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APEX Review: The 2001 VISION Awards
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
More than 5,000 attendees gathered at the third IPC/SMEMA Assembly Process Exhibition and Conference (APEX), held January 22 to 24, 2002, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego. The event encompassed more than 559 exhibitors displaying new products and technological advances in 80 product categories and covering more than 212,200 sq. ft. of exhibition space. The total number of visitors (attendees and exhibitors) exceeded 11,000. The development courses welcomed nearly 1,000 participants, while 900 people attended the technical conference.
Next year's show will take place March 31 to April 2, 2003, at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. For more information, call (877) 472-4724 or visit www.goapex.org. Additionally, a call for papers has been issued for APEX 2003. Abstracts summarizing the topics must be received by July 26, 2002, and should be approximately 300 words long. Abstracts may be submitted to IPC's Conference Coordinator, Standards/Technology Mary Tunk at MaryTunk@ipc.org or (847) 790-5325.
Innovation was seen at several successful conferences, programs, sessions and more; however, it took center stage at SMT's 2001 VISION Awards ceremony, held in conjunction with APEX on Tuesday, January 22, 2002. In a standing-room-only crowd, 14 companies were honored for their innovative contributions to the surface mount industry. A panel of independent industry experts judged the new equipment, products and services on their ability to face an industry challenge, the creative application of a new or existing technology, and overall quality of performance and throughput characteristics.
Five of the 14 companies that received a 2001 VISION Award were first-time winners, which typifies the intense competition and technological innovation on display at the ceremony. Seven winners were awarded a VISION Award for the second time, one winner has now received three awards, and one victorious company received their fourth VISION Award. Reflecting current trends in the industry, the VISION Awards for Software and Inspection tied for the most heavily entered, and consequently the hardest fought, category. Pick-and-Place was the next most competitive category, followed by Testing.
SMT's staff would like to congratulate the winners and thank all those who participated in the 2001 VISION Awards program. SMT recognizes each participant's part in keeping this constantly changing industry at the forefront of excellence. The following pages are a review of the winning products.
ADHESIVES/COATINGS/ENCAPSULANTS
AIM Underfill 620Underfill 620 is a fast flowing liquid epoxy used as a capillary flow underfill for CSP and flip chip devices. The epoxy reportedly simplifies and improves the reliability of the bare chip protection process and is robust enough to accommodate a broad variety of small die applications, and provides users with the unique advantage of being reworkable at 100° to 120°C. Unlike other underfills, the viscosity remains stable throughout its shelf life, resulting in less scrap and more consistent product performance.
COMPONENTS
Cogiscan Inc. Local Control UnitThe Local Control Unit (LCU) features a small footprint workstation with a built-in antenna to scan RF tags attached to component trays and reels. The trays and reels are said to be scanned "on-the-fly" as they move from one location to another, and the integrated touch-screen display provides a quick user interface that includes a real-time listing of all components located in a specific production area. The unit enables assemblers to efficiently deploy multiple applications throughout existing factories at a reasonable cost and with no impact to existing line layouts. The LCU also is said to bridge seamless integration between different platforms and manufacturing systems to avoid redundant hardware and operations.
ASSEMBLY TOOLS
Universal Instruments Corp. Radial 8XTThe high-speed, flexible Radial 8XT through-hole assembly solution offers various benefits. The high-speed system is said to hold an insertion rate of 20,000 iph with actual throughputs reaching nearly the same rate. System flexibility reportedly is capable of inserting components in 1° rotational increments, surpassing the standard industry 0°, ±90° limitations. Overall reliability is said to be improved, allowing customers to place this machine in surface mount lines for full automation of mixed technology.
CONTRACT SERVICES
Express Manufacturing Inc. New Product Introduction (NPI) CenterEMI's new NPI center delivers quick turn prototypes and reference designs. EMI's unique design and execution process, coupled with strategic corporate alliances, enables the company to provide an efficient NPI service that reportedly reduces lead-time and eliminates redundant expenses. The company's NPI process is said to be broken down into three steps: schematics analysis, prototype delivery and production-ready package, allowing companies to take their products to market in just more than a month.
CLEANING
JNJ Industries AquaSonic AQS-7500AquaSonic AQS-7500 ultrasonic cleaning system's unique feature is its closed-loop wastewater recycling, rather than evaporative, system that saves energy, water and cleaning chemistry. The cleaning system reportedly uses a three-stage filtration system to clean wastewater and then store the filtered water for reuse, eliminating the need for wastewater to be sent daily to an evaporator or collection point. Standard features (optional on most other systems) are said to include a 5μm wash tank filter, a high-performance pump for recirculation and discharge of tank fluids to waste treatment; individual solder traps for the wash and rinse tanks, heated wash tank (4000 W), and fully automatic and manual operation.
DISPENSING EQUIPMENT
Asymtek Axiom X-1020The Axiom X-1020 system is a mid-range dispenser that is said to incorporate new system architectures to improve both dispensing performance and customer return-on-investment. The system introduces new features such as CAN bus architecture for efficient operations and simplified integration for future improvements; new control over pump operation with Dynamic Dispensing Control (DDC); and new red/blue light source in the vision system to recognize a wider range of substrates customers can change applications without costly upgrades.
PRINTING
EKRA America Inc. Auto Pin Guidance Tooling SystemThe Auto Pin Guidance (APG) tooling system combines operator speed and dexterity with the repeatability of the printer's vision gantry. It incorporates a vision-mounted laser pointing system for guiding where to place the pins for supporting double-sided assemblies. For process control feedback, it reportedly uses the vision system itself to recognize the pins and verify that they are in the correct position. Pin locations can be taught easily via a point and click of the vision system or off-line using CAD data. While competitive systems use hundreds of moving parts, APG is said to have no additional moving components.
INSPECTION
FeinFocus USA Inc. FOX-160.25 Nanofocus X-ray Inspection SystemFOX-160.25 is a nanofocus X-ray inspection system offering submicron defect detection and a small focal spot size (less than 1 μm). The high-precision manipulation system reportedly features accurate length measurements as well as a five-axis control for precise sample positioning at virtually any angle. Key system features include: up to 7,200X geometric magnification; 300 x 400 mm and up to 10 kg sample size capability; 500 nm feature recognition; open and demountable 160 kV FeinFocus X-ray tube with a maximum current range of 3 mA; less than 1 μm focal spot size; and 9" triple-field image intensifier, high-resolution CCD camera, digital detector (optional).
REWORK & REPAIR
ERSA Inc. IR500A/PL500A BGA/SMD Rework CenterIR500A/ PL500A BGA/SMD Rework Center offers a precise, flexible and cost-effective solution for today's BGA/SMD rework demands. With the PL500A, precise alignment and placement of the smallest components is said to be possible. Current blindness in the rework process is eliminated by using an open environmental system with IR, as opposed to an enclosed environment in hot air systems. The system's flexibility reportedly has the ability to perform SMD, TH, plastic connectors, etc., without additional nozzles.
PICK-AND-PLACE
MYDATA automation Inc. Agilis Feeder SystemWorking as an intelligent feeder system on a two-bin magazine platform, Agilis feeders reportedly can be loaded and unloaded with component tape within 10 seconds and "clicked" in the magazine. To load, an operator peels aside less than 1" of cover tape and inserts the tape into the feeder. Agilis feeders, featuring patented "plow" technology, then move aside the cover tape, presenting the component for the machine's mount-head and eliminating the need for take-up reels. With the cover tape still attached, the empty tape is pushed onto the waste guide.
A feeder ID stored on a memory chip and barcode label enable the machine's software to identify the feeder, its location and the component type loaded, regardless of its magazine or machine position.
SOFTWARE
KIC 24/7 Thermal Management SystemKIC 24/7 is an automated real-time thermal management system that combines continuous SPC charting, line balancing, documentation and production traceability into a single software package. The system develops in real-time (and records) an accurate thermal profile for every product that passes through the thermal process. The management system is said to include a zero-defect, fail-safe system that alarms (based on Cpk) before the process drifts out of spec. Key system features include automatic real-time SPC charting; Cpk and process data for every product; traceability for every product (barcode); verification profile elimination; and the process window index.
SOLDERING MATERIALS
Loctite Corp. 63S4 Solder Paste AlloyThe 63S4 alloy used in solder pastes for small components eliminates tombstoning defects, increases production yield, reduces rework costs and improves overall quality. The solder paste alloy is said to minimize the need to repair defective boards or discard scrap PCBs. The solder paste is a drop-in replacement for standard lead alloys that reportedly blend SN63 and SN62, with melting points of 183° and 179°C, respectively. In a phased reflow process, a small amount of SN62 wets both termination sides before the SN63 melting point is reached, tack-soldering components to the PCB and delivering a larger assembly process window.
SOLDERING EQUIPMENT
Heller Industries Inc. 1812 EXL Reflow OvenThe 1812 EXL series of reflow ovens features a 12-heated zone configuration in a 175" footprint with 131" heated length. The small footprint provides the extra room needed for in-line AOI systems. Besides providing greater temperature control, the system reportedly includes air flux separation and is configured for lead-free solder in both air and nitrogen while addressing environmental concerns. The separation system condenses the flux which then collects in trays, reducing machine maintenance without any filters, chill plates or water.
TESTING
Agilent Technologies Inc. SJ50 AOI SystemSJ50 automated optical inspection (AOI) system accurately measures and characterizes components and paste at multiple positions along the SMT manufacturing line. The AOI system features zero handling time/highest throughput by bringing the first internal dual lane conveyor to AOI, so one board loads while the other board is inspected. The system's monochrome camera with RGD lighting creates monocolor for image differentiation that improves image processing and reduces false pass rate.