IPC Standard helps determine PCB current-carrying capacity.
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Press Release Summary:
IPC-2152, Standard for Determining Current-Carrying Capacity in Printed Board Design sets industry standard for determining appropriate sizes of internal and external conductors as a function of current-carrying capacity required and acceptable conductor temperature rise. It provides guidance on how thermal conductivity, vias, power dissipation, printed board material and thickness, and presence of copper planes factor into relationship between current, conductor size, and temperature.
Original Press Release:
IPC-2152 - Standard for Determining Current-Carrying Capacity in Printed Board Design Released
BANNOCKBURN, Ill., USA, September 24, 2009 - IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries® announced the release of IPC-2152, Standard for Determining Current-Carrying Capacity in Printed Board Design. The 97-page document sets the sole industry standard for determining the appropriate sizes of internal and external conductors as a function of the current-carrying capacity required and the acceptable conductor temperature rise.
Replacing the conductor sizing charts that currently exist in IPC-2221 (which were based on data sets more than 50 years old), the new IPC-2152 standard provides guidance on how thermal conductivity, vias, power dissipation, printed board material and thickness, and most importantly, the presence of copper planes all factor into the relationship between current, conductor size, and temperature.
"It's been a long time coming," says Michael Jouppi, chairman of the IPC 1-10b Current-Carrying Capacity Task Group that has worked on developing the standard since 1998. "The temperature rise of a printed board conductor is a complex problem that required a significant amount of testing as well as the development of computer simulations to improve the understanding of how certain variables impact the temperature rise of a conductor. But the need was to provide general design guidelines that were simple and accurate. So we've divided IPC-2152 into two sections."
The main document establishes general, conservative guidelines for sizing conductors and contains simple charts that show testing results for both internal and external conductors in air and vacuum environments. The document's appendix provides more specifics, giving clarity and insight into how variables impact the temperature rise of a conductor and presenting detailed charts based on copper weights.
IPC members may request a free, single-user download with digital rights management of IPC-2152 by e-mailing MemberTechRequests@ipc.org within 90 days its release; after 90 days, the price for members is $50. The nonmember price of IPC-2152 is $100. Additional formats of IPC-2152 are available. Visit ipc.org/onlinestore for details.
For more information on the work completed by the IPC 1-10b task group, contact John Perry, IPC technical project manager, at JohnPerry@ipc.org.
About IPC
IPC (www.IPC.org) is a global trade association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 2,700 member companies which represent all facets of the electronics industry, including design, printed board manufacturing, electronics assembly and test. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $1.7 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Garden Grove, Calif.; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; and Shanghai and Shenzhen, China.
