IPC-A-600 IPC Certification Training

What are the IPC-A-600 Certification Benefits?

The IPC-A-600 Training/Certification Program offers those interested in bare board quality assurance and knowledge an industry traceable certification program. The program teaches the material found in the preeminent bare PCB QA manual, the IPC-A-600.

This train-the-trainer program offer the following benefits.

Receive professional recognition of skills and experience
Acquire certification through formal, educational-based training.
Learn about evolving technologies and tomorrow’s challenges.

The Program:

The IPC-A-600 Training/Certification Program offers those interested in –raw PCB quality assurance initiatives an industry traceable program. The program provides either instructors or technicians with a credential that represents their understanding of the IPC-A-600, the industry’s preeminent acceptability criteria document on bare boards.

The IPC-A-600 Acceptability of Printed Boards set the standard for PCB workmanship quality. This document gives comprehensive acceptance criteria with full color illustrations and photographs showing all types of printed board surface and internal conditions.

This training and certification is highly recognized throughout the electronics industry. Many individuals have been trained and certified as IPC-A-600 Instructors in the program. The IPC-A-600 Training and Certification provides instructors with high quality materials and detailed instructional plans for training operators.

The IPC-A-600 training and certification program has two tiers of instruction. CIT candidates are sent by their parent companies to receive intensive training on the IPC-A-600 from an IPC-approved certification center. Candidates are certified once they complete their course of study and pass the certification examination and demonstrate the proper skills and techniques.. CIT (instructors) are provided instructional materials for training workers in a 1-4 day technician level training program. CITs and CISs are considered certified for two years after the course completion date. They must then re-certify at an IPC-approved certification site (CITs) or with a certified instructor at the company or at a certification center (CIS).

What materials do IPC-A-600 Instructors (CITs) Receive?

All IPC-A-600 instructors receive materials for teaching the CIS training course, including:
A CD-ROM with more than 250 full color visuals covering all aspects of the standard and training course
Reports and forms required for conducting CIS training
A printed board sample showing external characteristics, such as conductor width and spacing, annular ring, and solder resist registration
The IPC-A-600 Specification
An instructor guide for teaching the CIS course
Open and Closed Book Examinations for IPC-A-600 CIS training
A student handbook for use in the classroom portions of the course
IPC certificate

Topics Covered in IPC-A-600

Printed board product classifications and acceptance criteria
Base material surface and subsurface anomalies such as measling/crazing
Solder resist coverage over conductors and registration to lands
Dielectric material criteria for etchback, voids, and resin recession
Conductor width and spacing and annular ring requirements
Plated-through hole requirements for copper plating thickness, voids, nodules and cracks
Acceptance criteria for flexible, rigid-flex and metal core printed boards