SAN DIEGO – With a perfect score of 634 points, Ryosuke Matsunami took first place in the first ever IPC Hand Soldering World Championship and Rework Competition at IPC Apex Expo. Matsunami, of PWB Corp. in Japan, took home $1,000 and the IPC Hand Soldering World Championship title.

Second place and $500 went to Wenji Zhang of Jiangsu Jinling Mechanism Manufacture Factory in China, with a score of 628. Third place and $250 was claimed by Le Van Linh, Spartronics Vietnam, who earned 625 points.

Contestants represented Britain, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand. Competitors were presented with a fully functional soldered assembly. They were required to remove six specific components, remove old solder and clean the area of removed components.

During the removal of the components, the competitors were evaluated by IPC Master Instructors (MITs) in accordance with IPC-7711/7721C Rework, Modification, and Repair guidelines. The MITs deducted points from the possible score according to a standardized set of rules and best practices.

Time to completion was paused while an MIT/judge evaluated the assemblies, the removed components, and the board according to IPC-A-610G Class 3 criteria. Points were deducted for any damaged components, board features, or surrounding areas of the board.

Once the evaluation was completed, time was restarted, and contestants were required to place new parts in the locations of the removed components. Competitors had a total of 75 minutes to complete the rework and reassembly of the circuit board.

The assemblies were then tested for function and evaluated in their entirety according to IPC-A-610G Class 3 criteria.

“The contestants deserve a great deal of respect,” said Kris Roberson, IPC director of certification programs. “It’s intricate work, especially as components keep getting smaller and smaller. This is a very challenging competition and we had a very talented field competing against one another.

“The global interest and involvement in hand soldering and the showcasing of very specific skill sets made for an invigorating international challenge. We would like to thank the competitors from across the globe for attending and competing in this year’s event.”