Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - Features

SMT USC400 is a portable ultrasonic contact type stencil cleaning system.

The operator moves the hand tool over the stencil after spraying with cleaning fluid. The tranducer vibrates the contamination through even small stencil apertures. Residues are collected on disposable wipe material under the stencil. Removes difficult high tack residues such as those found with Pb-free solder materials.

Suitable for offline and on-printer cleaning operations. Stencil cleaning can be carried out on the printer without removing the stencil frame.

An optional ultrasonic mini-bath is available to clean machine accessories such as placement nozzles, glue dispensing needles, test probes, etc.

Is lightweight, has rugged industrial construction and is suitable for all stencil materials, even plastic. Suitable for all printable materials, including paste, inks, resists and SMD adhesives. Advanced Transducer Autotuning system results in optimum cleaning performance.

Surclean, a division of SMT, info@smt.uk.com

FLIP Solder Bath for Pb-free reflow soldering features Linear Induction Pumping, in which three phases of AC currents flow through induction coils to induce horizontal magnetic fields inside solder bath. The magnetic fields generate vertical force, which moves molten solder upward through nozzles and flow down by gravity. Two induction coils generate magnetic field and propelling force as the alternating AC current flows in induction coils. Developed for use in reflow and selective solder systems.

Uses 300 kg of solder, instead of 450 kg, and generates less solder dross: 7 kg, instead of 15 kg, after 8 hours of operation. Offers open space to access inside side bath and easy nozzle cleaning and maintenance. Does not have motors, impeller shafts or belts. Said to feature a quieter, more stable solder wave than impeller motor types.

Tamura H.A. Machinery Inc., tamura-ha.com

Booth 1251

Model 1800A adds a motor-controlled board support table to facilitate automated, hands-free site scavenging on the Summit 1800 rework system. Supports automated alignment and reduces operator intervention. Options include component print station, cooling boost, sliding board support, 17" LCD monitor and 22 x 30" board size upgrade.

Has Windows-based SierraMate 7.0 software with Advanced Auto Profile for rules-based process development.

Automatic prism shuttle facilitates accurate and repeatable component alignment. Simultaneously looks up at the component and down at the board, providing a composite alignment view. Digital split image allows the operator to see bumps, leads or pads of large devices at a high magnification with a click on the GUI.

Incorporates independent, programmable motions for pick-up and top heater height. Pick-up motion allows placement force control and zero force removal. Component pick-up tube features 360° Theta control and automatic alignment height. Programmable heater position with automatic height sensing allows the nozzle to gasket the board with minimal force, or to be located at a pre-set gap above the board.

Features standard board handling of 18 x 22", placement accuracy of 0.0005 to 0.001" and magnification capability from 2 to 40X.

VJ Electronix Inc., vjelectronix.com

Booth 2265

Champion 6809 is a servo-driven, automated dispensing system for precision processes. Has easy-to-use proprietary software and GUI that allows for intuitive programming and control. Includes a large, bright, high-contrast color TFT display. Can be configured to match application requirements from dots to underfills. Placement accuarcy is within 3 µm.

Dispenses dot diameters to 0.003" with bead width down to 0.003". Volumes are below 0.5 nanoliters. Dispense area is 5.5 x 12.0", with resolution and repeatability of ±0.00008" (2 μm) for all axes.

True Volume Piston Positive Displacement Pump can fire up to 90,000 precision deposits/hr. to form high-definition dots, lines, fills and builds. Volume repeatability is 1.7%, 3 Sigma. Uses true positive displacement without the use of augers and pump motors to prevent maintenance problems. Good for placing Pb-free material.

Creative Automation, creativedispensing.com
Booth 279

Everett Charles Technologies and atg Test Systems will display a “disruptive” fixtureless technology for testing bare PCB panels.

A pre-screener for industry-accepted flying probe test (FPT) systems, Eliminator 6 eliminates test points to be tested by FPT. Leverages FPT advantages of fixtureless, quick test preparation and programming, adding faster test times per PCB to be suitable for all volumes of production . Panel test application niches include rigid PCB, I/C package and PCB inner layers.

Scans PCB panels at a rate of 76.2 mm (3")/sec. regardless of PCB density, test pad size and pitch, or number of PCB images per panel. Resulting elimination rates of 85-92% per panel permits FPT test times of less than 2 min./panel.

Eliminates expensive test tooling and fixturing.

Everett Charles Technologies, a Dover company, ectinfo.com
Booth 2009

HawkEye inspection and RTC (Rapid Transit Conveyor) technologies now provide 100% board verification at a cycle time of 4 sec.

HawkEye isolates faults through rapid good/bad verification instead of performing data-rich inspection during high-speed manufacturing. Can verify 100% of printed boards within the line beat rate by analyzing streamed images instead of successive still images. To quickly isolate bad boards, the system records pass/fail per board against preset thresholds instead of capturing quantitative data.

The speed at which boards can be delivered and removed from the printing phase is increased through RTC’s board handling technology. Instead of the traditional, slow, belt-type transport that relies on friction to move the board, RTC grips the board, adapts to its dimensions and transports it into printing position.

DEK, dek.com
Apex Booth 2143