Circuit Card Academy

Reference

Industry Standards Crosswalk

The certifications that actually count in aerospace electronics, what each governs, and where this course covers it. These are the credentials an employer recognizes — knowing how your study maps to them is half of looking like a professional. This course is ramp-up and reinforcement for IPC certification classes — not a replacement for them.

Acceptability of electronic assemblies

IPC-A-610

The visual-inspection bible: what an acceptable vs. defective solder joint, placement and board condition looks like. Aerospace works to Class 3 — the strictest tier.

Where this course touches it

  • Module 03 §8 — solder-joint, via and laminate defect vocabulary (cold joints, ring fractures, tombstones) maps to the defect classes A-610 catalogs
  • Module 06 §2 — the five-disciplined-minutes visual inspection ritual is A-610 inspection practice at the bench
  • Module 10 §1 & §4 — Class 3 acceptance mindset, the 75% plated-through-hole fill rule for Class 2 AND 3, and calibrating your eye on A-610 joint imagery
  • Case File 006 (reversed tantalum) — polarity and orientation acceptance checking after rework
  • Drill: ICT false-call triage — separating real acceptance defects from fixture artifacts
Soldered assembly process

IPC J-STD-001

How soldering must actually be done — materials, methods, cleanliness. Has a Space & Military addendum. A-610 judges the result; J-STD-001 governs the act.

Where this course touches it

  • Module 10 §4 — heat discipline, joint quality criteria, flux cleanliness and wire-prep rules arrive straight from J-STD-001 territory
  • Module 10 §4 — moisture-sensitive device (MSL) handling and floor-life clocks
  • Module 10 §2 — ESD discipline during soldering operations
  • Module 08 §4 — flux-residue leakage as an analog failure mode is the WHY behind the cleanliness requirements
Rework, repair & modification

IPC-7711 / 7721

The procedures for everything you do at the bench — component removal/replacement, pad & trace repair, conformal-coat removal and restoration.

Where this course touches it

  • Module 04 §4 — the short-localization ladder (split, gradient, thermal; lift components LAST) is the diagnostic discipline that precedes any 7711 rework decision
  • Module 06 §9 — repair, verify, document: the loop every numbered 7711/7721 procedure lives inside
  • Module 10 §5 — conformal coating removal and restoration by coating type
  • Module 10 §4 — repair limits and Material Review disposition when damage exceeds them
  • Toolkit: Repair Traveler + Repair Case Log — the documentation trail rework procedures expect
Cable & wire harness assemblies

IPC/WHMA-A-620

Acceptability of crimps, splices and harnesses — relevant wherever connectors and cabling meet the board.

Where this course touches it

  • Module 03 §7 — connectors as the #1 field-failure site: bent pins, fretting, cable strain
  • Module 07 §2 — differential buses (RS-485, ARINC 429, 1553) reach the board through the harnesses A-620 governs
  • Case File 003 — transient entry via the connector boundary and the sacrificial parts behind it
ESD control program

ANSI/ESD S20.20

The framework behind wrist straps, dissipative mats, smocks and audits. ESD damage is invisible and often latent — these rules are not ceremony.

Where this course touches it

  • Module 07 §5 — why ESD is a digital-board survival rule: the walking-wounded failure mode
  • Module 10 §2 — the full protected-workstation discipline: tested strap, dissipative surfaces, insulator control, shielded transport
  • Quiz items on the 1 MΩ strap resistor and latent damage — the program elements S20.20 audits
Aerospace quality management

AS9100

Why every step is documented, every part traceable, every nonconformance formally dispositioned. The paper trail is the product.

Where this course touches it

  • Module 10 §6 — traceability, controlled stock, revision control, calibrated instruments, MRB culture
  • Module 09 §4 — the documented bench-to-machine verification loop
  • Toolkit: Training Record + Competency Sign-Off — artifacts a shop can file as clause 7.2 competence evidence (countersigned by a supervisor)
  • Case File 002 — documenting an NTF as a fixture finding instead of shrugging it off
Workmanship (spaceflight)

NASA-STD-8739

Soldering and workmanship requirements for space hardware — even tighter than Class 3 in places. Applies on space programs.

Where this course touches it

  • Module 10 §1 — where the space-program workmanship tier sits relative to Class 3
  • Resources page — the NASA Technical Standards portal serves the 8739 series free of charge
Boundary scan

IEEE 1149.1 (JTAG)

In-chip test infrastructure that lets ATE verify connections on BGAs and fine-pitch parts no probe can reach.

Where this course touches it

  • Module 07 §2 — recognizing the test access port (TCK/TMS/TDI/TDO) on a board
  • Module 09 §1 — how ICT uses boundary scan to clear unprobeable BGA joints
  • Module 07 §6 — proving a processor's connections before condemning big silicon