Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘Growth Hacker Marketing’
Happy’s Tech Talk #38: Novel Metallization for UHDI
It’s Only Common Sense Mastering the Follow-Up—The Key to Closing More Deals
The Finer Points: World Champions of the IPC Hand-Soldering Finals
November 21, 2023 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
A long hike to the far corner of Hall A4 on Friday, Nov. 17 brought us to the venue for the world finals of the IPC Hand Soldering Competition. After many regional competitions, the finalists had gathered in Munich to compete against one another to gain the title of world champion.
For the competition, IPC set up a long workbench with five workstations in a row, each with a static-mat, fume extraction, bright illumination, a stereo magnifier, a roll of fine solder wire, and temperature-controlled soldering iron with a set of precision bits.
The wide aisle accommodated an active crowd of spectators out front. A row of vigilant observers, all IPC Master Instructors, stood behind them. The hot-seats were occupied by contenders from far and wide – taking their turn in groups of five to demonstrate their individual dexterity and capability. Twenty soldering champions, winners of the regional competitions and representing Asia, India, and Europe—including Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, People’s Republic of China, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam—competed for the title of 2023 Hand Soldering World Champion.
Each competitor was given 60 minutes to assemble a complex printed circuit board with their performance judged in accordance with IPC-A-610 Class 3 criteria. Each competitor’s efforts was rated on the merits of the results achieved, scored on the quality of the assembly process, the electrical functionality of the assembly, and the speed at which the assembly was produced.
In my opinion, a further criterion was the ability to work under pressure with a crowd of onlookers in front and an IPC Master Instructors looking over your shoulder.
The dexterity of the competitors bordered on the unbelievable; these were highly skilled technicians who were hand-soldering complex electronic assemblies to zero-defect limits. I certainly didn’t envy the task of the judges in conscientiously and meticulously selecting the winners.
But they did arrive at a verdict. The 2023 World Champion is Yao Tang, from Shenyang Railway Signal, China. She took home the cash prize of 1,000€, a certificate from IPC, a trophy for the 2023 World Title, a brand new soldering station from JBC Soldering Tools, a brand new WXSmart multi-awarded soldering station from Weller Tools and a present from Almit GmbH.
The second place winner is Keiko Hasebe, from Advantest in Japan, while Jingjing Xu, from Shanghai Railway Communication, China took home the third place award. The 2023 Hand Soldering World Championship included 19 champions representing 16 countries.
Share on:
Suggested Items
SolderKing Achieves the Prestigious King’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade
05/06/2025 | SolderKingSolderKing Assembly Materials Ltd, a leading British manufacturer of high-performance soldering materials and consumables, has been honoured with a King’s Award for Enterprise, one of the UK’s most respected business honours.
Knocking Down the Bone Pile: Gold Mitigation for Class 2 Electronics
05/07/2025 | Nash Bell -- Column: Knocking Down the Bone PileIn electronic assemblies, the integrity of connections between components is paramount for ensuring reliability and performance. Gold embrittlement and dissolution are two critical phenomena that can compromise this integrity. Gold embrittlement occurs when gold diffuses into solder joints or alloys, resulting in mechanical brittleness and an increased susceptibility to cracking. Conversely, gold dissolution involves the melting away of gold into solder or metal matrices, potentially altering the electrical and mechanical properties of the joint.
KOKI Expands U.S. Sales Coverage with Multiple New Representatives
04/29/2025 | KOKIKOKI, a global leader in advanced soldering materials and process optimization services, is pleased to announce the expansion of its U.S. sales network with the addition of three new manufacturers’ representative firms: Assembled Product Specialists, Diversitech Reps Inc., and Eagle Electronics.
SMTA Bridging the Skills Gap in Arizona
04/24/2025 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007One area where SMTA really excels is through its local chapters. On April 16, 2025, I-Connect007's Marcy LaRont attended the Workforce Breakfast during the SMTA Arizona Expo & Tech Forum in Mesa, which featured more than 50 electronics professionals from the local area, including defense OEMs, and others who were attending for the first time. Blackfox and Hyrel Technologies sponsored the event. The keynote presentation featured Sean Denny, a professor at Estrella Mountain Community College, who emphasized a clear need for skilled hand soldering technicians.
IPC Releases Version 2.0 of IPC-2591, Connected Factory Exchange, with Expanded Device Coverage and Smarter Data
04/23/2025 | IPCIPC announces the release of IPC-2591, Connected Factory Exchange (CFX), Version 2.0, the global standard for plug-and-play, machine-to-machine, and machine-to-system communication for digital manufacturing.