IPC-A-630, “Acceptability Standard for Manufacture, Inspection, and Testing of Electronics Enclosures,” often referred to as “the box build standard,” was released in 2013 as the first acceptability standard for electronic enclosures. This international standard provides requirements for manufacturing, inspecting, and testing electronic enclosures. An electronic enclosure, or “box,” has also been called a chassis, top-level assembly, high-level assembly, functional unit, drawer, or cabinet. The enclosure usually consists of printed board assemblies, cable and wire harness assemblies, and other electronics, and it is usually tested as a functional unit.
“Virtually everything we do in electronics ends up in a box,” says Scott Meyer, senior manager, Avionics at Collins Aerospace and committee member for 7-31J, the Electronic Box Assemblies Task Group. “Box builds are unique by design, and the challenge is to develop a set of universal general requirements. The standard needs broad applicability.” As Meyer states, “the standard should apply from an ATM build to a box in the avionics bay of an aircraft.”
It is important for designers to be aware of the standard and understand that the standard should be part of their drawings. Meyer explains, “if you think about cable and wire harnesses, the designer should design to the IPC-D-620 to ensure that the requirements and criteria of IPC/WHMA-A-620 are applicable and understood. In a similar manner, we want designers to have IPC-A-630 in mind when they put their prints together and write the print notes.”
The 7-31J committee is currently fleshing out the document by adding more content and acceptance criteria. For those familiar with Section 17 of IPC/WHMA-A-620, which covers the installation of cables, much of that content will be duplicated in IPC-A-630 because it is important information for Box Build. They are also looking at the flow of the standard, reordering sections and combining others to ensure it makes sense in the sequence of a box build.
According to Meyer, the revision to IPC-A-630 will add a lot of new content and editorial changes. “Many things were not addressed in the original release and editorial changes have been made to wording to make the standard clearer and easier to translate into other languages.”
Meyer adds, “The cosmetic criteria of the assembly is extremely important for both manufacturers and their customers. The revised standard will add a lot to the cosmetic acceptance criteria of the box. The finished box surfaces are divided into categories depending on whether the box surface will be visible or not while in use. Surfaces visible in the final application require a higher level of finish than the box’s interior surfaces.”
IPC-A-630 is currently in the Final Draft for Industry Review (FDIR) stage, with over 300 comments received from the review. The committee is working through resolution of the comments prior to sending the standard out for industry ballot.
As such, the committee welcomes new members and potential users of the standard. “We welcome more participation from industry in the revision of IPC-A-630,” states Meyer.
If you are interested in participating in IPC standards committee development, visit: https://www.ipc.org/join-committee-home-page
