Soldering Class

Like any hands-on skill development class, there are numerous factors to consider when choosing which soldering class you think is the right one for you or someone in your company.

There are several criteria you should take in to account when considering a soldering class:
• Your current experience level and language proficiency in the area of instruction
• Certification requirements
• The desired outcome of your soldering class experience

CNA CLASSES

Your experience level in hand soldering should match that of the class material being taught. If you have never soldered in your career and expect an advanced soldering class to make you in to an expert you are mistaken. In addition, if English is not your first language it makes sense to ask what level of language proficiency will be required in taking such a class. There is no sense getting frustrated if the expectations are not same of student and instructor.

If there is certification required as an outcome of your training then make sure that the right certification (assuming you pass) can be obtained from taking the class. In the soldering assembly, rework and inspection criteria for PCBs and cables the IPC certification is the industry-accepted standard. For PCB inspection criteria the IPC A-610 is the standard the world over. For the assembly of PCBs the JSTD-001 certification is widely accepted as both the defence the space industries as well as nearly every end market accept this workmanship standard.

The IPCA-620 is the inspection criteria which is the standard for cables and connector assemblies. For the rework and repair of PCBs the IPC 7711/21 standard dictates practices and procedures for either restoring a board to the initial criteria (rework) or the repair of physical damage to the PCB (repair). Finally, the IPC-A600 standard dictates the inspection criteria for the PCB. The above standards are widely accepted certifications in the PCB assembly industry. If a specific desired outcome is to be obtained by the end of your instruction, make sure that dialogue between you and your trainer takes place.

One example of such an outcome would be "I would like to make sure that I now the proper technique for reworking fine-pitched, 0.5mm pitch or less QFPs without bridging". Make sure that this specific information is discussed with your instructor. Another example would be "I would like to learn how to rework large format capacitors on a high thermal mass PCB without eroding the metallization on the pads ". One way to insure this happens is to make your boards and parts as part of the training.

Insuring that there is strong dialogue between your instructor and the student/s will increase the likelihood of a good training experience.

Soldering Class

Bob Wettermann
BEST Inc
http://www.solder.net

CNA CLASSES