The OEM typically sets the requirement on the format being supplied. Though they may have a preference, Fabricators and Contract Manufacturers will typically work with whatever data and drawing formats the OEM supplies.
Why IPC-2581?
Today we have an overly burdensome multi-format delivery, usually some combination of RS-274X or D, Excellon, IPC-356D, IPC-2511, ASCII, PDF, HPGL, JPEG, Excel, ODB, etc.
Couple this with our “Do more with less” efficiency initiatives, e.g. Reduce reliance upon paper-centric workflow, increase utilization of data-centric methods leveraging “collaborative automation” techniques and so on.
But Gerber cannot describe:
- embedded components
- buried, blind, or back-drilled holes (Excellon drill files do not describe buried or blind vias)
- multilayer build structures (a PDF file can’t drive the CAM system)
- controlled impedance features (etch compensation in the tooling can be risky unless this is integrated)
- component density (impact on test-point access, rework access)
- solder-joint modeling (relative to pin-contact area and adjacent features such as vias and heat-sinking board-features).
- stacked components (does not show placement order or placement height
So there’s quite a few leading-edge and routine tasks that today’s Gerber cannot describe. The stacked components alone are a biggie. Amkor is now doing 16-high stacks for Intel in volume, and they have done 40-high in prototype.
Solutions to this conundrum are few, tend to require customized extensions, and are costly to maintain. OEMs, FABs, MESs, CMs, ..., cannot improve efficiency. The problem is the information source.
How do we address the conundrum in IPC-2581?
- The entire PCB structure is contained/described in a single file
- The enabling technology to support this concept exists in our CAD, CAM, PLM, & ERP platforms.
Improvements over existing formats if you adopt the industry standard, open, neutral format: IPC-2581.
- Rich schema defined
- Support for part polarity/part orientation marking
- Consistent definition of back-side/second-side component rotation
- Improved support for drilled/milled content
(i.e. blind/buried vias, back-drill, v-groove, slots, cavities, …)
- Improved embedded component/stacked component support
- Improved support to netlist for manufacturing testability
(i.e. ICT, Functional, JTAG, …)
- Supports automated viewable (drawing) generation
IPC-2581 serves not only to satisfy requirements of bare board fabrication and test, but also satisfy the requirements for other parts of your business, i.e. procurement (BOM), manufacturing assembly (component placement), in-circuit test (netlist, test points), inspection (viewable generation), and more.
A single file may contain the entire data structure, in XML form; rich in content. Any number of business processes and systems may interact with any substructure contained in it. Content is user selectable, e.g. as much or as little intellectual property as you choose to expose is easily controlled.
This means IPC-2581 data could be leveraged as a vehicle for:
- Collaboration between design chain and supply chain, facilitating the exchange of key design information very early in the design cycle, and,
- Interfacing between design management, change management, and release management steps allowing other business systems to directly import and/or augment content throughout the product life-cycle
Benefits Summary:
- Open, vendor neutral, standards-based content
- User driven requirements managed through IPC, endorsed internationally by IEC
- Consortium driven adoption from various segments of industry: OEMs, FABs, CMs, MESs, PLM, and CAD/CAM tool suppliers
- Improves efficiency in PCB design, fabrication and manufacturing assembly
- Single, comprehensive schema describes all relevant design, fabrication, and manufacturing assembly detail
- Paper drawings are replaced with machine readable information
- Native import/export featured in the commercial tools.
- Enables bi-directional collaborative communication between design and supply chain
- CAE/CAD/CAM/PLM/ERP systems source and operate on same dataset
- Improves product quality and first-pass success
- One data format to support
- Reduced interpretation of drawing content and/or re-keying of data
- Reduced opportunity for error
- Lower cost
- No reliance on third party translators, support for proprietary applications and methods
- Supports information security mandates and environmental initiatives
For more information see
