IPC National Hand Soldering Competitions Return to Europe

IPC’s national hand soldering competitions return to Europe this year with events scheduled in France, Estonia, and Germany.  Although the 2021 IPC Hand Soldering World Championship was canceled due to ongoing pandemic concerns, skilled competitors in Europe will participate in national competitions at scheduled live tradeshows.

Hand soldering competitions recognize the ability for highly skilled operators to build a functional electronics assembly within a specific time limit. Assemblies will be judged on soldering in accordance with IPC-A-610G Class 3 criteria, the speed at which the assembly was produced and overall electrical functionality of the assembly. Prizes will be awarded for the top three finishers.

         The three scheduled national hand soldering competitions are:

  • France – The 2021 IPC-HSC France National Competition will take place at Global Industrie 2021 in Lyon, September 6-9, in cooperation with IPC Licensed Training Center IFTEC. Prospective participants can download the registration form here.
  • Estonia – The 2021 IPC-HSC Estonia National Competition will take place at Instrutec 2021 in Tallinn, September 8-10, in cooperation with the Estonian Electronics Industries Association and Tallinn Polytechnic School. Prospective participants can download the registration form here. 
  • Germany – The 2021 IPC-HSC Germany National Competition will take place at productronica 2021 in Munich from November 16-19. Registration will open soon.

Participation in IPC hand soldering competitions is free. Companies are asked to present a team (three competitors max.) to one of the above-listed competitions. To take part individually, contact Philippe Leonard, IPC director of European operations at PhilippeLeonard@ipc.org.

Strict pandemic protocols will be in place throughout the competitions, with participants required to adhere to specific sanitary protocols, including cleaning and social distancing.

IPC extends its thanks to its hand soldering competition sponsors: Gold Sponsors Hakko and Thalès and Silver Sponsors Optilia, The Daylight Company, Almit, IFTEC, Société Française de Microscopie, Tallinna Polütehnikum and Polygone Cao. IPC is also grateful to its local partners, IPC training center IFTEC, the Estonian Electronics Industries Association, and Tallinn Polytechnic School for their support.