IPC CID EXAM QUESTIONS AND
VERIFIED ANSWERS
What do performance classes reflect? - ANSWER Progressive increases in
sophistication, functional performance, and frequency/intensity of inspection or
stress testing
What are the three performance classes? - ANSWER 1-General Electronics 2-
Dedicated Service 3-High reliability
Who is the end user? - ANSWER The end user is the individual or agency that
contracts the printed board or assembly to be designed and manufactured
Who determines the class of a product? - ANSWER The end user
What would be in class 3 performance? - ANSWER Military, medical, etc.
What is ambient temperature? - ANSWER The surrounding environment that
comes into contact with your product
What do producibility levels tell us? - ANSWER Increasing complexity of
tooling, materials, and processing. Yields increase as costs decrease, etc.
What increases with each producibility level? - ANSWER Sophisitication
What is the zaxis aspect ratio? - ANSWER Ratio between the nominal
thickness of the board and the smallest drill size.
What is the most important special consideration in terms of electrical
functionality that a designer must consult the EE? - ANSWER Special keep
out or keep in areas of the board.
, Where should high frequency circuits be placed? - ANSWER NEar the
connector
Where should filtering caps be placed? - ANSWER Near the source of
power/gnd (at the connector)
What is least important to route in analog circuits? - ANSWER Power and
ground
What is a major consideration for component placement? - ANSWER Will
backwards compatibility be necessary?
What is Ohm's law? - ANSWER V=IR
What is an important basic rule for a designer of a board? - ANSWER
Terminate unused logic pins with a pull-down or pull-up resistor.
What product safety testing regards flame retardants? - ANSWER UL 94
How thick is half ounce copper? - ANSWER 0.7 mils (17 um thick)
What is the subtractive process? - ANSWER Unwanted copper is etched away
What is the additive process? - ANSWER Only wanted copper is added to the
board
What must happen immediately after drilling the holes in the boards? -
ANSWER Hole deburring
What is an unsupported hole? - ANSWER A hole in the printed board that
does not contain plating or other conductive reinforcement
What is a supported hole? - ANSWER A hole that has the inside surfaces
plated or otherwise reinforced
What is a buried via? - ANSWER A via that extends only between conductive
layers with no exposure to the outside world
VERIFIED ANSWERS
What do performance classes reflect? - ANSWER Progressive increases in
sophistication, functional performance, and frequency/intensity of inspection or
stress testing
What are the three performance classes? - ANSWER 1-General Electronics 2-
Dedicated Service 3-High reliability
Who is the end user? - ANSWER The end user is the individual or agency that
contracts the printed board or assembly to be designed and manufactured
Who determines the class of a product? - ANSWER The end user
What would be in class 3 performance? - ANSWER Military, medical, etc.
What is ambient temperature? - ANSWER The surrounding environment that
comes into contact with your product
What do producibility levels tell us? - ANSWER Increasing complexity of
tooling, materials, and processing. Yields increase as costs decrease, etc.
What increases with each producibility level? - ANSWER Sophisitication
What is the zaxis aspect ratio? - ANSWER Ratio between the nominal
thickness of the board and the smallest drill size.
What is the most important special consideration in terms of electrical
functionality that a designer must consult the EE? - ANSWER Special keep
out or keep in areas of the board.
, Where should high frequency circuits be placed? - ANSWER NEar the
connector
Where should filtering caps be placed? - ANSWER Near the source of
power/gnd (at the connector)
What is least important to route in analog circuits? - ANSWER Power and
ground
What is a major consideration for component placement? - ANSWER Will
backwards compatibility be necessary?
What is Ohm's law? - ANSWER V=IR
What is an important basic rule for a designer of a board? - ANSWER
Terminate unused logic pins with a pull-down or pull-up resistor.
What product safety testing regards flame retardants? - ANSWER UL 94
How thick is half ounce copper? - ANSWER 0.7 mils (17 um thick)
What is the subtractive process? - ANSWER Unwanted copper is etched away
What is the additive process? - ANSWER Only wanted copper is added to the
board
What must happen immediately after drilling the holes in the boards? -
ANSWER Hole deburring
What is an unsupported hole? - ANSWER A hole in the printed board that
does not contain plating or other conductive reinforcement
What is a supported hole? - ANSWER A hole that has the inside surfaces
plated or otherwise reinforced
What is a buried via? - ANSWER A via that extends only between conductive
layers with no exposure to the outside world
