A.C.E. Production Technologies introduces its KPH Series infrared (IR) preheat modules for the KISS102 Series Selective Soldering machine. KPH-10 and KPH-20 are simple to set up and use, and feature thermocouple ports to facilitate thermal profiling. KPH-10 offers a 10 x 24” heating area divided into two 10 x 12” individually-controllable zones of 750-watts each. KPH-20 offers a 20 x 24” heating area divided into four 10 x 12” zones.
Preheating drives out volatiles or moisture from the circuit board, minimizing the potential for delamination; it raises the overall temperature of the assembly and prevents thermal shock to the board, allows for faster processing, and reduces the potential for thermal shock and stress to the PCB.
Can operate in two separate modes: ‘Timer’ (times out at a specific setpoint) or ‘Ramp and hold’ (ramps to setpoint and holds that temperature). Following the preheat cycle, the operator manually advances the circuit board through the preheater into the KISS machine, where fluxing and soldering proceeds on a pre-heated board.
Available in benchtop or stand-alone configuration, product support rails line up with the rails of the solder wave.
LPKF Laser & Electronics has installed an LPKF UV laser processing system at Fine Line Stencil/A-Laser in Beaverton, OR.
LPKF MicroLine 600Dis a next-generation UV laser capable of addressing a variety of tasks, including: cutting of flex circuits, cover layer cutting and skiving. It is also used for the machining of micro mechanical parts made of organic materials, such as polyimide and polyester.
Dual Rail Conveyor J204-53 optimizes manufacturing process equipment utilization, especially pick-and-place machines and high-volume, low- or medium-mix production. Production planning flexibility increases when the same process equipment can be used for both sides in double-sided SMD assembly or when two different products can be produced in single-sided production. Transports and buffers PCBs between process machines, offers multiple-drive technology, eliminates contact between boards during transfer and features a safe, clean design with no visible motors or wiring. Sturdy structure offers reliable operation in demanding production conditions, and easy mechanical connection to other equipment. Features steel frame construction, up to four individually driven conveyor segments on both conveyor rails, automatic indexing and inspection modes, Pb-free process compatible, PLC controller, start/stop/reset/emergency stop/inspection/send switches in membrane terminal, four standard frame lengths: 500, 1000, 1500, 2000 mm, SMEMA electrical interface, ESD-safe design and CE-safety compliant.
Photo Stencil announces the results of Universal SMT Laboratories’ independent, extensive study, conducted in February 2006. The print-process study isolated the stencil alone to determine performance differences among a group of stencils manufactured by other stencil suppliers. Photo Stencil’s AMTX E-FABstencil performed the best out of 12 stencils tested, provided by five different stencil manufacturers. The Xerox-authorized stencil manufacturer usse the AMTX Electroform stencil technology, licensed under U. S. Patents owned by Xerox and acquired by Photo Stencil in 1998. The study included five electroform stencils and seven laser stencils, including Photo Stencil’s proprietary NicAlloy stencil. The report contains extensive data on the solder volume data for a range of SMT devices and aperture designs. Solder paste deposit heights, area and volume were measured for over 154,000 solder paste bricks. Solder paste volume and paste volume repeatability were measured for 16 SMT components in all 12 stencils. Both Pb-free and SnPb solder paste were used in the study. Stencils were ranked in paste volume delivery performance as well as paste volume repeatability. Photo Stencil’s E-FAB stencil provided the best paste transfer for both solder pastes among all stencils tested. NicAlloy was in second place for paste transfer. The yield analysis program was used to determine the yield loss due to open defects of BGA and microBGA packages directly attributed to the stencil. The results show that compared to the best stencil, the increase in repair costs vary from an additional $658 for the second best to an additional $10,122 for the last place stencil. E-FAB provided the lowest rework cost for both solder pastes among all 12 stencils tested, with NicAlloy again coming in second.
BEST Inc. has developed a simpler process for reworking or hand-placing high lead count connectors. The StencilQuik polyimide stay-in-place stencil helps rework high-density connectors by preventing bridging of neighboring solder joints while allowing technicians to “fit” connector contacts into the stencil.
The process of placing or reworking the connector has been simplified. After preparing the site, the stencil is peeled from its release liner. It is then aligned on the circuit board. Solder paste is then squeegeed into the apertures of the stencil with the remaining material wiped away with a lint-free cloth. The connector is “fitted” into the loaded apertures and then reflowed. Any mask damage ensuing from device removal is repaired by placing the device onto the board.
“Repair depots and rework operations of electronic assemblers are raving about the time that they save and the quality of the rework using StencilQuik™ on hard to rework 50 plus pin connectors. In addition, hardware developers like the fact that to can easily place the more complex connectors on their development board on their own.” said Bob Wettermann of BEST Inc.
Available in both 4 and 8 mil (0.10 to 0.20 mm) thickness. The stay-in-place feature means no compromising in solder paste volume. Each stencil is custom engineered to the application at hand. Deliveries are five business days with 24 to 48 hr. expedites available.
Business Electronics Soldering Technologies (BEST), www.solder.net
ENDICOTT, NY— Endicott Interconnect Technologies has been awarded several new contracts for fabrication of wire bond PBGA substrates resulting from alliances with Silicon Valley-based companies Singulated Technology and CORWIL Technology Corp.
EI will provide wire bond PBGA substrates per Singulated Technology’s design specifications and CORWIL will provide the module assembly. End customers for these semiconductor modules use them in military, commercial and wireless electronics applications.
“This unique approach aligns best-in-class suppliers of substrate design, fabrication and assembly to produce superior finished products for low to mid volume applications where time-to-market is a critical factor in winning the business,” said James J. McNamara Jr., president and CEO of EI. “The EI team is very excited about the opportunity to partner with industry innovators, Singulated and CORWIL, and to provide substrates that add differentiating value.”