The 2-16 Product Data Description (Laminar View) Subcommittee (IPC-2581) met in February during the IPC APEX Expo in San Diego CA. At this meeting final details for amendments and document updates as well as slight Schema modifications were addressed. The main focus of the meeting was to focus on an amendment of IPC-2581 Revision B to IPC-2581 Revision B1.  

As part of the B1 modification, more descriptions, enumerated type and qualified string enhancements were made to enable adoption of 2581 Revision B without any structural changes to the schema. Examples for enhancements include, but are not limited to items such as more layer use type descriptions (flex type materials, masks, etc.), additional properties for parts and stack-up objects. The IPC-2581 Schema Document was also updated to record the new enhancements, correct spelling, and updated items overlooked between the schema and the document.

 IPC-2581 Revision B1 is pending feedback from the subcommittee members on a few proposal made at the meeting regarding references to documents that may not apply to the process before going to Ballot for approval. It was also decided that an Appendix of change will be added to this and all further versions of the document to assist in the implementation of updates by tool authors.

 Other ongoing discussions include a list of features and items to be addressed in a new release version, such as external references, data augmentation, etc. Another topic of conversation include stack-up referencing for Rigid/Flex structures. There is a general sense that support for Rigid/Flex structure s can be properly represented based on the current version of the IPC-2581 Schema. More detail on this topic are to be reported at a later date.