IPC Blog

While many standards made progress at the Midwest meetings, the joint IPC/JEDEC 4-33a committee continues to be clouded by opposing opinions. The majority of committee members are in consensus that a guideline is needed to help provide direction to the industry; however the committee has reached a stalemate on the best path forward. One segment of the 4-33a committee, including many of the JEDEC members, is looking for the standard to establish a component-level requirement while another segment of the committee supports an elemental material requirement for halogen-based materials used in electronics. The committee has debated these ideas for the past two years. At this point, the joint IPC/JEDEC document will likely go two separate directions. Committee members that support the component-level approach will likely work through JEDEC to get a document published as quickly as possible. The balance of the group will likely work through IPC on a dual class guideline that would allow both elemental and component-level requirements to co-exist in one document. There are some fundamental differences between the JEDEC process for standards development and the IPC process for standards development. These differences make IPC standards truly reflective of industry consensus derived from an open and balanced group of stakeholders. Regardless of the outcome, it’s long been IPC’s position that a single industry consensus standard creates a level playing field and delivers greater overall value for everyone involved.