IPC/WHMA A-620
Industry Standards and specifications for the wiring
harness and cable assembly manufacturing process
to be presented at ATExpo

Industry approved standards and specifications are about to become a part of the
wiring harness and cable assembly manufacturing process. Companies will no
longer have to rely on their own judgment and workmanship standards. Four
years ago two independent organizations, IPC and WHMA, decided to join
forces to develop a set of documents that would be of value and benefit to both
these organizations and at the same time bring standardization to the wiring
harness industry.

IPC, headquartered in Chicago, has been a leader in the development of
specifications for a number of various items. IPC has been doing this for years
and is a recognized organization, which is capable of developing ANSI approved
documents. IPC also has the necessary support team that can carry the standard
from the idea through the committee development into printing and then
coordinate the response from the polling activity and finally print an approved
industry standard.

WHMA was founded by a farsighted group of men who believed that there
was a need for companies who manufacture wiring harnesses and cable
assemblies to become organized. A part of this effort was driven by the need
for standardization to come to the industry. The organization formed an Industrial
Technical Guidelines Committee (ITGC) to be responsible for developing
standards and specifications.

This joint activity is about to achieve its first success with standards
development. IPC/WHMA-A-620, which is an Acceptability Standard is
anticipated for release to the industry by the end of 2001. The working committee
has recently completed revising the document as a result of the comments
received from the polling of the first draft. The document is set to be available
for a second review no later than September 14, 2001. After allowing 30 days
for comments to be collected, the committee will again meet to resolve any
mistakes or problems that were found in the document. Total resolution and
correction is expected by November, which will allow a December publication.

Many large manufacturing companies who are IPC members are eagerly
waiting to incorporate the A-620 standard into their specifications. After
having used the IPC-A-610 for years, they are excited about the ability to
have the same type quality inspection system available for their wiring
applications. It is expected that A-620 will improve the ease of inspection
and acceptance from the board level through chassis integration.

It is anticipated that the A-620 will eventually be accepted and used as much
as the A-610 specification. Committee members cover many sectors including automobile, truck, aerospace, military, communications, oil exploration and
NASA. The document covers different classes of products, which are
designated as Classes 1,2 and 3. The specification is being developed so as
to receive ANSI certification.

The 620 working committee has been working on the development of this
document for three years. It is the first of several standards to be developed
for cable and wiring assemblies. "The document does not yet contain
everything needed but is more than adequate to begin being used by the
industry," states Vernon Judy, President of Qualastat Electronics who is
co-chair of the ITGC committee. Judy also stated that he believes the
industry will be pleased with the effort, which has been put forth by the
committee members to make this a very useable and user-friendly document.
As soon as the IPC/WHMA-A-620 is published, the committee will begin
working on the draft of revision A. Some material is already partially
developed and just needs finalization along with pictures or illustrations.
It is expected that other material will have to be developed based on input
from the industry after having time to use A-620.

WHMA and IPC are teaming together on October 2, 2001 to give a panel
discussion and public presentation of IPC/WHMA-A-620 at the ATE
convention which will be held October 1-4 in Rosemont, Illinois at the
Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. The panel will discuss how the
document was developed, how it is intended to be used and give some
insight into the continued development of this family of documents and
a possible training program, which will be associated with the A-620
specification.

For more information concerning the development of the IPC/WHMA-A-620,
contact Vernon Judy at 717-334-8900 x12 or E-mail to vjudy@qualastat.com

 

For information on the Wiring Harness Manufacturers Association
call (847) 577-7200. E-mail: whma@whma.org or visit Internet: www.whma.org