, growth in sales and orders are the strongest positive drivers, but the direction of order backlogs and profit margins are also positive contributors to the first-quarter worldwide score. These drivers prevailed over the quarter’s negative business indicators, which include higher labor and material costs, challenges in recruiting workers, and rising inventories.

Outlook for First Half of 2018

As of Q1 2018, the expected direction of the business climate worldwide for the first half of 2018 is positive and substantially stronger than survey participants’ expectations in the last two quarters. Each of the seven indicators of the business climate for the next six months that can be reported is positive. These indicators – which are measurable results from the participants’ own businesses – include sales, production, markets, prices of the companies’ products, capital investment, exports and the number of full-time employees. (While the expected direction of prices is factored into the composite score, results are not reported for this indicator in adherence to U.S. anti-trust guidelines.)

Sales, production and markets are the leading positive drivers of the six-month business outlook in all regions. Respondents in Asia have the strongest expectation for market growth. All industry segments expect all the key business indicators to continue strengthening over the next six months, but subtle differences are seen in the degree of strengthening in exports, which is highest for OEMs, and in capital investment, which is highest for PCB fabricators.

Twelve-Month Outlook

Composite scores on the business outlook for the next 12 months have been strong in each of the last three quarters, but the Q1 2018 score is the highest to date. Scores on the 12-month outlook are strong in all regions and industry segments. They are highest for companies in Asia, and for PCB fabricators and OEMs.

Ninety-three percent of all survey respondents worldwide, as of January 2018, described the business outlook for the next 12 months as positive. The percentage was high in every region and industry segment.

 

“The industry’s positive outlook has been strong since this program was launched last summer, but the first-quarter 2018 results are extraordinary,” said IPC’s director of market research Sharon Starr, who presented the findings at IPC’s APEX EXPO last month. “This level of optimism was evident everywhere at this year’s APEX EXPO,” she added.

The complete reports on the survey results are available quarterly by subscription at an annual rate of $495 for IPC members and $990 for nonmembers. For more information or to subscribe, go to www.ipc.org/PulseReports.

IPC launched the Pulse of the Electronics Industry initiative in 2017 in response to its members’ need for more visibility into trends in the business environment. It was designed to generate timely insights on the state of the industry and its outlook, and the business indicators driving it. Data are collected quarterly from executives in all segments of the industry worldwide. All electronics manufacturers and suppliers can participate in the quarterly surveys and receive a summary report on the findings at no cost. The second-quarter 2018 survey will be available next week. To participate, contact marketresearch@ipc.org.

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