Using IPC Solder Training Kits – What You Need to Know

by Kristen White Blogger

Soldering may not be rocket science, but it is an extremely difficult skill to master. That’s why many beginners are attracted to the soldering profession. With enough practice, guidance, and skill, anyone can become a soldering professional. However, the soldering profession is becoming harder every year. The IPC (institute of printed circuits) passes new guidelines every year that all soldering professionals must adhere to. Plus, the trend of miniaturization (smaller and smaller electric devices) in the electronics manufacturing industry makes the lives of soldering professionals very complicated.

Industry Growth – The Need for Skilled Soldering Professionals

The average number of soldering mistakes that professionals make every day is expected to increase rapidly, given that the professional requirements are becoming extremely stringent and narrow. However, newcomers in the world of soldering need not worry. As long as they use IPC Solder Training Kits and take the right courses, they can start their journeys as professionals with the latest guidelines and industry requirements embedded in their minds. Plus, they need to practice routine habits like keeping soldering surfaces clean while working and giving their soldering joints sufficient mechanical strength.

If their soldering work is reliable, they can land high-paying jobs with top OEMs (original electronics manufacturers). In 2017, the global solder materials market’s value was $1.08 billion. Since then, the solder materials market has grown at a CAGR of 3.4%. Hence, by 2025, the soldering industry can both be a multi-billion-dollar giant. Hence, high-paying job opportunities will also increase. But, before starting their journeys as soldering professionals, newcomers need to be aware of these common soldering mistakes -

· Solder Bridging: Due to smaller and smaller-sized components, soldering professionals often apply too much solder on the circuit board, causing some joints that shouldn’t be electrically connected to get connected.

· Excessive Solder: This similar problem also takes place when beginners assume the more solder they use better.

· Solder Balling: Mainly caused by moisture exposure, this soldering defect results in a small sphere of solder ‘balls’ being created on the other side of the printed boards.

Other common mistakes newcomers to the soldering profession need to avoid include – cold solder joints, overheated solder joints, and the creation of joints that are weak and not fully wetted. There’s also the need to adhere to IPC standards of soldering!

A Challenging but Promising Road

So many risks of mistakes and so many IPC standards that need to be followed – is being a soldering professional that difficult for newcomers? Not if they buy IPC training materials and receive proper training! Knowing industry demands and adhering to IPC standards like the IPC-A-610 and the IPC-J-STD-001 is the best way of ensuring high reliability in electronics manufacturing jobs.

Electronics manufacturing heavily depends on high-quality soldering - manufacturing, evaluating, and inspecting solder connections are key skills every soldering professional must master. Since all electronics manufacturing companies rely on IPC-A-610 and IPC-J-STD-001 to state what soldering conditions are satisfactory, all soldering professionals must aspire to take IPC-standard certification and become ‘employable’ as per industry standards.

According to many experts, the upcoming roll-out of 5G infrastructures across the world will open countless job opportunities for soldering professionals. Now’s the perfect time to receive IPC-certified training!