Feb 04, 2013
Hand soldering competitions will heat up the IPC APEX EXPO® show floor as competitors strive to build a functional electronics assembly within a 30-minute time limit during the IPC APEX EXPO Hand Soldering Competition. Eighteen competitors from 12 companies have answered the call to the challenge. To date, the competition roster includes representatives of:
AER Technologies
S and Y Industries, Inc.
Applied Technical Services Inc.
Sabine, Inc.
Hybrid Design Associates, Inc.
SparkFun Electronics
Imperial Electronic Assembly, Inc.
Stryker
Lockheed Martin
Titan Telecom International
Northrop Grumman
Transmex
“We’re pleased that so many companies are up for a little friendly competition,” says Kris Roberson, IPC manager of assembly technology. “There’s a lot of talent out there and the hand soldering competition is a great way to showcase those skills.”
The competitions will take place February 19–20 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
Assemblies will be judged on soldering in accordance with IPC-A-610E Class 3 criteria, the speed at which the assembly was produced and the overall electrical functionality of the assembly. IPC-A-610E Master Instructors will serve as the judges.
Cash prizes of $500, $250 and $100 will be awarded to the top three finalists at the close of IPC APEX EXPO competition on Wednesday, February 20. The winner of the IPC APEX EXPO Hand Soldering Competition will move on to the IPC World Championship on Thursday, February 21, to face off with winners from IPC hand soldering competitions around the world. Representatives from the following companies will compete in the world championship:
Beijing Railway Signal Co., Ltd.
NO. 200 Factory of China Aerospace
CAMtek, Inc.Rangsons Electronics Pvt. Ltd
Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics -- Chinese Academy of Sciences
The 2nd Unit of the 23rd Research Academy
Imperial Electronic Assembly Inc.
The 8357 of the 3rd Research Academy of CASIC
The winner of the IPC Hand Soldering World Championship will be awarded a $1,000 cash prize and a new Metcal soldering station. Premier sponsors for the competitions include Metcal, Alpha, EPTAC and PACE Worldwide; supporters include Vision Engineering and Sovella Inc.
Access to the show floor to view the hand soldering competitions as well as many of the show’s special events are free to pre-registrants, a savings of $25 on-site. To register, visit www.IPCAPEXEXPO.org. Twitter users may get show updates from the event’s Twitter feed, @IPCShow (#ipcshow).
IPC (www.IPC.org) is a global industry association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 3,300 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 $2.17 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; Bangalore, India; Bangkok, Thailand; and Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Suzhou and Beijing, China.
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