Automotive & EV electronics
A Tier-1 sourcing audit starts with paper: PPAP file sets, IMDS material declarations, change control and records that survive fifteen years. Underneath that paperwork sits a board that has to take six reflows at 260 °C, −55/+125 °C cycling and vibration, Tg ≥170 °C laminate, AEC-Q100 and AEC-Q200 components, and thermal vias under every power device.
Where automotive programs stop
In this segment the supplier is chosen on evidence and then held to it for a decade. These are the three gates that decide whether a program moves at all.
Under-hood and powertrain electronics are qualified over −40 … +125 °C, with samples taken through −55/+125 °C for 1,000 cycles and sectioned for delamination, plus six passes at 260 °C to prove the laminate survives rework. Solder fatigue is then a materials question: Tg ≥170 °C laminate, thermal vias and copper weight are what move heat out of the joint, and vibration finds every joint that was marginal to begin with.
A first-round PPAP package takes six to ten weeks of process evidence: capability data, control plan, microsections, X-ray images from the qualification lot and a change-control route. OEM specifications can also lag a new IPC revision, IPC-6012 Revision ES tightened via voiding and plating uniformity, by six to eighteen months. Missing or stale documents move the start of production, and process capability alone cannot recover that date.
Automotive programs expect IPC-1782A M3 traceability and 15-year record retention, while the components themselves go obsolete long before the vehicle does. Sourcing has to be documented to date code and lot, alternates need written approval before they are used, and the change-control trail has to still make sense in an audit a decade after the last shipment left the plant.
Requirement → response
Eight rows cover what a Tier-1 process audit asks for first. Each value is something we laminate, place or measure, not a target we hope to hold.
| Requirement | In-house response | How it is verified |
|---|---|---|
| High-temperature laminate | Tg ≥170 °C FR-4, compatible with a lead-free reflow peak of 245–260 °C | Laminate certificate per lot; qualification through 6 reflows at 260 °C |
| Thermal cycling | Stackups and materials selected for −55/+125 °C for 1,000 cycles without delamination | Microsection and thermal stress at 288 °C solder float for 10 s |
| Mechanical envelope | Finished thickness 0.4–3.2 mm, panels to 600 × 1200 mm | First-article report with measured stackup |
| Power-section copper | 0.5–20 oz copper; 2–4 oz typical on EV power stages, heavy copper from 3 oz (105 µm) | Cross-section microsection from the qualification lot |
| Heat path | Thermal via arrays under MOSFETs and IGBTs, copper-filled and tied into the power plane | X-ray and microsection voiding judged to IPC-6012 Rev ES (≤10 %) |
| Controlled impedance | ±10 % standard, ±5 % on premium builds; differential pairs to 100 Ω | Board-edge TDR coupon measured per lot |
| Fine-pitch assembly | BGA to 0.25 mm pitch, 01005 passives, placement accuracy ±25 µm, SMT height to 25 mm | 3D SPI paste measurement, then 3D AOI on 100 % of boards |
| Protection | Selective conformal coating to IPC-CC-830B; epoxy or polyurethane potting where the housing is filled | Coverage and thickness check; adhesion checked after reflow exposure |
The document package
This is the part of the quotation a Tier-1 buyer reads first. If a document on this list is missing when production starts, the program stops, so the availability column matters as much as the content column.
| Document | What it contains | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| PPAP file set | Process flow, control plan, PFMEA, capability data, microsections and qualification-lot X-ray images | Delivered with the first production lot, first round in 6–10 weeks |
| IMDS entry | Material and substance declaration per part number, including finishes, solder mask and coating | Submitted before the first shipment, updated on any material change |
| Certificate of conformance | Statement of conformity against the released drawing revision and the agreed specification | With every lot, signed against the lot number |
| Test records | ICT and FCT pass/fail results, AOI and SPI data, X-ray images on a minimum of 5 boards per lot | With every lot, referenced to the board serial where serialisation applies |
| Traceability record | Material lot → production batch → board serial, at IPC-1782A M3 granularity | Maintained for 15 years under the program agreement |
| Change control notice | Material, process or supplier changes with the approval route and the requalification plan | Raised before the change, with written approval returned before implementation |
Evidence chain
PPAP evidence is only as good as the measurement behind it. This is the chain that produces it, from incoming material to the records a program audit will ask to see.
Bare-board coupon and dimension check; AEC-Q100 / Q200 component documentation confirmed against the approved BOM.
Koh Young paste inspection stores volume, area, height and alignment data as part of the lot record.
Omron VT-RNS and SAKI BF-18D scan 100 % of boards on all nine SMT lines; images retained for the lot.
Nordson DAGE XD7600NT confirms via fill and BGA voids against J-STD-001, minimum five boards per lot.
Takaya APT-1500F with four heads proves nets on first articles before an ICT fixture is committed.
Agilent i3070 covers 3,072 test points and writes the per-board result into the traceability record.
A fixture built for the product loads firmware and exercises the interfaces under the load the vehicle applies.
Final inspection to IPC-A-610 Class 2 & 3 workmanship, with the workmanship standard agreed per program rather than assumed.
Carton, label and paperwork verified by AQL ANSI/ASQ Z1.4 (general inspection level II, single sampling, normal severity, AQL 0.65 for major defects) sampling before the shipment is released.
SPI, AOI, X-ray and test data filed against the lot and serial, retrievable for the 15-year retention window.
System status & compliance
Automotive buyers audit language as carefully as process, so each line below states what we hold, what we document and what we do not claim.
IATF 16949
Process capability for automotive work, delivered as PPAP file sets, IMDS declarations and change control. Not stated as a certification we do not hold.
ISO 9001:2015
Quality system certified to ISO 9001:2015, audited annually by SGS, with automotive-grade process capability documented through PPAP and IMDS. Power assemblies are released against 6× reflow at 260 °C and thermal cycling from −55 °C to +125 °C.
ISO 14001
Environmental management practices in operation, covering process chemistry, waste routing and lead-free production.
IPC standards
Fabrication and assembly to IPC-6012 (including Revision ES criteria), IPC-A-610 Class 2 & 3 workmanship and J-STD-001, with IPC-1782A M3 traceability where the program requires it.
Full scanned certificate package released on request.
Application case
A battery-management board built as a project type: measurement and balancing on one assembly, 2–4 oz copper through the balancing FETs and shunt path, thermal vias under the switching devices, −40 … +125 °C rated components and selective coating over the high-impedance measurement section only.
Quotation in 24 hours
Add the temperature class, the copper weight for the power section and the traceability level your customer expects. An NDA can be signed before the files move, and an engineer replies with a quotation and a DFM report within one working day.
Send your Gerber, BOM or a plain description. An engineer, not a sales script, reviews it and replies within one working day. NDA on request.