IPC Releases Additional Test Coupons for the IPC-2221B Gerber Coupon Generator

Test Coupons provide structural integrity verification based on current printed board design technology

May 22, 2018 – IPC – Association Connecting Electronics Industries® would like to announce the release of additional test coupons for the IPC-2221B Gerber Coupon Generator, an exclusive annual subscription service for IPC member companies. The IPC-2221B Gerber Coupon Generator subscription service is the only service providing new, industry approved test coupons addressing blind, buried, stacked and staggered via structures. The most commonly used coupons for product acceptance are “AB,” “AB/R” and “D” which were introduced in 2016.

The tool is now updated with new features and coupons as requested by our members including updated “B” and “D” Coupon designs that support not only through-hole but also stacked and staggered (a.k.a. “propagated”) structures featuring blind and buried vias. Designated sections of the “B” Coupon for both registration and structural integrity evaluations are now included. The new “H” Coupon design for evaluating surface insulation resistance (SIR) has been introduced as well as the new “S” Coupon design for evaluating through-hole solderability. Finally, the new “P” Coupon design for evaluating the peel strength of outer layer metallic foils has been added.

Additional coupon designs for surface mount solderability testing, moisture and insulation resistance (MIR) testing of laminated base materials and solder mask adhesion testing are slated for release later this year and will be incorporated into the subscription service free of additional charge.

The IPC-2221B Gerber Coupon Generator subscription service is a simple, easy-to-use “Design Parameters/Input File,” that utilizes an auto quality check feature, ensuring the design rules for the test designs are met. What used to take hours to generate Gerber files from the CAD/CAM user will now only take minutes.

The IPC-2221B Gerber Coupon Generator with the new designs is available as an annual subscription, meeting current printed board design parameters to generate Gerber Files of IPC-2221B Appendix A test coupon designs at any time. This allows users to generate coupons when they want, and as often as they need. To learn more, visit www.ipc.org.