CeTaQ Premiers Placement (Z) Force Measurement Capability at APEX 2009

BEDFORD, NH � February 2009 � CeTaQ, the leader in quality analysis and optimization of SMT production processes, announces that it will debut its Placement (Z) Force Measurement Capability in booth 1481 at the upcoming APEX exhibition and conference, scheduled to take place March 31-April 2, 2009 in Las Vegas.

Driven by ongoing miniaturization trends and the quest for efficient assembly of reliable electronic products, the monitoring of machine placement force applied to components is moving critically into the focus of the company's quality assurance departments.

CeTaQ has developed an innovative measuring device that is able to exactly gauge the minute press-on force occurring during the automated component placement operation. A quick, straightforward analysis of the actual placement forces allows early identification of weak points in this process and, therefore, can avoid component damage.

The measuring device travels over the conveyor into the placement machine like a real PCB. Using an appropriate placement program the customer can place any desired component. These measurements are taking place under normal process conditions; this means that the machine operates the same way as it would in normal production.

The data received is analyzed using a special software package. The output is realized as a statistical distribution list of the measured forces and also includes force-time sequences of single placement steps, which can be analyzed further.

Benefits

• Verification of the placement forces under real production conditions.

• Using these results to optimize process parameters.

• Detection of possible weak points and eliminating root causes.

• Minimization of defects caused by placement force overload.

As with all CeTaQ measurement applications, performance validation of placement (Z) force is offered as a service to our worldwide customer base. In addition to this new service offering, the respective measurement equipment can be purchased through our local offices and representatives.

For more information about Placement (Z) Force Measurement Capability, visit http://www.cetaq.com.

About CeTaQ

Headquartered in Germany, CeTaQ GmbH provides a unique combination of products and services throughout�world for measuring accuracy and repeatability. As a result, CeTaQ has�become highly recognized as the leader in machine capability knowledge and as one of the most desired�partners within the last several years in�Europe, the Americas�and overseas. For more information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.cetaq.com.