Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - Features

Virtual Panel Carrier centers substrates and is said to enable multiple component support and alignment during screen printing and all subsequent assembly processes. Enables alignment once; reportedly no further adjustments are required. Design consists of a base carrier with a consumable foil. Said to provide stability, centering and alignment capabilities required to process substrates or components in a single panel. Parts are placed manually or loaded with a placement system. Substrates are held in the carrier via a patented four-sided tensioning mechanism. Parts are referenced using two global fiducials. Is scalable.

DEK, www.dek.com

SIwave v3.5 is a full-wave electromagnetic field simulator optimized for signal-integrity, power-integrity, and electromagnetic interference analysis of high-speed PCBs and IC packages. Features a finite-element-based DC solver optimized for extraction of power rail geometry in low-voltage/high-current PCBs and packages. Engineers reportedly can view voltage and current distributions in all relevant geometry, including vias and bond wires; have access to voltage drop and current flow information through vias, bond wires, sources, resistors, inductors, etc. in tabular format. Said to simulate electromagnetic behavior of complex PCBs and IC packages, including multiple, arbitrarily shaped power and ground layers, and any number of vias and signal traces. Full-wave S-, Y- or Z-parameters or GHz-bandwidth circuit model is used in concert with time- and frequency-domain analyses within Nexxim and DesignerSI or third-party SPICE-compatible circuit tools. Highlights include 64-bit capability; frequency-dependent source implementation; linear interpolation; frequency-dependent material model (Djordjevic-Sarkar); visualization of near E and H fields, and clip design tool.

Ansoft Corp., www.ansoft.com/siwave

The SmartStream pump is said to eliminate striking of a piston to a seat or nozzle. Each cycle displaces a column of material, rather than a single sphere. Cycles at frequencies that create a stream of material that reportedly can deliver increased flow rates (greater than 70 ÿl/sec). The displacement piston, driven by a linear motor/encoder assembly, is carbide. Design allows for easy removal and cleaning of the fluidic module. Only three o-rings need to be replaced. Z travel of dispense head is said to be virtually eliminated, as material is released from a nozzle 2-3 mm above the PCB surface. Reduces number of height senses needed.

Speedline Technologies, www.speedlinetech.com

SMP300 screen printer has a three-stage conveyor to eliminate additional buffer units. Features a patented clamping process to ensure the board is in the proper plane. Uses two CCD cameras to view and teach fiducials for aligning the board to the stencil within ±0.025 mm. Has a closed-loop, pneumatically controlled print head, and comes with 2-D post print inspection and automatic wet or dry stencil cleaning. Prints for 01005 pads.

Samsung Techwin, www.samsumg-smt.com
Dynatech Technology, www.dynatechsmt.com

The Niton XL3 Series third-generation handheld XRF analyzer is said to provide the fastest solder alloy grade identification and laboratory-quality composition analysis of plastics and polymers. Typical time for routine solder screening measurements is said to be less than 5 sec. Features a 50 kV, 2W x-ray tube. Comes in a range of configurations with an assortment of optional features and accessories; quick screening to simultaneous measurement of up to 25 elements in a sample. Offers component testing; solder analysis; populated PCBs and finished goods; hi-reliability screening.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., www.thermo.com/niton

The M3i provides materials management and printing capabilities. Is comprised of materials management cartridges, a ProFlow enclosed printer head, and Europa printing platform. Offers programmable ratio mix control and imaging of a variety of materials. Materials are preloaded into climate-controlled cartridges and stored at low temperature, then heated within the print head when elevated materials temperatures or melting processes are required. Is said to be completely scalable and can be used for underfill, encapsulation, solar cell and fuel cell imaging. Said to be fully automated and programmable; throughput is improved; operator intervention errors are eliminated; waste is reduced.

DEK, www.dek.com