BANNOCKBURN, Ill., USA, January 27, 2011 ― Providing the latest information on design innovations and best practices, the IPC Designers Forum and several design-focused educational programs and activities will be held at IPC APEX EXPO 2011, April 10?14, 2011, in Las Vegas.Todays technologies and electronics have pushed PCB design into a whole new realm, says Dieter Bergman, IPC director of technology transfer, A designer in todays environment must first, know all his or her choices in materials, processes, requirements, quality and parts; and second, understand how, in combination, those choices impact the final designs performance and reliability.Bergman will kick off the IPC Designers Forum on Monday, April 11, with a discussion on the future of design. Other design experts who will present at the half-day program include: Charles Pfeil, Mentor Graphics, on Effective BGA Fanouts; Mike Tucker, CIT, Colonial Circuits, with A Look At CAM Departments and Board Fabrication Basics; Alan Johnson, CID+, Premier EDA Solutions (UK), on International Design; Gary Ferrari, CID+, FTG Circuits, discussing Design Standards; Happy Holden, Foxconn; presenting Advances in HDI Technology to Promote Design Innovations and Lower Costs; and Rick Hartley, CID, L-3 Avionics Systems, Inc., on Balancing Quality and Cost.In addition to the IPC Designers Forum, several professional development courses held April 10?11 and 14, focus on meeting the informational needs of todays designers. Courses include:PD-01 Building Long-Term Reliability in PCBs: Materials, Plating Processes and Innerlayer Treatments for Lead-Free Assembly RequirementsPD-07 PCB Fabrication Basics: Process and SpecificationPD-08 Design for ManufacturingPD-10 Final Finishes ― Compatibility with Lead-Free AssemblyPD-11 Designing with Flex in Mind: Next GenerationPD-14 Signal Integrity Problem Prevention: High-Speed Routing TerminationPD-21 Basics of PCB DesignPD-36 Control of EMI Coupling MechanismsPD-39 Design and Assembly Challenges of Ball Grid Arrays (BGAs) and Bottom Terminations Components (BTCs) in a Lead-Free World PD-41 Designing PCB Stackups to Balance Signal Integrity Against Manufacturability PD-43 Designing Complex BoardsPD-50 Flexible and Rigid-Flex Circuit Design Principles and Fabrication IPC PCB designer and advanced designer certification programs (CID and CID+) will also be held during IPC APEX EXPO. The two-day workshops will be held on April 8?9 with the final exam being given on April 10.To view all design-related programs to be held at IPC APEX EXPO, visit www.IPCAPEXEXPO.org/design.For more information or to register for the IPC Designers Forum or IPC professional development courses, visit www.IPCAPEXEXPO.org/register. To register for the designer certification programs, visit www.ipc.org/designer-certification. About IPC IPC (www.IPC.org) is a global trade association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 2,700 member companies which represent all facets of the electronics industry, including design, printed board manufacturing, electronics assembly and test. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $1.85 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Garden Grove, Calif.; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; Bangalore, India; and Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, China.
