Apr 22, 2014 Twenty competitors showed off their hand soldering skills during an action-packed IPC hand soldering competition at National Electronics Week (NEW) 2014 in Birmingham, England. Taking first place with a score of 167 out of a possible 176, was Andrew Smith, Custom Interconnected Ltd. (UK). As the first place winner, Smith took home a cash prize of £300 and earned a spot at the IPC Hand Soldering WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP at IPC APEX EXPO® 2015 in San Diego, Calif.
In second place with a score of 157, Helen Reynolds, Custom Interconnected Ltd., won a cash prize of £200. Mark Smith, CSM Electronics Ltd. (UK) took third place and a cash prize of £100 with a score of 150.
Judging the competition, Jacqueline Mellar, CIT and Mal Maitland, CIS, CIT, both of TRW Systems Ltd. (UK) and Barry Morris, MIT, Advanced Rework Technology Ltd., awarded points based on soldering in accordance with IPC-A-610E Class 3 criteria, the speed at which the assembly was produced and the overall functionality of the assembly.
“Judges and spectators were able to see the best hand soldering talent in the United Kingdom”, said Lars Wallin, IPC European representative. “Competitors put forth their best workmanship, quality and top speed. IPC plans to continue with these highly popular hand soldering competitions not only in Europe, but across the globe.”
Wallin added, “IPC thanks hand soldering competition Gold Sponsor PACE Worldwide; Bronze Sponsors Vision Engineering, BOFA Americas, Inc. and Advanced Rework Technology Ltd. and Media Supporter SMT Today for their support of the IPC Hand Soldering Competition at NEW.”
For information on upcoming IPC Hand Soldering Competitions, visit www.ipc.org/hsc.
IPC (www.IPC.org) is a global industry association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 3,400 member companies which represent all facets of the electronics industry, including design, printed board manufacturing, electronics assembly and test. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $2 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Washington, D.C.; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; Bangalore, India; Bangkok, Thailand; and Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Suzhou and Beijing, China.
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