IPC CLASS 3

DESIGN GUIDE
 Table of contents

1 Introduction ....................................... 3

2 What is IPC? ....................................... 3

3 Class 1, class 2, and class 3 boards ....................................... 4

4 IPC guidelines for manufacturing defects ....................................... 6

4.1 IPC standards for annular rings ..................................... 6
4.2 Design rules for annular rings ..................................... 10
5 IPC standards for assembly processes ...................................... 14

5.1 IPC standards for solder joints ...................................... 14

6 Common differences between IPC classes ......................................20

7 PCB cross-section verification ....................................... 23
8 IPC documents to set the level of
acceptance criteria ....................................... 24

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 1. Introduction
PCB designers often wonder about the difference between the different IPC
classes. It is always the end application of the PCB that determines the type of
board to be used in that particular design.

When we talk about IPC classes like class 1, class 2, and class 3, we are speaking
about the level of inspection that defines the manufactured board’s precision
and reliability. The three classes are categorized based on the criticality of the
application, the tolerances to the harsh environment, and so on. In short, the three
classes determine the quality of the board. With class 3 being the highest in quality
and class 1 being the lowest. The other important thing that we would like to state
here is that we cannot explain just about IPC class 3 without understanding the
other two classes. Hence in this book, we mention class 2 and class 1 for a better
understanding.

Before we dwell into the IPC classes, allow us to brief you about the IPC association.

2. What is IPC?
IPC is a global trade association for the electronic interconnection industry. Initially known as
Institute for Printed Circuits, the organization changed its name to the Institute for Interconnecting
and Packaging Electronic Circuits.

The organization publishes specifications on a regular basis.

The IPC standards are the most widely accepted rules by the electronic industry. This member-
driven organization publishes standards for every stage of the electronic product development
cycle, including design, purchasing, assembly, packaging, and more.

Adhering to the IPC standards will help in fabricating safe, reliable, and high-quality PCB products.
Also, IPC compliance allows the designers and fabricators to be on the same page.

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 3. Class 1, class 2 and class 3 boards
The IPC-6011 describes the different classes for PCBs and the permitted defects for
each board type. There are three IPC 6011 defined classes of electronic products with
an addition of one IPC 6012 class 3/A standard:

Class 1 – General electronic products

Class 1 boards are assigned

to general electronic boards
with a limited life and a simple
function. This class includes
most typical everyday products.
The class 1 boards allow various
cosmetic defects as long as it
doesn’t affect the functioning of
the board. The reliability of the
product isn’t a critical factor in
these types of boards.
For instance, they can be found in TV remote controls, LED lights, kids’ toys, etc. They are the most
inexpensive boards to manufacture in the industry but they come with a limited life expectancy.

Class 2 – Dedicated service electronic products

Class 2 boards have higher reliability and
extended life. They follow more stringent
standards than class 1 but allow some
cosmetic imperfections.

Here, uninterrupted service is preferable,

but not critical. The class 2 products
aren’t exposed to extreme environmental
conditions. The board is expected to
run continuously but its operation is not
extremely critical. These kinds of boards are
implemented in your laptops, smartphones,
tablets, communication equipment, etc.

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 Class 3 – High-performance electronic products

Class 3 boards must provide

a continued performance or
performance on demand. There
can be no equipment downtime,
and the end-use environment
may be exceptionally harsh. High
levels of inspection and testing are
performed on these boards with
stringent standards. This makes
the class 3 boards highly reliable.
This category includes critical
systems such as life support

systems, military equipment, electronic monitoring systems, automotive, etc.

IPC 6012 class 3/A

The IPC-6012 class 3/A is relatively a new class that includes space and military avionics. This is
the highest class for printed circuits. The class 3/A boards call for very stringent manufacturing
criteria since the boards should remain operational in critical conditions such as Outerspace, etc.
These boards are expensive to manufacture compared to the other classes since they need to be
close to perfection. They are found in aerospace, military airborne systems, and missile systems.

The major difference between all these

classes is the degree of inspection. The
classes define the permissible defects while
manufacturing the boards.

The class 3 and 3/A boards are majorly

implemented in critical military and
aerospace equipment due to their reliability.
That being said, there is a misconception
that class 3 and 3/A are used specifically
for aerospace. These standards can be
used for any kind of application like the
ones mentioned in class 2. But they become
uneconomical due to the effort that goes into
the manufacturing and inspection process.

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 The designer can choose the life of his/her end product by choosing the right class.
Sometimes class 2 fulfills all the criteria required for the end product and thus it can turn
out to be more economical. But if the board is required to serve a critical application and
is also expected to last for more than 15 years, then class 3 would be the right choice.

The environment in which the electronic product will be operational should also be
considered since it decides the reliability segment of the design.

4. IPC guidelines for manufacturing defects

A board can have several faults in it and the IPC standards define the acceptable defects. Some
defects might hamper the performance of the board, some are purely cosmetic imperfections
and will have no impact on the board’s consistent performance.

4.1 IPC standards for annular rings

The IPC standards define the position of the holes on a landing pad and the width of the outer
ring after a hole is drilled on to it.

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 Annular ring breakout

An annular ring breakout is a condition where a via/hole is not completely surrounded by

land/copper.

Annular ring breakout measurement

BREAKOUT OF 900 AND 1800

Conductor to land junction area

The conductor to land junction is the 90⁰ area positioned around the point of contact between the
conductor and the land. This area is specifically considered for annular ring breakouts.

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 Table 1: IPC annular ring acceptance criteria

Feature Class1 Class2 Class3

Plated-through 180⁰annular 90⁰ annular ring The minimum

hole ring breakout breakout from the annular ring should
from the land is land is acceptable not be less than
acceptable provided provided the 0.05mm.
the minimum minimum lateral
lateral spacing is spacing is The minimum
maintained. maintained. external annular ring
may have a 20%
The land/conductor The land/ reduction of the
junction should not conductor minimum annular
be reduced by more junction should ring.
than 30% of the not be reduced by
minimum conductor more than 20%
width. of the minimum
conductor width.

The conductor
junction should
not be less than
0.05mm or the
minimum line
width, whichever
is smaller.

Illustration of acceptable annular rings

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 Class 3 acceptable annular ring conditions

• Holes are not centered but the annular ring area measures at least 0.05mm.

• The minimum external annular ring may have 20% reduction of the minimum annular due
to defects.

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 Class 2 and class 1 acceptable annular ring breakout conditions

Class 2 annular ring criteria Class 1 annular ring criteria

• As depicted in diagram A, 90⁰ breakouts or • As depicted in diagram B, 180⁰ breakouts or

less than that are accepted. less than that are accepted.
• In situations where the breakouts occur at the • In situations where the breakouts occur at the
conductor to land junction area, the conductor conductor to land junction area, the conductor
junction area should not be reduced by more junction area should not be reduced by more
than 20% of the minimum conductor width. than 30% of the minimum conductor width as
Also, the conductor shouldn’t be less than shown in diagram D.
0.05mm or the minimum linewidth as shown
in diagram C.

4.2 Design rules for annular rings

To achieve acceptance for class 2 and class 3, follow the tables below published by Altium. The first
one gives the annular ring requirements for mechanically drilled blind, buried, and through holes on
½ oz copper:

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 Table 2: IPC class 2 drill & pad diameter for 1/2 oz copper

Table 3: IPC class 3 drill & pad diameter for 1/2 oz copper

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 Table 4: Various copper thicknesses

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 5. IPC standards for assembly process
In the assembly process, the major differences between class 2 and class 3 are found in
component placement for surface-mount components, cleanliness requirements based on
residual contaminants on the assemblies, plating thicknesses as defined in plating through-
hole and on the surface of PCBs.

During assembly, surface-mount components might be slightly placed off pad. This is
what we call a visual defect since it does not usually affect the electrical and mechanical
performance. It, therefore, does not matter for class 2 circuit boards. However, class 3 does
not accept any imperfection and this type of assembly misstep will cause the circuit board
to fail the inspection.

5.1 IPC standards for solder joints

The amount of barrel fill required for through-hole leads is 50% for class 2 and 75% for class 3. As it
can be delicate to get the paste into small plated through-holes (PTH), our advice is to design your PTH
15 mils over the diameter of the lead. This way, you will have 7.5 mils on each side, which will make it
easier for the paste to fill the barrel.

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 Table 5: Surface mount components and barrel fill

Factors Class 2 Class 3

Can be slightly placed off Imperfections are not

pad. (Considered as a visual acceptable including visual
Surface-mount components defect, doesn’t affect the flaws.
electrical and mechanical
performance.) This kind of imperfection
will cause the circuit board
to fail the inspection.

Amount of barrel fill Throughhole leads 50% Through-hole leads 75%

Solder coverage for joints is another factor addressed by the IPC standards. The
acceptable IPC standards for soldering are described in the tables mentioned below.

Criteria for through-hole components

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 Table 6: Acceptable solder criteria for through-hole components

Characteristics Class Class Class

1 2 3
Circular wetting of solder of the lead and plated hole barrel
- 1800 2700
on the component side

PTH fill
- 50% 750

Circular wetting of solder of the lead and plated hole barrel 2700 2700 3300
on the solder side

Land area covered with solder on the component side.

0% 0% 0%

Land area covered with solder on the solder side.

75% 75% 75%

Criteria for chip components

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 Table 7: Acceptable solder criteria for chip components

Characteristics Class 1 Class 2 Class 3

Maximum <25% of the

component side <50% of component <50% of component component
overhang termination width or termination width or termination width
50% of pad width 50% of pad width or 25% of pad
width

Maximum Not acceptable Not acceptable Not acceptable

component end
overhang

Minimum end 50% of the 50% of the 75% of the

joint width component component component
termination width termination width termination width
or 50% of the pad or 50% of the pad or 75% of the pad
width width width

Minimum side Proof of accurate Proof of accurate Proof of accurate

joint length wetting wetting wetting

Solder may Solder may Solder may

Maximum side overhang the overhang the overhang the
fillet height pad but must not pad but must not pad but must not
contact the non- contact the non- contact the non-
soldered region soldered region soldered region
of the component of the component of the component
package body package body package body

Minimum fillet Proof of accurate Proof of accurate Equivalent to solder

height wetting wetting thickness+25%, or
solder thickness
+0.50 mm (.020”)
Minimum Proof of accurate Proof of accurate Proof of accurate
solder wetting wetting wetting
thickness

Minimum end Proof of any overlap Proof of any overlap Proof of any overlap
overlap needed needed needed

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 Criteria for J lead components

Table 8: Acceptable solder criteria for J lead components

Characteristics Class 1 Class 2 Class 3

Maximum lead ≤50% of lead width ≤50% of lead width ≤25% of lead width
side overhang

Maximum lead Not acceptable Not acceptable Not acceptable

toe overhang

Minimum lead 50% of the lead width 50% of lead width 75% of the lead
end joint width width

Side joint length must Side joint length

Minimum side Proof of accurate
exceed 150% of the lead must exceed 150%
joint length wetting
width. of the lead width.
Solder must not touch Solder must not touch Solder must not
Maximum fillet
the component package the component package touch the component
height
body. body package body.
Minimum heel Proof of accurate Equal to the solder Equal to the solder
fillet height wetting thickness plus 50% of thickness plus 100%
lead thickness. of lead thickness.
Minimum solder Proof of accurate Proof of accurate Proof of accurate
thickness wetting wetting wetting

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 Criteria for gull wing components

Table 9: Acceptable solder criteria for gull wing components

Characteristics Class 1 Class 2 Class 3

Maximum lead ≤50% of lead width or ≤50% of lead width or ≤25% of lead width or
side overhang 0.5mm (.020”) 0.5mm (.020”) 0.5mm (.020”)

Acceptable provided
Maximum toe Acceptable provided Acceptable provided
it does not violate
end overhang it does not violate it does not violate
electrical clearance.
electrical clearance.

Minimum end 50% of the lead width. 50% of lead width 75% of the lead
joint width width
Equal to Lead width or Equal to the lead width Equal to the lead
Minimum side
0.5mm (.020”) or 0.5mm (.020”) width or 0.5mm
joint length
(.020”)
Maximum heel Solder should not touch Solder should not touch Solder should not
fillet height the component package the component package touch the component
body body. package body.
Minimum heel Proof of accurate Equal to solder
Solder thickness+50% thickness+100% of
fillet height wetting of lead thickness lead thickness
Minimum heel Proof of accurate Proof of accurate Proof of accurate
fillet thickness wetting wetting wetting

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 PCB dielectric requirement
The minimum dielectric for class 2 and class 3 is 3.5 mils or as agreed between user
and supplier.

6. Common differences between IPC classes

When designers implement a class 3 circuit board, it implies that the product has to be built
according to the complete IPC criteria. The design and the manufacturing teams must take into
account the laminate selection, plating thickness, annular ring requirements, manufacturing
processes, material qualification, facilities arrangements, inspection criteria, etc. in order to
produce the board that meets all the Class 3 requirements.

This table will provide a glimpse of the different class standards with their acceptable defects.

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 7. PCB cross-section verification
Just the visual and X-ray inspections techniques are not always enough to ensure the
integrity of a board. To verify if your PCB manufacturer has met your requirements,
request a cross-section analysis. The cross-section analysis is a destructive
technique that verifies the PCB internal structure, mostly using a microscope. The
test can check for various aspects, such as cracks, voids in solder joints, through-
hole filling, etc.

Below is a cross-section of a class 2 circuit board:

Cross-section of a via in a 4-layer board

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 And this is a cross-section of a class 3A board:

Cross-section of a via in a 4-layer board

At Sierra Circuits, we do in-process cross-sections for every circuit board we manufacture at each
step of the building process. We check for dielectric, plasma etch, solder mask thickness, copper,
plating, etc. And if we don’t meet the customer’s requirements, we reject the board and build another
one. If you need a report, you can ask for a final cross-section. We will send you a document with
everything we have tested with the results.

8. IPC documents to set the level of

acceptance criteria
The IPC documents come in handy to set the level of acceptance criteria for each class of products.

Significant documents for board performance and quality:

1. IPC 2220 series for circuit board design and fabrication

2. IPC 6010 series for board performance quality
3. IPC-A-600 for board acceptability requirements
4. J-STD-001 for soldering requirements

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 Sierra Circuits, Inc.
1108 West Evelyn Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Phone: +1 (408) 735-7137
www.protoexpress.com