BANNOCKBURN, IL — Suppliers of components for enclosures are sought to participate in a new IPC standard for box builds.

The draft standard has been underway for a year, led by electronics OEMs such as Honeywell Aerospace and Rockwell Collins. Those companies now seek input from manufacturers of boxes, molders and sheet metal to help develop IPC-A-630, Requirements and Acceptance for Enclosures.

“Participation from all parties involved with the design, manufacture and end use of a product is especially important in areas that involve many components and particularly in a diverse area that currently has no standardization,” says Dave Torp, vice president of standards and technology at IPC. Enclosures that hold boards, card cages, connectors and other electronic components are such an area. No standard currently addresses the complex marketplace that includes everything from paints and coatings to plastic and metal skins to screws that must be set to a certain torque level.

Although the task group’s initial goal is to make IPC-A-630 the document for box builds, focused on high-end boxes, the group envisions that the concepts will one day be endorsed throughout many fields.  “We hope the guideline will migrate from the military and high-end systems to consumer electronics like MP3 players, electronic gaming systems and PCs,” said IPC manager of assembly technology Kris Roberson.

A draft of the first document is expected to go out for public comment next summer.

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