Since its debut in 2002, the A-620 standard has become the most important process, materials and inspection document in the wire processing industry. As a result, it has been updated several times to better meet the needs of cable and wire harness manufacturers.

The latest update was recently released. IPC/WHMA-A-620E, Requirements and Acceptance for Cable and Wire Harness Assemblies, prescribes practices and requirements for the manufacturing of cable, wire and harness assemblies. It also describes materials, methods, tests and acceptability criteria for producing crimped, mechanically secured and soldered interconnections.

“IPC/WHMA-A-620E sets expectations between WHMA members and their customers for what is considered acceptable quality workmanship for cables and harnesses,” says David Bergman, IPC vice president of standards and technology. “The revisions requested by the industry were significant, resulting in a much-improved standard.”

According to Bergman, Revision E showcases significant changes to the A-620 standard. The standards development committee adopted a new chaptering system for the entire document, added new figures and updated several sections.

In addition, soldering requirements were aligned with IPC J-STD-001, Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies. The Circular Mill Area was also revised, and terms and definitions in Appendix A were updated.                                  

The last revision (D) to the A-620 standard was released in 2020. To learn more about it, click here.