Why Certify? Certification programs pursue a fundamental member service of all Associations, which is the improvement on individual performance through education and training. In the business climate where work projects grow in complexity and responsibilities are constantly shifting, certification stands as a clear testimony to your qualifications, your knowledge and your skills.

More than any other professionals in the electronics industry, PCB designers deserve the benefits and recognition of certification. Industry trends, such as outsourcing and concurrent engineering, are elevating the importance of the designer in the manufacture of many of today's electronic products. IPC Designer Certification is a powerful tool in establishing your credentials and in promoting the paramount importance of your work to everyone involved in the production on printed wiring boards and assemblies.

Congratulations to the SMCBA members who have achieved IPC Designer Certification - see CID List

Leon Fonstin, Integrated CAD Technologies was in 1999 approved by the IPC Designers Council as an instructor of the preparation workshop and as certification examiner. This has enabled the program to be more readily available in this region.

Preparing for Certification Good designers are part artists and part fortune tellers - their unique creations must be able to navigate through a long and complicated process. The program assesses a designers' knowledge of how to transform a schematic into a reliable rigid PWB design, which can be easily manufactured, assembled and tested. In developing the certificaiton program, the IPC Designers Council recognised that the most effective designers must have a solid foundation in PWB fabrication and assembly. The test is based on several critical IPC documents such as IPC-T-50 Terms and Definitions for Interconecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits, IPC-2220 Design Standards for Printed Boards and IPC-SM-782A Surface Mount Design Standard and Land Pattern Standard that link design principles to the end product use of the printed wiring assembly.

Certification Preparation Workshop The preparation workshop is followed by an examination. The workshop provides an in depth view of the principles contained in the examination and is recommended for anyone interested in attaining certification. There are other options available for certification which include a Certification Study Guide or CD-ROM Study Guide and designers are able to apply to sit the examination without undergoing the preparation workshop.

About the Examination Process The two hour examination is in a multiple choice format. Answer choices are all plausible, therefore, you must indicate the most correct answer. Occasionally, you must indicate the two most correct answers or identify certain characteristics from a diagram. The examination is graded and a review of the test items conducted on-site.

Sample Exam Questions:

If analog circuits are restricted to the centre of the board, what is the effect of placing a power supply in the connector zone, below the analog circuits?

A) The analog circuit performs better
B) The heat from the power supply causes instability
C) The power supply, influenced by the analog circuit, is erratic
D) The analog circuit requires additional protection to overcome spikes


Which two factors are the primary influence for the layer assignment of a printed board?

A) The bonding material used
B) The requirements of solder mask
C) The direction of conductor routing
D) The relationship of core to prepreg
E) The balanced distribution of copper
F) The characteristics of the surface layer


What are the most common dielectric thicknesses of copper-clad laminate used to produce double-sided printed boards?

A).50 mm (.020")
B).75 mm (.030")
C)1.00 mm (.040")
D)1.50 mm (.060")
E)2.00 mm (.080")
F)2.40 mm (.090")

Other Exam Objectives:

• Describe the characteristics of a grid system
• Identify how to provide a test point feature
• Explore design differences for use in surface mount vs through hole
• Transform a schematic/logic diagram in manual or automated format into an interconnected arrangement of components
• Identify types of point to point wires
• Explain the purpose of stiffeners on PCBs
• Identify special tooling for bare board manufacture and component assembly that can be generated from the design layout phase
• By illustration, show board profile and tolerance datum reference

For further details and registration form for the IPC Designer Certification Program please contact the SMCBA office on phone (03) 9568 0599 or fax (03) 9568 0622 or email pollocka@smcba.asn.au

Workshop Dates and Registration: Call the SMCBA on (03) 9568 0599 (Int'l 61 3 9568 0599) for place availability and registration.