Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - Assembléon’s MG-1

High-speed chipshooting plus ICs, with quick changeovers.

The MG-1 combines chipshooting speed with fine-pitch capability and accuracy. It has an IPC-9850 speed rating of 17,700 on chips and over 10,000 on ICs. The machine handles component package sizes from 01005s to 45 mm square up to 15 mm tall.

The MG-1 was designed for any end-user and any application, be it an original equipment manufacturer building boards at a 15 sec. beat rate or an electronics manufacturing services firm building 15 boards per week. For the OEM, the MG-1 has the highest output per dollar on the market across the entire spectrum of components. If chipshooting is required on the current production run, the MG-1 can place them at rates of over 17,000 per hour. If IC shooting is required for the next production run, with a simple automatic nozzle exchange the same machine can place over 10,000 ICs per hour. The component range is 15 mm part-over-part and 45 mm sq. QFPs to 0.015" pitch along with any variety of BGAs, CSPs or flip chips.

This multifunctional placer puts down parts at 17,700 cph.

A single MG-1 can place any SMT component that will likely be thrown into a new prototype board. With the ability to incorporate Gripper nozzles and a variety of “Standard Custom” nozzles to automate many of the challenging components that are the bane of the typical manufacturer today, it permits greater automation at higher quality levels.

The machine has a large component sequencer with two in-line loading heads. It features an automatic tray stacker, while keeping a maximum board size of 460 x 440 mm. Up to 96 smart feeders or 160 Twin Tape feeders can be used, along with stick, bulk and many new tray feeders holding up to 60 trays in quick-change magazines. The smart feeders are equipped with RFID technology to speed and simplify machine setup, and to provide real-time component inventory checks.

With the release comes a new suite of tools called AMS 2.0. The package has tools that permit placement data to be created from a scanned image of a PCB. It can also create vision files for new or challenging components offline. This permits the MG-1 to continue to produce boards while engineers prepare for a quick changeover.

The suite also supports full-line changeovers in fewer than 10 minutes. Features include quick-change carts that require no re-teaching of components (including 0201s) to verified setups that are completed while the machine is still running a previous job.

Component usage is monitored, meaning the machine can now alert the operator that production is about to stop due to a shortage. The thresholds of the alert can be customized per component to permit operators ample time to get components from stock and replenished before a stoppage occurs.

Another feature: A 3-D camera that permits full coplanarity checking of BGAs and QFPs in tenths of seconds.

Greg Berry is product manager, GEM equipment, at Assembléon America (assembleon.com); 770-751-4551.