When manufacturing printed circuit boards, specifying a performance class instructs the manufacturer to use a defined set of tolerance and reliability criteria suitable for the expected performance requirements of a product.
The PCBs shall be manufactured in accordance with the selected performance class, as defined in IPC-601x.
- IPC Performance class 2 is the default performance class for PCB manufacture. It is suitable for most applications.
- IPC Performance class 3 is a high reliability performance class with very tight requirements and an extensive test and inspection regime intended for extremely demanding applications.
- Due to the very high cost of class 3 production, Macaos has defined performance class 2+, which gives high reliability for a moderate additional cost. Macaos performance class 2+ adds two requirements to IPC performance class 2:
- Hole copper plating shall meet class 3 requirements in the Surface and Hole Copper Plating table(s) of the appropriate IPC-601x standard(s)
- Minimum annular ring shall meet class 3 requirements in the Minimum Annular Ring table(s) of the appropriate IPC-601x standard(s)