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The specification above the standard

Two boards can both be "IPC Class 2" and be built to noticeably different standards. The class sets acceptance criteria; it does not set how the board is made. Our delivery specification sits on top of the plant standard and fixes the points where the difference actually shows up — in assembly, and three years into the field.

Request the specification Quality
Baseline IPC-A-600 Class 2
On request Class 3
Points 10
Applies to every order

What the specification fixes

[ 10 points ]

Each point states what we require, what it buys you, and what tends to happen when it is left to the plant standard.

01

Hole-wall copper

We require A specified minimum copper thickness in the barrel, measured on a microsection, rather than the class minimum.
What it buys The barrel survives the thermal cycles of assembly and rework without cracking.
Without it A thin barrel passes inspection and fails later — usually as an intermittent fault in the field, which is the most expensive kind.
02

No repaired boards

We require No wire repairs and no touch-up of the conductor pattern on delivered boards.
What it buys Every board in the lot is the board that was designed, not one that was mended into acceptance.
Without it A repair is a single point that ages differently from the rest of the board, and it is rarely documented on the label.
03

Cleanliness

We require Ionic contamination held to a defined limit and verified, not assumed from the process.
What it buys No electrochemical migration under the solder mask, and predictable wetting at assembly.
Without it Residues are invisible on arrival and surface as leakage or dendrite growth under humidity and bias.
04

Material, locked

We require Laminate and prepreg named in the order and not substituted without written agreement.
What it buys The board you qualified is the board you receive, batch after batch.
Without it An equivalent material changes Tg, dielectric constant and drilling behaviour. The qualification no longer covers what was delivered.
05

Surface finish, locked

We require Finish and its layer thicknesses specified, with the values measured and recorded.
What it buys Consistent solderability across lots and through the stated shelf life.
Without it A thin nickel or gold layer looks identical and fails in assembly months later, when the lot cannot be traced back easily.
06

Solder mask

We require A minimum resist thickness over the conductor edge and a defined minimum dam width.
What it buys The mask actually insulates where it is thinnest, and adjacent pads stay separated.
Without it Resist thins over the copper edge. Where it is too thin the mask cracks, and the dam washes out during developing.
07

Mechanical tolerances

We require Tightened profile and hole-position tolerances against the class defaults.
What it buys The board fits the enclosure and the assembly tooling first time.
Without it Class tolerances are generous. A board can be fully conforming and still not fit, and at that point the argument is unwinnable.
08

V-cut

We require Residual thickness and depth held to a stated tolerance, checked per panel.
What it buys The panel separates cleanly and the boards do not break out during handling.
Without it Too deep and boards separate in transit; too shallow and they break unevenly, taking components near the edge with them.
09

Acceptance class

We require IPC-A-600 Class 2 as standard, Class 3 where specified, with the test documentation to match.
What it buys One agreed yardstick, so a complaint is a measurement rather than an opinion.
Without it Where the class is not stated, the plant standard applies — and it will not be the one you assumed.
10

Traceability

We require Every lot traceable back to laminate batch and plant, audit-ready.
What it buys A field failure can be bounded to a lot instead of to the whole product.
Without it Without it, a single defect is a recall-shaped problem because nobody can prove where it stops.

How it is enforced

[ Mechanism ]

A specification that nobody checks is a document. These three steps are what make it a process.

01

Written into the order

  • The specification goes to the plant with the order, not as a general framework agreement
  • Build-up, material and finish recorded in full
  • No silent substitution of any of them
  • Deviations require written agreement before production, not after
02

Checked at the plant

  • Our own CAM, QA and supply chain team on site
  • Technical quality assurance at the point of manufacture
  • Issues raised in the plant rather than discovered on your line
  • Same time zone as production, which shortens every loop
03

Documented on delivery

  • 100 % electrical test on every board, as standard
  • Microsection per production lot, report on request
  • TDR measurement with coupon where a layer is controlled
  • Structured 8D with containment and root cause if something does get through

What you can ask for

The specification itself and the records behind it are sent on request. None of it requires a form.

To the download centre +49 (0)2103 9956930

Related

Quality

CpK, test methods, acceptance and complaints.

Production process

Where in the route each of these points is checked.

Capabilities

The limits the specification is written against.

Want to read it in full?

The delivery specification is sent on request, with the acceptance criteria and the test scope. Tell us what it is for — a supplier approval, an audit, a qualification — and we will send the version that answers it.

Request the specification +49 (0)2103 9956930