There is some confusion on the types of soldering certification programs available and which one is applicable for a given situation. I hope to clarify the different types (at least for the US market) in this post.
There are several soldering certification program categories.
Soldering Equipment
The type of soldering certification program that is most widely recognized, acknowledged is the IPC certification. This certification program is administered by regional training centers which have been granted licenses to act as the training centers for the IPC certifications. The need for such certifications stems from either:
1. Contractual obligations
2. 3rd party specifications
3. Marketing requirements
4. Quality system requirements (usually ISO)
This type of training can either be at the technician level (CIS) or the trainer level (CIT) in order to accommodate the flexibility required in training. These certification programs are valid for 2 years and include a transferable certification. These programs are modularized at the technician level, allowing companies to adopt the programs based on their more specific requirements.
The second category are soldering training company specific certifications which are many time in accordance with IPC, EOS/ESD, IEC, JEDEC or other specifications. Usually specific hand soldering or workmanship skills (such as BGA rework or ultra fine pitch soldering) are taught in these classes. These classes can either be instructed at the technician or trainer levels. These certifications are very specific and generally have lesser amount of background information concentrating more on the practical skills development. Generally these certifications are not recognized beyond the region in which the instruction takes place. Such certs are also granted for a period of from 1-2 years.
Finally there are a variety of specialty soldering or rework or assembly certifications tied to government agencies. These include NASA and DoD soldering certifications and are modified to some extent to suit the needs of the company or individual vying for the certification. Such certifications are generally mandated by the agency involved in the project with the training at the technician level being modularized like the IPC training program.
There are several companies and trade organizations offering hand soldering skills development using electronic media. These programs, while they can lead to a "certification" are not the right media for skills development. Whether it be via the internet or via a CD-based program these non instructor led course do not help the student to develop the skills as the instructor is not give one-on-one feedback for the skills being developed nor does it provide the means to troubleshoot technique, process or equipment problems.
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Sinometer 30 Watts Soldering Iron, UL listed Feature
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- 30 Watts and UL listed
- Stand included
- Impact resistance handle
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Sinometer 30 Watts Soldering Iron, UL listed Overview
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