IFTEC

IFTEC is a French resource and training centre for electronic card manufacturing. It is based in Bourg-la-Reine, in the south suburbs of Paris. It also trains in Lyon. Its trainers come from industry, and the centre has 57 years of experience in electronics manufacturing.

IFTEC was created in February 1967. This was before France passed its continuing education laws in 1971. It was set up to meet the needs of makers of printed circuits, an industry that was still being built up in France at the time. Close ties with industry and technology watch help it keep its training up to date. Feedback from industry leads to updates of courses and to new ones.

IFTEC runs short courses for engineers, technicians and operators who work on electronic cards. Its list has 49 training courses and IPC certifications. Courses are held in small groups, mixing theory with practice in a 500 square metre workshop with industrial equipment. Inter-company courses have set programmes, prices and dates and are open to staff from different firms. They take place in Bourg-la-Reine and Lyon, and some sessions run in Nantes, Angers and Toulouse. Some can be taken remotely.

Intra-company courses are based on the standard courses but adapted for one company's team. They can take place at the customer's site or at the centre in Bourg-la-Reine or Lyon.

IFTEC certifies staff on IPC standards, in inter-company or intra-company sessions. It is also an authorised distributor of IPC standards for electronic card manufacturing, about 300 reference documents used around the world.

IFTEC also does expert work for customers. It carries out visual inspections, measurements and analyses on assembled boards, components, printed circuits and wire connections. Its tests include micro-section cuts, ionic contamination measurement, solderability tests on parts and on printed circuits, climatic tests, visual checks of solder joints and bare boards, and pull tests. It also offers advice and audits so that customers can control their electronics manufacturing processes in any sector.

Services

• Electronics manufacturing training
• IPC certification
• Expert analysis
• Micro-section cuts
• Ionic contamination measurement
• Solderability measurement
• Climatic tests
• Visual inspection of solder joints
• Pull tests
• IPC standards distribution