Europlacer’s XPii-II Pick-and-Place Unit Wins a 2010 NPI Award

APEX, NC - Europlacer announces that it has been awarded an NPI Award in the category of Component Placement-Multi-function for its XPii-II pick-and-place unit. The award was presented to the company during a Tuesday, April 6, 2010 ceremony that took place in the Mandalay Bay Resort & Convention Center in Las Vegas during APEX 2010.

XPii-II is a new approach to modular pick-and-place, incorporating technology from Europlacer’s innovative award-winning iineo platform. XPii benefits from low-maintenance linear motors, high-resolution digital cameras and advanced on-head optical component sensing. With these advanced features, users benefit from all the capabilities of the iineo in a compact space. As an additional benefit, the modularity enables users to build lines to meet growing demands.

XPii-II features two placement heads and uses Europlacer’s proven core features, such as turret head, intelligent feeders and powerful software without compromise. It is equipped with a choice of turret heads and incorporates optical sensors that can detect ― on the fly ― the presence of components as small as 01005 and as large as 50 x 50 mm from picking to placement. XPii-II will accommodate components supplied on tape, strip tape, stick and matrix trays.

The system uses Europlacer’s unique Integrated Intelligence™, and fulfills all possible placement needs in one compact system. It is widely configurable, allowing two versions: 8 or 12 nozzles, tape trolleys or feeder trolleys, matrix tray sequencer, and an internal matrix tray. Unlike traditional chip-shooter style machines, XPii-II has no restrictions or limitations on component range.

Premiering in 2008, the NPI Awards program is an annual celebration of product excellence in electronics surface mount assembly. Premier products based on the finest examples of creative advancement in technology are chosen by a distinguished panel of industry experts.

About Europlacer

Europlacer has been developing machines for electronics assembly since the 1970s and invented the intelligent feeder concept in the 1980s. After acquisition by Blakell Europlacer in 1991, the company moved away from split-axis to the inherently more capable X-Y architecture that underpins the company’s machines today. Europlacer’s policy has been to ensure wherever possible that technology purchased many years ago, especially feeders, remain compatible with the latest equipment. Europlacer designs and manufactures a comprehensive range of highly flexible SMT placement systems for the global electronics industry. For more information, visit Europlacer’s Web site at http://www.europlacer.com.