-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueOpportunities and Challenges
In this issue, our expert contributors discuss the many opportunities and challenges in the PCB design community, and what can be done to grow the numbers of PCB designers—and design instructors.
Embedded Design Techniques
Our expert contributors provide the knowledge this month that designers need to be aware of to make intelligent, educated decisions about embedded design. Many design and manufacturing hurdles can trip up designers who are new to this technology.
Manufacturing Know-how
For this issue, we asked our expert contributors to share their thoughts on the absolute “must-know” aspects of fab, assembly and test that all designers should understand. In the end, we’re all in this together.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - design007 Magazine
IPC Designers Council Viewpoint: Gary Ferrari
January 25, 2016 | Andy Shaughnessy, PCBDesign007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
When we started putting together our coverage of the Designers Council, we knew we’d have to get the real scoop from Gary Ferrari. He’s been helping to raise the status of the PCB designer for decades. As co-founder and longtime executive director of the Designers Council, as well as an IPC Master Instructor, Gary has dedicated a big part of his career to PCB design. After decades of service, he was inducted into the IPC Hall of Fame at IPC APEX EXPO this year.
I caught up with Gary and asked him to fill us in on the creation of the Designers Council, and some of the changes he’s seen in the organization in the last 24 years.
Andy Shaughnessy: You’re often referred to as the “Founder of the Designers Council.” How did you get involved and who else helped get the DC started?
Gary Ferrari: As you know, Dieter Bergman and I worked together on many of the standards that affect designers. We also did several designer-oriented workshops. One day, Dieter asked me what more IPC could do for the design community. My answer was very simple: “Mechanical engineers have the ASME, electrical engineers have IEEE, and the designers have sore eyes from staring at their monitors. What we need is a society for board designers, and anyone with a vested interest in board design.”
In 1991, we hit the road and traveled throughout the U.S. to introduce a new design standard. It also gave us an opportunity to poll the attendees to hear their comments on whether an IPC Designers Council was a good idea. We also asked them what they felt its charter should be. The primary feedback was designer education, a forum to discuss common interests, and network building. In summary, they liked the idea of a designer society.
However, an issue was IPC’s membership structure. Their membership is company-based, whereas a society is generally individual-based, similar to SMTA. After consulting with IPC’s legal counsel, we were able to structure the Designers Council as a chapter-based entity, thus allowing for individual membership.
Shaughnessy: Where was the first official DC meeting held, and when?
Ferrari: Its official birth was in 1992. Dieter and I were making the rounds doing design-related workshops at that time, and spreading the word. Chapters started forming at a tremendous rate. We were up to 29 chapters within several months.
What is interesting to note is that a group of Atlanta designers had been meeting together for about a year under the leadership of Fred Pescitelli, at Phoenix Designs. They met to learn from each other, learn about new technologies, etc. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? They listened to what we offered, voted, and Atlanta became the first official chapter of the IPC Designers Council.
No matter where I traveled, the local designers basically said the same things. One that comes to mind was in Atlanta. One of the well-known designers, when asked the how he felt designers were viewed, indicated that the attitude was that designers were “pond scum.” We can certainly laugh at his colorful description, but I received similar answers no matter where I traveled.
To read this entire article, which appeared in the December 2015 issue of The PCB Design Magazine, click here.
Suggested Items
SMTA’s Conducts First UHDI Symposium
03/29/2024 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineSMTA’s first UHDI Symposium in Peoria, Arizona, on Tuesday, March 26 featured a standout full-day technical program with 11 separate presentations on what will be required for our companies to move to ultra HDI manufacturing. The event was the brainchild of Tara Dunn, SMTA director of training and education. It included a compelling and collaborative presentation by David Haboud of Altium, John Johnson of American Standards Circuits, and Chrys Shea of Shea Engineering, who had spent the past several weeks creating and building an appropriate SMT test board vehicle for UHDI, something that was passed around for all conference goers to see and touch.
PCBflow Helps Designers Choose Best Manufacturer for the Job
03/28/2024 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineI recently spoke with a few technologists who have first-hand experience with PCBflow: Susan Kayesar, technical product manager with Siemens; Evgeny Makhline, CTO of Nistec, a CEM based in Israel; and Peter Tranitz, senior director of technology solutions and leader of the IPC Design Initiative. They explain how PCBflow functions, from the designer’s and manufacturer’s viewpoint, and how this database helps break down the wall between these stakeholders.
Elementary, Mr. Watson: Ensuring Design Integrity
03/28/2024 | John Watson -- Column: Elementary, Mr. WatsonBack in February, many of us watched the "Big Game." It reminded me of the saying, “It's not how you start that is important, but rather how you finish." It is perfectly okay when you are talking about sports, you get off to a bad first half and need to recover in the second half. However, when it comes to PCB design, this is not a good practice. If things start badly, they usually don't recover. They continue down that same path, costing more money and losing design time.
Arrow Electronics Launches Intelligent Vision Ecosystem
03/27/2024 | BUSINESS WIREArrow Electronics, Inc. is utilizing the onsemi Imager Access System (IAS) module standard for developing intelligent vision solutions for use in robotics, machine vision, commercial cameras and other uses.
Dymax Will Exhibit Light-Cure Solutions for Today’s Electronics at IPC APEX 2024
03/26/2024 | DymaxDymax, a leading manufacturer of rapid and light-curing materials and equipment, will exhibit at the IPC APEX EXPO 2024 in Anaheim, CA, April 9-11.