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PlanetISO
IPC and J-STD electronics assemblyAwarenessFoundation

Bare Board Acceptability and Handling: IPC-A-600, IPC-6012 and IPC-1601

Inspect, store and handle printed boards so defects are caught at receiving, not after assembly

Duration
1.5 hours
Modules
4
Final exam
70% to pass
Certificate
No expiry
$59
  • Lifetime access to the course and your certificate
  • Verifiable Certificate of Completion. Certificate does not expire.
  • 3 exam attempts
  • Progress saved to your account on every slide
Buying for a team? Volume pricing from 5 seats
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$250.75

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Each seat is a single-use code. Send one to each learner; they sign in with their own account and earn their own certificate. Track progress on your Team page.

About this course

A bare printed board that reaches the assembly line with a hidden defect becomes a loaded board with a hidden defect, and by then the cost of finding it has multiplied by the value of every component on it. This course teaches the people who receive, inspect, store and handle bare boards how to catch problems at the receiving bench and how to keep a conforming board conforming until it is assembled.

You will learn the roles of the three documents: IPC-6012 as the performance specification the purchase order invokes, IPC-A-600 as the illustrated acceptability document, and IPC-1601 as the handling and storage guideline. You will learn the three performance classes and the board types, and the split between what the fabricator certifies with coupons and reports and what you check at receiving. You will learn the externally observable conditions at principle level: surface and plating defects, solder mask and legend, edges and holes, warp and twist, measling, crazing, blistering and delamination, and how target, acceptable and nonconforming are decided. You will learn why moisture absorption matters, when and how boards are baked and what baking costs the finish, how to read packaging and humidity indicators, shelf life, gloves and contamination, and where ESD and FOD controls apply. The final module turns this into receiving practice: sampling, certificates and coupons, documenting a rejection, supplier feedback and scenarios from the bench.

The course is for receiving inspectors, stores and kitting staff, buyers, quality technicians, line leads and supplier quality engineers at aerospace, defense, medical and industrial electronics assemblers. It teaches concepts and reasoning in plain words. It does not reproduce the standards' tables, numbered criteria or figures, and it is not an IPC certification.

The course closes with a 10-question examination drawn from a bank of 20. On passing you receive a PlanetISO Certificate of Completion with lifetime access to the course content. The certificate does not expire.

What you will be able to do

  • State the roles of IPC-6012, IPC-A-600 and IPC-1601 and how the drawing and purchase order sit above them.
  • Explain the three performance classes and the board types, and who selects the class.
  • Distinguish what the fabricator certifies through coupons and reports from what receiving inspection checks.
  • Recognise and name the common externally observable conditions on a bare board and explain how they are judged by class.
  • Explain why moisture absorption matters, when boards are baked, and what baking costs the surface finish.
  • Apply packaging, humidity indicator, shelf life, glove, ESD and FOD controls to boards in stores and at receiving.
  • Sample a lot, read a certificate, document a rejection and feed the result back to the fabricator.

Course outline

  1. 1

    The three documents and their roles

    IPC-6012 as the performance specification, IPC-A-600 as the acceptability document, IPC-1601 as the handling and storage guide, the classes and board types, and the split between what the fabricator certifies and what you check at receiving.

    About 20 minutes, then a module quiz

  2. 2

    Visual acceptability at principle level

    The externally observable conditions an inspector judges: surface and plating, solder mask and legend, edges and holes, warp and twist, measling and delamination, and how target, acceptable and nonconforming are decided.

    About 25 minutes, then a module quiz

  3. 3

    Handling and storage

    Moisture absorption and baking, packaging and humidity indicators, shelf life, gloves and contamination, and the ESD and FOD controls that apply to bare boards.

    About 25 minutes, then a module quiz

  4. 4

    Receiving inspection practice

    Sampling, coupons and certificates, documenting a rejection so it leads somewhere, feeding the result back to the supplier, and scenarios from the receiving bench.

    About 20 minutes, then a module quiz

  5. Final examination and certificate

    10 questions drawn from the course bank. Score 70% or higher to receive your Certificate of Completion.

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