Pick And Place

Pick And Place - General - In recent years, increased emphasis has been placed on automated manufacturing processes. Such processes often include an automated parts feeding mechanism which delivers parts one by one to a parts pick-up location and a parts carrier located at a parts placement location adjacent the parts feeder for moving the part to a work station, such as an assembly station, an inspection station, etc. The function of a pick and place mechanism is to grip a part supplied by the parts feeder, to transport it in a predetermined path to the carrier, and there to place the picked part in a precise location on the carrier. The carrier delivers complementary parts to the same location so that the picked parts may be processed with the carried parts. A desirable pick and place mechanism should be capable of performing such operations at relatively high rates of speed and with great accuracy.

Pick And Place - Printed Circuit Boards - Pick and place machines are generally used to assemble (populate) electronic printed circuit boards. A blank PCB is usually supplied to the pick and place machine, which then picks electronic components from component feeders, and places such components upon the board. The components are held on the board temporarily by solder paste, or adhesive until a subsequent step in which the solder paste is melted, or the adhesive is fully cured.

Pick and place machine operation is challenging. Since machine speed corresponds with throughput, the faster the pick and place machine runs, the less costly the manufactured board. Additionally, placement accuracy is extremely important. Many electrical components, such as chip capacitors and chip resistors are relatively small and must be accurately placed on equally small placement locations. Other components, while larger, have a significant number of leads or conductors that are spaced from one another at a relatively fine pitch. Such components must also be accurately placed to ensure that each lead is placed upon the proper pad. Thus, not only must the machine operate extremely fast, but it must also place components extremely accurately.

Certain operations of electronic circuit board assembly are performed away from the main production assembly lines. While various feeder machines and robotic handling systems populate electronic circuit boards with integrated circuits, the operations related to processing integrated circuits, such as programming, testing, calibration, and measurement are generally performed in separate areas on separate equipment rather than being integrated into the main production assembly lines.

Pick And Place - Semiconductor Fabrication - Conventional pick and place machines are used to pick and place parts of an assembly. Currently, there are no conventional component type pick and place machines used in making semiconductors that can place an object within a few microns, with the object staying in that precise location. But pick and place tools, which may be in the form of vacuum collets or suction heads, are successfully being used in automated semiconductor manufacturing processes to transfer electronic components or materials from one location to another. One such application of a pick and place tool is in the transfer of semiconductor dice from a cut semiconductor wafer to a bond pad of a substrate during the packaging die bonding process.

Typically, an adhesive material is placed onto the substrate for bonding the semiconductor die to the bond pad. The adhesive material may be in liquid form, such as epoxy, or in tape form, such as a polyimide tape. An advantage of using adhesive tape is that it is electrically insulating and it does not overspread on the bond pad during attachment of a die onto it. Overspreading may lead to defects during later processing of the component.

Another application of adhesive material is in the fabrication of a stacked die CSP (Chip-Scale Package). Stacked die CSPs serve to increase the semiconductor die density of a semiconductor package by including two or more semiconductor dice in one package. A high density package, having multiple semiconductor dice therein, increases the electronic component density on a printed circuit board. Such a high density semiconductor package also maximizes space utilization on the PCB which further increases the number of the board's active elements.

Liquid adhesive is not desirable as an adhesive material for stacking the dice due to the aforesaid problem of overspreading, and so adhesive tape or film is generally preferred. Therefore, the application of thin adhesive films or thermoplastic adhesive films is one of the major processes involved in the assembly and packaging of semiconductor devices, especially those involving stacked die CSPs. Pick and place tools usually consist of flat or recessed vacuum collets or suction heads. Hard materials or materials with some resilience like rubber are used in contact surfaces for these suction heads for compliance with the surface of a material picked. Pick and place systems are successfully being used to pick a thin thermoplastic adhesive film and to place it onto a flat heated substrate for semiconductor die bonding

Pick And Place - Custom Systems
Pick and place systems are designed to perform repetitive picking and placing tasks in production or laboratory facilities, and are usually employed for their precision and cost effectiveness. Automation engineers are often called upon to design pick and place systems for a variety of custom applications. These systems will usually employ linear motor technology for very high speed, servo-driven ball screw and rodless slide mechanisms for high speed, SCARA robots with custom end-of-arm tooling for flexibility to multiple pick and place positions. Pneumatic pick and place systems for medium speed requirements are designed using various types of suction cups with related vacuum fittings.

A pick and place system typically requires a suspension assembly with custom grip tooling and/or vacuum suction for controlling the part, and motion control software to control speed, acceleration, and the degree of rotation required to optimize cycle time. Smart vision systems are optionally used to verify positioning and maintain registration, accounting for uneven pick surfaces ~ George Pachter, TDE

Pick And Place Vendors

AGI CORPORATION - Huntsville, AL - - AGI Manufactures SELECTIVE SOLDER PALLETS. Our process knowledge delivers designs with the largest process window possible, offering process recommendations for high throughput and yields. Feeder, pallet & stencil storage carts - SMT fixtures & custom tooling - skyhooks & board stiffeners for wave solder / reflow - wash baskets - press fit fixtures and more.

(256)858-3300, Fax: (256)858-3304, E-mail: Info@AGIcorp.com

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ADVANCED AUTOMATION, LLC - Binghamton, NY - - Quality pre owned PTH and SMT assembly equipment. We sell and purchase world wide. Our company can handle most major OEMs' equipment. View videos of some of our latest acquisitions. Custom applications for your odd form needs at an affordable price. Bring us your problem and we’ll solve it.
(607)772-2900, Fax: (607)772-2303, E-mail: Info@AdvancedA.com

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AUTOMATED PRODUCTION SYSTEMS, INC. (APS) - Huntingdon Valley, PA - - Manufacturers of low to medium volume SMT assembly equipment including manual and auto stencil printers, manual and auto pick and place machines and reflow ovens: inline and benchtop. The standard for low volume surface mount assembly in over 20 countries. APS also manufactures component counters and component lead forming equipment.
(215)938-1000, Fax: (215)938-8480, E-mail: Info@APSgold.com

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COMPONENT EXPRESS CORPORATION - Garland, TX - - Leader in pick and place feeding equipment for feeding components from tubes. Products range from Small IC Feeders for feeding components such as 8 lead SOIC and TSSOP, to Horizontal Stacked Tube Feeders for odd form components. We also provide Tube Loaders. Feeders are available for most major placement machines.
(972)494-4787, Fax: (972)494-9526, E-mail: Mkt@C-Express.com

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HI TECH SOURCES. - San Diego, CA - - Established leader in supply and support of quality refurbished used electronic assembly machinery since 1979. Save a great deal on the purchase of SMT and PTH assembly equipment - Our equipment inventory includes products from Assembleon Philips, Asymtek, Camalot, DEK, Electrovert, Fuji, Juki/Zevatech, MPM, Universal Instruments,etc.
(858)689-0333, Fax: (858)689-0347, E-mail: Sales@Hi-TechSources.com

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IBE SMT EQUIPMENT - Magnolia, TX - - Your source for reconditioned SMT Equipment. Our inventory includes Fuji, Panasonic, Universal, Siemens and Philips SMT equipment. View our complete up-to-date inventory online for reconditioned screen printers, chip shooters, reflow ovens, conveyors, SMT feeders and spare parts.
(800)353-6942, (281)259-9660, Fax: (281)259-8863, E-mail: Sales@IBEsmt.com

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MANNCORP - Willow Grove, PA - - Manncorp placers meet today’s critical surface mount requirements -- with intelligent feeder capability, generous X-Y travel area and Cognex® flying vision for subminiature 0201 devices, CSPs, µBGAs, Flip-Chips, plus ultra-fine pitch QFPs. Systems for prototyping, short runs and medium to high-volume production. Click for Instant online pricing.
(800)Pik-Mann, (215)830-1200, Fax: (215)830-1206, E-mail: Sales@Manncorp.com

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PCB UNLIMITED - Lake Oswego, OR - - Large selection of low to medium volume pick & place surface mount assembly equipment. Click now to visit our website to see also SMT stencil printers, wave solder machines, SMT reflow ovens, and many other types of PCB assembly equipment.
(503)387-5293, Fax: (503)636-4795, E-mail: support@pcbunlimited.com

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PETLOCK INCORPORATED - Vancouver, WA - - Buyers and resellers of used SMT & thru-hole assembly machinery - Pick & place, solder paste printers, board cleaning, wave soldering, wire processing, lead forming, more! See current inventory, specs and photos on our website now.
(360)906-8400, Fax: (360)906-8401, E-mail: Sales@Petlock.com

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PRECISION PLACEMENT MACHINES - Fremont, NH - - PPM is a full service supplier of used and reconditioned automated PCB assembly equipment, specializing in surface mount placement machines. Click to see our current inventory of Quad, Juki, and Mydata SMT placers. Also listed are reflow ovens & waves, screen printers, board handlers, parts feeders, dispensing systems, spare parts, more!
(603)895-5112, Fax: (603)895-5113, E-mail: PPM@GoPPM.com

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RECON.inc - Concord, NC - - Stocking dealership of pre-owned SMT & PTH assembly equipment since 1997. Flexible SMT mounters - chipshooters - parts feeders - screen printers - AOI equipment - adhesive dispensers - PCB cleaners - reflow ovens - wave solder - PTH equipment - more... Providing installations, training, preventive maintenance contracts and emergency support. Recon, inc. sells and buys worldwide.
(704)795-6610, Fax: (704)723-6540, E-mail: Info@ReconSales.com

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