Who will add his or her name to the hand soldering victor’s list of Nichole DeVries, Adam Conaway, Linnea Gyllner and be crowned the next IPC hand soldering champ? The second annual IPC Midwest Hand Soldering Competition will take place August 22–23, 2012, at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel, Schaumburg, Ill., in conjunction with IPC Midwest Conference & Exhibition. Participants will compete against each other to build a functional electronics assembly within a half-hour time limit to ultimately determine who the best-of-the-best is in the Midwest.
"Our inaugural event last year was a great success and more importantly, the participants had a lot of fun,” says Kris Roberson, manager of assembly technology at IPC. “We’re expecting a great turnout this year and anticipating some fierce hand-to-hand combat, so to speak.
“Many companies in the Midwest take pride in how many IPC Certified Specialists they have on staff and this event is a fun and friendly way to give them an opportunity to let their staff shine,” adds Roberson.
IPC Master Instructors will judge assemblies on soldering in accordance with IPC-A-610E Class 3 criteria, the overall electrical functionality of assembly and the speed of assembly.
In addition to pocketing a cash prize of $500, the winner will own bragging rights as the Best Hand-Soldering Technician in the Midwest for 2012. Prizes of $250 and $100 will be awarded to two runners up.
Competition entries will be accepted until July 20, 2012. For more information on the hand soldering competition, visit www.IPCMidwestShow.org/competition. For more information on IPC Midwest Conference & Exhibition, visit www.IPCMidwestShow.org.
IPC (www.IPC.org) is a global trade association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 3,100 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 $2.02 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; Bangalore, India; and Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, China.