APEX News: Universal’s High-Speed Placement Head Wins Innovation Award
The Lightning high-speed placement head from Universal Instruments Corp. (Binghamton, NY) has been selected for the Innovative Technology Showcase at IPC APEX, to be featured next week in Anaheim, CA. Choosing from technologies from all APEX exhibitors, IPC commended the new placement head's solution to the challenges of modern surface-mount assembly.
These challenges include accurately placing new package styles at full speed, including next generation chip-scale packages (CSPs) and sub-0201 passives. The placement head addresses the speed challenge through patented variable reluctance motor (VRM) technology. Developed for true rotary application, VRM enables the head to index its spindles within 55 ms. The head has 30 spindles, yielding high placement rates in a pick-and-place configuration.
The placement head also features dual on-the-head cameras, enabling accurate placement at full speed from sub-0201 components to CSPs, wafer-scale packages (WSPs), microBGAs and others up to 30 mm square.
The optional embedded process verification using the CyberOptics EPV™6 system, operating concurrently with placement, provides two images at every pick-and-place event for immediate process analysis and refinement.
The head is compatible with the company's AdVantis and dual-head Genesis modular placement platforms. It enables 30,000 cph placement rates in the AdVantis application. Genesis can perform at 54,000 cph high-speed placement when fitted with twin Lightning heads.
