IPC Class 2 Products

June 13, 2023

Cadence PCB Solutions

Key Takeaways

IPC Class 2 electronic products include sophisticated business machines, radio and telecommunication equipment, instruments, etc.
Compared to IPC Class 2, IPC standards are more stringent for IPC Class 3 products, as they need to ensure continued performance under critical conditions.
IPC Class 2 electronic products provide a decent level of quality, reliability, and cost-efficiency.

IPC Class 2

Communication equipment is an example of an IPC class 2 electronic product

IPC standards are integral to PCB manufacturers and users. These standards make business flexible for both users and suppliers and allow them to form optimum manufacturing and procurement procedures.

In general, IPC standards establish requirements to ensure quality and reliability for printed circuit boards. Depending on the quality level, there are four classes of PCBs, and the standards differ with each class. The four IPC classes are IPC Class 1, IPC Class 2, IPC Class 3, and IPC Class 3/A. As the hierarchy increases, the quality of the PCB improves. In this article, we will focus more on IPC Class 2.

IPC Class 2

IPC Class 2 refers to dedicated service electronic products. Dedicated service electronic products include sophisticated business machines, radio and telecommunications equipment, instruments, etc. The design of the IPC Class 2 electronic products is created so that they showcase superior performance and a comparatively long life cycle.

IPC Class 2 electronic products guarantee uninterrupted functionality throughout their extended life cycle. However, they do not belong to the critical class of electronic products. Since IPC Class 2 products are unsuitable for mission-critical applications, they can have certain levels of cosmetic imperfections if they are not limiting the electrical functionality. IPC Class 2 product examples include air conditioners, televisions, microwaves, tablets, laptops, and mining equipment.

Advantages of IPC Class 2 Products

Design Advantages	Manufacturing Advantages	Inspection Advantages
Lenient standards Simple design Easy placement of components Easy routing	Economical Less solder used for through-hole components	Easy inspection Short duration of inspection

IPC Class 2 > IPC Class 1

Based on the level of quality, IPC Class 2 is superior to IPC Class 1. IPC Class 1 products are general electronic products such as toys, LED lights, flashlights, TV remote controls, smartphones, etc. IPC Class 2 quality is always better than IPC Class 1.

IPC Class 1 products are cheap, and some suppliers and users avoid this class production. Most PCB manufacturers and users shift their product class to IPC Class 2 considering the quality, performance, reliability, cost, etc. The IPC standards followed are comparatively more stringent for IPC Class 2 products than IPC Class 1.

IPC Class 2< IPC Class 3

IPC Class 2 isn’t the most reliable or quality-ensured class; compared to IPC Class 2, the IPC standards are more stringent for IPC Class 3 products, as they need to ensure continued performance under critical conditions.

IPC Class 3 products cannot afford downtime, as they must function reliably without any breaks. Some electronic systems that come under IPC Class 3 are medical devices for life support and flight control systems. The level of assurance and reliability offered by IPC Class 2 products is low compared to IPC Class 3 products.

The table below compares the various aspects of IPC Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3.

Parameter	IPC Class 1	IPC Class 2	IPC Class 3
Product category	General electronics	Dedicated service electronics	High-reliability electronics
Life cycle	Short	Long	Longest
Quality	Poor	Medium	High
Reliability	Low	Medium	High
Performance	Low	Medium	High
Defects permissible	Yes	Partially permitted	No
Cost	Cheap	Economical	High
Suitability for critical applications	No	No	Yes
Inspection/testing frequency	Lowest	Medium	More frequent
Examples	TV Remotes LED lights Smartphones	Mining equipment Laptops Microwaves	Aerospace electronics Medical devices Military electronics

Manufacturers Often Prefer IPC Class 2

IPC Class 2 electronic products provide a decent level of quality, reliability, and performance while maintaining cost efficiency. Sometimes, a high-reliability class of PCBs cannot be fabricated because the manufacturer doesn’t have enough equipment resources. In this case, the manufacturer will often settle for IPC Class 2. IPC Class 2 PCBs meet the lifecycle and performance requirements demanded by most consumers.

Cadence OrCAD can help you create IPC class 2 electronic boards with ease. Leading electronics providers rely on Cadence products to optimize power, space, and energy needs for a wide variety of market applications. If you’re looking to learn more about our innovative solutions, talk to our team of experts or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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