The Genesis GC-120Q is said to be the fastest quad-gantry placement machine. The quad-beam machine, configured with four Lightning heads, is built on the Genesis placement platform. It is said to have the fastest head tact time in the industry (55 ms), and a positioning system, feeder and software designed for high-speed placement. Its maximum throughput is reportedly 120,000 cph.

The GC-120Q features patented tools for precision placement, including high-accuracy individual direct-drive theta in the spindles, and closed-loop controls for x, y, z, phi, high-speed valves and pick/place touchdown, all of which aid small part performance. The machine handles a 30 mm square component range and reportedly permits the introduction of new products without head or module swapping.


The machine is said to be capable of an accuracy of 65 µm at 4 S, a Cpk of 1.33. Other automated features compensate for variability in components, feeders and boards. The machine’s strain gage maintains the proper height for pick-and-place.

The feeder interface and software are consistent with previous platforms, yet the footprint is smaller (2.6 x 1.8 meters). It currently comes in a single-lane format and can handle boards up to 14 x 14". The edge clearance is 3 mm or 5 mm. Future versions will extend the panel size to 20 x 20" and add a dual lane. The current 72 feeder slots would double in the dual-lane version.

The platform contains fewer moving parts than its predecessors and easy access to improve its preventative maintenance schedule. The mean time between failures is an estimated 8000 hours.

Two single-gantry versions: GC-30S and GX-11S, for high-mix environments, add flexibility to complement the GC-120Q.
The GC-30S, configured with a 30-spindle Lightning head, and the GX-11S multifunction version, configured with a seven-spindle FlexJet3 and four-spindle InLine4 HF head with 5 kg placement force, feature additional feeder capacity and multifunction capability, from 01005s to 150 mm-long connectors. The S-Series platforms also offer large board capability to meet the needs of high-end server and router applications.

The platform is said to offer superior cost-per-placement and throughput-per-sq. meter metrics for the high-end chip market.

Available from Universal Instruments, uic.com