News

IPC Unveils Standard for Power Conversion

April 19, 2007 by Jeff Shepard

The IPC – Association Connecting Electronics Industries® announced that it has completed the Final Draft of the "Performance Parameters for Power Conversion Devices" (IPC-9592) standard and is making it available for industry review. A copy of the document and the IPC-9592 comment form are available at the IPC website. All comments are due no later than June 2, 2007.

The nearly 100-page proposal was developed by the IPC Power Conversion Subcommittee chaired by Dr. Scott Strand, Program Director, Power/Cooling Procurement Engineering, Integrated Supply Chain, IBM. The subcommittee is part of the IPC OEM Critical Components Council. The document standardizes the performance parameters for power conversion devices including, but not limited to, the computer and telecommunications industries. The phrase "power conversion devices" refers to ac-dc and dc-dc modules, converters and printed circuit board assemblies. The specification also sets the requirements for design, qualification testing, conformance testing, manufacturing quality processes and regulatory requirements.

"This is a comprehensive document that will be of significant value to both customer and supplier," Dr. Strand explained. "We started developing the document in September 2006 and I am confident we can finalize this consensus standard by the third quarter of 2007. This is not only a testament to the process, but to the hard work of the IPC subcommittee members."