This standard establishes the procedures to characterize the capability of surface mount assembly equipment in specification documents, as well as in documentation used to verify a specific machine's placement capability and conformance to the specification while maintaining placement accuracy to placement throughput relationship.

Purpose IPC-9850 has been developed to standardize the parameters, measurement procedures, and the methodologies used for the specification, evaluation, and continuing verification of assembly equipment throughput and accuracy characterization parameters. These standardized tools shall be used to develop and report the information called out in this standard.