Technical Library | 2021-06-15 18:36:00.0
To compensate for the insufficiency and instability of solder paste dispensing and printing that are used in the SMT (Surface Mount Technology) production process, a noncontact solder paste jetting system driven by a piezoelectric stack based on the principle of the nozzle-needle-system is introduced in this paper, in which a miniscule gap exists between the nozzle and needle during the jetting process. Here, the critical jet ejection velocity is discussed through theoretical analysis. The relations between ejection velocity and needle structure, needle velocity, and nozzle diameter were obtained by FLUENT software. Then, the prototype of the solder paste jetting system was fabricated, and the performance was verified by experiments. The effects of the gap between nozzle and needle, the driving voltage, and the nozzle diameter on the jetting performance and droplet diameter were obtained. Solder paste droplets 0.85 mm in diameter were produced when the gap between the nozzle and needle was adjusted to 10 _m, the driving voltage to 80 V, the nozzle diameter to 0.1 mm, and the variation of the droplet diameter was within _3%.
Technical Library | 2022-09-12 14:07:47.0
Unique component handling issues can arise when an assembly factory uses highly-moisture sensitive surface mount devices (SMDs). This work describes how the distribution of moisture within the molded plastic body of a SMD is an important variable for survivability. JEDEC/IPC [1] moisture level rated packages classified as Levels 4-5a are shown to require additional handling constraints beyond the typical out-of-bag exposure time tracking. Nitrogen or desiccated cabinet containment is shown as a safe and effective means for long-term storage provided the effects of prior out-of-bag exposure conditions are taken into account. Moisture diffusion analyses coupled with experimental verification studies show that time in storage is as important a variable as floor-life exposure for highly-moisture sensitive devices. Improvements in floor-life survivability can be obtained by a handling procedure that includes cyclic storage in low humidity containment. SMDs that have exceeded their floor-life limits are analyzed for proper baking schedules. Optimized baking schedules can be adopted depending on a knowledge of the exposure conditions and the moisture sensitivity level of the device.
Technical Library | 2023-06-12 18:33:29.0
This paper presents a real-time predictive approach to improve solder paste stencil printing cycle decision making process in surface mount assembly lines. Stencil cleaning is a critical process that influences the quality and efficiency of printing circuit board. Stencil cleaning operation depends on various process variables, such as printing speed, printing pressure, and aperture shape. The objective of this research is to help efficiently decide stencil printing cleaning cycle by applying data-driven predictive methods. To predict the printed circuit board quality level, a recurrent neural network (RNN) is applied to obtain the printing performance for the different cleaning aging. In the prediction model, not only the previous printing performance statuses are included, but also the printing settings are used to enhance the RNN learning. The model is tested using data collected from an actual solder paste stencil printing line. Based on the predicted printing performance level, the model can help automatically identify the possible cleaning cycle in practice. The results indicate that the proposed model architecture can predictively provide accurate solder paste printing process information to decision makers and increase the quality of the stencil printing process.
Technical Library | 2023-11-20 18:10:20.0
The electronics production is prone to a multitude of possible failures along the production process. Therefore, the manufacturing process of surface-mounted electronics devices (SMD) includes visual quality inspection processes for defect detection. The detection of certain error patterns like solder voids and head in pillow defects require radioscopic inspection. These high-end inspection machines, like the X-ray inspection, rely on static checking routines, programmed manually by the expert user of the machine, to verify the quality. The utilization of the implicit knowledge of domain expert(s), based on soldering guidelines, allows the evaluation of the quality. The distinctive dependence on the individual qualification significantly influences false call rates of the inbuilt computer vision routines. In this contribution, we present a novel framework for the automatic solder joint classification based on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), flexibly reclassifying insufficient X-ray inspection results. We utilize existing deep learning network architectures for a region of interest detection on 2D grayscale images. The comparison with product-related meta-data ensures the presence of relevant areas and results in a subsequent classification based on a CNN. Subsequent data augmentation ensures sufficient input features. The results indicate a significant reduction of the false call rate compared to commercial X-ray machines, combined with reduced product-related optimization iterations.
Technical Library | 2019-10-18 10:37:25.0
It usually does not make any logic to invest in costly fabrication equipment in case you just desire to spin some prototypes and rather outsource your Printed Circuit Board assembly as well as prototype fabrication to a trustworthy vendor. I would provide a few tips as to what to consider when seeking a contract manufacturer. The two most common procedures associated with Printed Circuit Board Assembly are through-hole technology and surface mount technology. Talking about the difference between through-hole technology and surface mount technology. Through-hole elements have metal leads, & these metal leads are supplied through-plated holes inside the circuit board. On the other hand, SMT elements might or might not have leads, nevertheless most significantly, they are developed to be soldered onto the surface of the circuit boards straight on the same side as the element body. A lot of contract manufacturers would provide a quick quote mechanism over their site for the fabrication of circuit boards as well as assembly of prototypes. This would bank your time when comparing various vendors. Ensure that the quote system facilitates you to fill your details, for instance, board material, thickness, copper thickness, milling, etc. in order that you can avail of a precise quote devoid of any surprises afterward. And this is quite necessary. Typically the cost per board would decline as quality upgrades. This is owing to the fairly high setup price of circuit board fabrication over and above component assembly. A few vendors would employ a system where they unite boards from various consumers. This manner the setup price would be circulated among numerous clients. When you fabricate an item, you clearly don’t desire to have to fabricate a big quantity of boards straight away whilst you improve your design. One restriction with small quantity prototypes though is that the option of materials & material thicknesses would be constrained. In case you are employing a particular material then opportunities are there will not be any other clients employing the same material. Additionally, lead time plays a major role in indecisive prices. A longer lead time facilitates the fabricator more liberty in slotting your fabrication. This is basically reflected in cheaper prices that would view in the quote section. Clearly, if you are in a hurry and desire to be moved to the summit of the pile you would require splurging more dollars. Ensure that your contract fabricator would support the file sort for producing which you offer. The most general format for printed circuit board fabrication is the Gerber format nonetheless a few vendors would moreover embrace board files from general printed circuit board software products. A few suppliers also provide in house printed circuit design. Even in case, you create your board yourself, choosing a vendor with design services might prove resourceful in case there is an issue with your files. In this scenario, your vendor could make swift changes that would neglect pricey delays. If you are looking for an Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS Assembly) provider, then the web is the best to search.
Technical Library | 2023-07-25 16:25:56.0
This paper address two significant applications of stencils in advance packaging field: 1. Ultra-Thin stencils for miniature component (0201m) assembly; 2. Deep Cavity stencils for embedded (open cavity) packaging. As the world of electronics continues to evolve with focus on smaller, lighter, faster, and feature-enhanced high- performing electronic products, so are the requirement for complex stencils to assemble such components. These stencil thicknesses start from less than 25um with apertures as small as 60um (or less). Step stencils are used when varying stencil thicknesses are required to print into cavities or on elevated surfaces or to provide relief for certain features on a board. In the early days of SMT assembly, step stencils were used to reduce the stencil thickness for 25 mil pitch leaded device apertures. Thick metal stencils that have both relief-etch pockets and reservoir step pockets are very useful for paste reservoir printing. Electroform Step-Up Stencils for ceramic BGA's and RF Shields are a good solution to achieve additional solder paste height on the pads of these components as well as providing exceptional paste transfer for smaller components like uBGAs and 0201s. As the components are getting smaller, for example 0201m, or as the available real estate for component placement on a board is getting smaller – finer is the aperture size and the pitch on the stencils. Aggressive distances from step wall to aperture are also required. Ultra-thin stencils with thicknesses in the order of 15um-40um with steps of 15um are used to obtain desired print volumes. Stencils with thickness to this order can be potential tools even to print for RDLs in the package.
Technical Library | 2023-06-02 14:13:02.0
This work examines the use of dual-material fused filament fabrication for 3D printing electronic componentsand circuits with conductive thermoplastic filaments. The resistivity of traces printed fromconductive thermoplastic filaments made with carbon-black, graphene, and copper as conductive fillerswas found to be 12, 0.78, and 0.014 ohm cm, respectively, enabling the creation of resistors with valuesspanning 3 orders of magnitude. The carbon black and graphene filaments were brittle and fracturedeasily, but the copper-based filament could be bent at least 500 times with little change in its resistance.Impedance measurements made on the thermoplastic filaments demonstrate that the copper-based filamenthad an impedance similar to a copper PCB trace at frequencies greater than 1 MHz. Dual material3D printing was used to fabricate a variety of inductors and capacitors with properties that could bepredictably tuned by modifying either the geometry of the components, or the materials used to fabricatethe components. These resistors, capacitors, and inductors were combined to create a fully 3Dprinted high-pass filter with properties comparable to its conventional counterparts. The relatively lowimpedance of the copper-based filament enabled its use for 3D printing of a receiver coil for wirelesspower transfer. We also demonstrate the ability to embed and connect surface mounted components in3D printed objects with a low-cost ($1000 in parts), open source dual-material 3D printer. This work thusdemonstrates the potential for FFF 3D printing to create complex, three-dimensional circuits composedof either embedded or fully-printed electronic components.
Technical Library | 2023-08-04 15:38:36.0
The MicroLeadFrame® (MLF®)/Quad Flat No-Lead (QFN) packaging solution is extremely popular in the semiconductor industry. It is used in applications ranging from consumer electronics and communications to those requiring high reliability performance, such as the automotive industry. The wide acceptance of this packaging design is primarily due to its flexible form factors, size, scalability and thermal dissipation capabilities. The adaptation and acceptance of MLF/QFN packages in automotive high reliability applications has led to the development of materials and processes that have extended its capabilities to meet the performance and quality requirements. One of process developments that is enabling the success of the MLF/QFN within the automotive industry has been the innovation of side wettable flanks that provide the capability to inspect the package lead to printed circuit board (PCB) interfaces for reliable solder joints. Traditionally, through-board X-ray was the accepted method for detecting reliable solder joints for leadless packages. However, as PBC layer counts and routing complexities have increased, this method to detect well-formed solder fillets has proven ineffective and incapable of meeting the inspection requirements. To support increased reliability and more accurate inspection of the leadless package solder joints, processes to form side-wettable flanks have been developed. These processes enable the formation of solder fillets that are detectable using state-of-the-art automated optical inspection (AOI) equipment, providing increased throughput for the surface mount technology (SMT) processes and improved quality as well.
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