The Most Advanced Pick and Place Machine Under $40K

Posted by Manncorp

MC-400 Automatic Pick and Place Machine Advanced Capability for Prototyping & Pilot Production for Under $40K



For more information, please visit the website: Manncorp MC-400 pick and place machine

MC-LEDV4 High-Speed Dedicated Pick and Place Machine Assembles LED Lights

Posted by Manncorp

MC-LEDV4 dedicated LED pick and place machine assembles LED lighting products, including LED bulb, lamp, long tube boards and flexible strips, at rates reaching 15,000 LEDs per hour with the high-speed, dedicated MC-LEDV4 placer, available with 600 mm (23.6") , 1200 mm (47.3") or 1800 mm (70.9") max board length.




For more information, please visit the website: Manncorp MC-LEDV4 High-Speed Pick and Place Machine

Buy high-quality paste online w/same-day shipping from San Diego

Posted by Manncorp



For more information, please visit the website: www.smtsolderpaste.com

Manncorp Releases Video Demonstration of Innovative Benchtop Selective Soldering System

Posted by Manncorp

Manncorp Releases Video Demonstration of Innovative Benchtop Selective Soldering System

The high costs of lead-free solder wire and manual labor have caused increasing numbers of SMT assemblers to take a closer look at automatic selective soldering as a more efficient, economical, and reliable solution for attaching connectors and other through-hole components to surface mount boards.

Manncorp, the electronic assembly equipment supplier that has provided detailed specifications, pricing, and online purchasing capability on its website for over a decade, has just posted a video of the new ULTIMA TR2 bench-top selective soldering machine on its website. At just $39,995, the ULTIMA TR2 allows surface mount assemblers, who may have considered selective soldering equipment cost prohibitive, to improve quality and throughput with a quick return on investment.

A unique aspect of the ULTIMA TR2, which can be seen in the video, is a high precision, programmable PCB holder that moves boards as large as 330 x 250 mm (13" x 10") in the X, Y, and Z axes over a stationary solder pot and wave nozzle. In addition to maintaining a highly stable wave as small as 2.5 mm in diameter, this design also allows for the most compact, light-weight, and easily-maintained system on the market.
The video highlights other key features of the ULTIMA TR2, with special emphasis on its highly responsive solder pump and programmable flow control. By regulating both the PCB travel speed and the volume of solder flowing from the nozzle at various stages of the soldering process, perfect, bridgeless solder joint quality is assured. The video demonstrates this effect by showing a through-hole connector with parallel rows of pins being soldered in a single pass. Close-up views show excellent filleting and solder penetration.
The video and additional information are available at http://www.manncorp.com/smt/prod-232/TR2-selective-soldering-machine.html?tabshow=4.

Solder Oven TWS-850 Manncorp Tutorial 3

Posted by Manncorp

Tutorial 3 for the Southern Polytech State University ECET department Manncorp Pick and Place lab. This tutorial shows you how to set up the Manncorp TWS-850 solder reflow oven.

Manncorp Has Moved

Posted by Manncorp

Manncorp has moved! New Address: 1610 Republic Road, Huntingdon Valley, PA, 19006

Creativity Fuels Increase in Sales For IMET

Tom Krol, President, IMET Corporation

Tom Krol, President of IMET Corporation in their 15,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Southampton PA.

Not many chief executives can claim their company's sales have quadrupled over the past four years. One of the select few that can is Tom Krol, President of IMET Corporation, a multi-faceted electronics design and production firm in Southampton, PA.

What makes the 12-year-old company's sizeable increase all the more remarkable is that it occurred during the depths of the current recession. While numerous businesses struggled to stay alive in 2008, IMET expanded, more than tripling its staff. Mr. Krol's confidence in America's and his own company's future, IMET recently purchased a 15,000 sq. ft. building in suburban Philadelphia. They expect to have it filled to capacity within three years after moving in last March.

Fueling that positive outlook is the wide range of a la carte outsourcing services IMET provides for its growing roster of OEM clients. Starting with product conceptualization by their industrial designer, the mechanical and electrical engineering team then advances the product to prototyping and preproduction stages. With automated printed circuit board assembly and manufacturing available, the company can be a total or partial contract resource from design to full production of the end product.

"All of these much-needed services are propelling our growth," said Mr. Krol, "because American companies are now coming back home, disillusioned after negative experiences with outsourcing in China. But many of those OEMs refuse to get involved with in-house assembly. Instead they have IMET as their single-source provider while they concentrate on marketing and sales."

Mr. Krol regards IMET as an "incubator" for new products by established companies as well as those from future entrepreneurs. Many of the latter seek government grants that fund new products with possible sociological benefits that could also contribute to economic recovery. One successful example is "StreetLight™ — a cane with a powerful built-in LED bulb that lights the way for visually impaired pedestrians and seniors who have a tendency to fall.

Products that owe their birthright to IMET include complex medical and automotive devices as well as electronic toys and games. One of the most promising creations in the latter category is a groundbreaking new pinball machine based on the iconic 1930's movie, "Wizard of Oz™". IMET is assembling the complex circuitry for this action-packed game which features custom animation, music and actual clips from the original film. The manufacturer, Jersey Jack Pinball, Inc., Lakewood, NJ, reports that the initial run of 1,000 machines has already been presold.

Another notable example is "me-ality" — a body scanner that "sizes up" anyone for correctly fitting clothing. Installed in upscale shopping mall kiosks, this device also names and locates all the stores in the mall that stock the sizes specified.

Mr. Krol credits much of IMET's success to his company's ability to migrate from design to contract manufacturing made possible by an employee team with diverse skills and an affiliation with vendors that deliver what they promise. "This has been especially true with equipment we've purchased from Manncorp, particularly their MC-391 pick and place machine, which was our first major capital outlay back in 2008. On it rode the destiny of our company. Not only did the placer perform as advertised, it still is doing its job shift-after-shift, day in day out. As a result, we expect to add a second high-speed line with AP-2500 automatic stencil printer, the 4-head MC-388 pick and place with 10,500 cph throughput and a CR-8000 lead-free reflow oven. Of course, there was never the slightest doubt that these could only be Manncorp machines," he added.

With sales and support offices in three locations: East (Willow Grove, PA), West (San Diego, CA) and Mexico, Manncorp offers SMT stencil printer, pick and place machine, reflow oven, Turnkey SMT assembly line, vapor phase soldering oven, PCB and stencil cleaning machines, BGA rework station, automated optical inspection (AOI) machine, wave soldering machine, dip soldering machine, selective soldering and fluxing machines, component lead forming machine, PCB conveyor, component counter, PCB depaneling machine, dry box for electronics and more SMT equipment. Accessing www.manncorp.com/smt is an informational experience. Not only are full details and specifications provided for the 150+ products, but prices are also attainable immediately after minimal contact information is provided.

SMTSOLDERPASTE.COM Offers Same-Day Shipping

Posted by Manncorp

SMTSOLDERPASTE.COM Offers Same-Day Shipping

Lead-free, lead-free/halogen-free and tin/lead solder pastes are available for immediate online purchase from SMTSolderPaste.com in 500-gram jars, 600-gram tubes and 10cc syringes. Quantity prices are as low as $46 per 500-gram jar for tin/lead (Sn63/Pb37) solder paste and $76 per 500-gram jar for lead-free (SAC305) solder paste.

Offering exceptional wetting, low voiding, high tack and excellent shelf and stencil life, SMTSolderPaste.com's pastes are manufactured to stringent specifications in ISO 9001 and ISO 14001-certified facilities. Formulated from highest-purity ingredients, these pastes ensure process consistency even with ultra-fine-pitch printing challenges. SMTSolderPaste.com backs its pastes with a 100% Quality Guarantee.

Solder paste orders placed by 3:30 PST ship same day from San Diego, California. Tracking info is provided immediately upon shipment.

Immigrant Business Flying High with Airborne Drones

This is an interesting story about our MC385 pick and place machine customer 3D Robotics

From Voice of America

Mike O'Sullivan

March 19, 2013 

AUSTIN — For a young Mexican immigrant, a hobby building toy helicopters has grown into a multi-million-dollar business.  The immigrant and his company are flying high with airborne drones.

It began with a remote-controlled helicopter that Jordi Munoz got as a gift from his mother.  Munoz, who is now 26, used a game controller and a component he bought online to modify the toy, five years ago.

“It did not work, the first version, but that is the beginning of everything," said Munoz.

As he stabilized and improved the toy aircraft, Munoz built an online following of hobbyists through a blog.  With money borrowed from a friend, editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine Chris Anderson, Munoz bought the parts to build more drones and advertised online.

“And then I sold them in one day," he said. "So I multiplied the money by a factor of four in 24 hours.”

With his friend Anderson, Munoz founded the company 3D Robotics.  Anderson left his journalism job to become the company's chief executive.

3D Robotics manufacturers its own computer chips, the brain of the devices, and sells to hobbyists and businesses worldwide.  The drones cost just a fraction of the price of military versions, selling for hundreds - not thousands - of dollars.

The company employs 30 workers in the United States and 25 across the Mexican border in Tijuana, and the Tijuana plant is being expanded.

As privately-owned drones have become more popular, some are raising concerns about privacy issues.  Yet with demand increasing, Munoz says he wants to build his business along the U.S.-Mexico border, instead of manufacturing more cheaply in Asia.

“It is better if we keep the money on this side of the continent, rather than sending money to China and manufacture over there," he said.

Munoz says the drones can used be used for security, research and other serious applications, or flown by hobbyists just for fun, and that his company has helped create a market for this new technology.

Flip Chip Rework

From ACI Technologies

Flip Chip Rework

Flip chip components have been gaining popularity in the electronics industry since their introduction in the 1960s. Recent advances in attach methods and adhesives, as well as the drive for smaller and faster electronic devices have made the technology take off. The basic premise of the flip chip is that the chip (semiconductor device) is mounted flipped from the traditional position. The traditional method of mounting a die is to mount it on a lead frame with the circuit and bond pads face up. The bond pads then receive a bond wire which then connects to the proper lead on the lead frame. Flip chips are mounted face down onto a substrate using small bumps on the bond pads to make direct electrical connection to their respective pads on the substrate. Stay tuned for more information on attachment techniques next month. This article will focus on how to rework flip chips.

All types of underfill and adhesives have varying setting temperatures and rework temperatures. The techniques described below are applicable for the generic types of flip chip bonds. Follow your specific manufacturer instructions for optimizing rework results.

Reflow Solder Flip Chip Removal

The simplest flip chips to rework are those that have been attached using solder bumps. These chips are installed in a similar fashion to standard surface mount technology (SMT) components. If testing proves that a flip chip needs to be reworked prior to underfill, the removal process is the same as that of an SMT component. Simply apply flux and heated gas to both the chip and substrate to bring the assembly to 10-20 degrees C above the melting point of the solder and remove the flip chip with a vacuum removal tool. Once the flip chip has been removed, carefully remove all excess solder from the mounting pads. Clean the area thoroughly and inspect the substrate to ensure that it has not been damaged. Reattach a new flip chip.

If the chip already has been underfilled, rework is dependent on the type of underfill. The bond of most epoxy underfills can be broken utilizing heat. Some epoxies have solvents that reduce the heat needed to break the adhesion, but the tradeoff is the time that it takes for the solvent to break down the epoxy. Heat the area with hot gas according to the manufacturer's rework profile and remove the chip with a sliding motion. Remove any epoxy residue with the appropriate solvent, clean the substrate and attach a new chip. Some examples of flip chip rework stations are shown in Figure 1.



Figure 1: Examples of flip chip rework stations. Features for flip chip rework include placement accuracy of better than 10 microns and precision thermal management.

Adhesive Flip Chip Removal

Another method of flip chip attach uses adhesives, Anisotropic Conductive Film (ACF), Isotropic Conductive Adhesive (ICA), or Non Conductive Adhesive (NCA). Many of these adhesives can be softened by heating. The manufacturer’s data sheet will typically show a “Tacking Condition” where the adhesive begins to get tacky and a "Bonding Condition", which shows the temperature, pressure, and time needed for the adhesive to actually form a reliable bond. Some adhesives can be reworked at the Tacking Condition temperature, while others need to be heated to the Bonding Condition temperature. Again, consult the manufacturer's data sheet for rework activation temperatures and recommended solvents for cleaning the bond area prior to setting a new flip chip.

If the assembly cannot withstand the heat prescribed in the manufacturer’s specifications for rework, a solvent may be used to break down the adhesive at a lower temperature. Before using a solvent the engineer must verify that all components can withstand exposure to the solvent without any degradation. This solvent may be either applied to the general area of the flip chip or the entire substrate may be submerged in a solvent bath. As with reflow underfill, the tradeoff for lowering the temperature of rework is the time that the solvent will take to dissolve the adhesive bond. This time is typically 8-24 hours.

Thermosonic and Thermocompression Flip Chip Removal

Both of these methods of flip chip attach create extremely strong inter-metallic bonds at the chip to substrate interface. There are no rework processes that can be recommended that will not damage the substrate pad when attempting to remove a flip chip that has been attached with either thermosonic or thermocompression assembly techniques.

In summary, most of the more common production methods of attaching flip chips can be reworked. The keys to successful removal are to know which method of attaching the chip and substrate has been used, know which adhesives or epoxies were used, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for removal. In the process of flip chip rework, a little research can go a long way.

For further information regarding flip chip rework, please contact ACI Technologies at 610.362.1320 or via email at helpline@aci.org.

ACI Technologies, Inc.

SMT Source April News

Posted by Manncorp

Manncorp BR790-HD’s High-Definition Optics and Real-Time Temperature Profiling Conquer SMD Rework’s Most Challenging Tasks

From Manncorp

Manncorp's BR790-HD rework system allows operators to safely remove, align, place and solder BGAs, CSPs, ultra-fine-pitch QFPs, and other delicate, heat-sensitive SMDs with unprecedented ease and precision.

Manncorp BR790-HD's High-Definition Optics and Real-Time Temperature Profiling Conquer SMD Rework's Most Challenging Tasks

The BR790-HD's 1.3 million pixel, split-vision optics and 15" high-resolution display make fast, accurate work of component alignment via crystal-clear, superimposed images of leads and solder pads. A handy component presentation nest, mounted to the optics’ X and Y drives, automates pickup and positioning of the component in the camera’s field of view and reduces handling of delicate SMDs.

Five separate input connectors allow strategic positioning of K-type thermocouples at critical locations on the component and PCB. An easy-to-use LCD touchscreen interface displays real-time temperatures and allows on-the-fly adjustment of top and bottom hot air heater settings for ultra-precise profiling. Screen captures of process profiles can be saved to an external USB flash or hard drive for traceability.

PCB positioning is easy, thanks to the BR790-HD's unique, edge-clamping system, which easily adjusts to fit boards up to 21.6" x 19.7" (550 x 500 mm). During setup, an innovative laser guide allows trouble-free alignment of the rework site with the system's top- and bottom-side heater nozzles.

For alignment of components to solder pads, the board holder includes ultra-fine micrometer adjustments of the X and Y axes. Correction of angular alignment is performed by rotating the pickup head’s motorized theta axis through the touchscreen interface or via a manual override on the head. During automatic component removal and placement, an optoelectronic sensor controls Z-axis positioning and contact force.

The BR790-HD's programmable 6-zone "Rapid IR" underheater evenly heats the bottom of the board, eliminating thermal gradients and stress on components and solder joints adjacent to the rework site. Capable of supplying up to 3600 watts of heating power, it also reduces overall cycle times and maximum temperature exposure. Built-in cooling fans blow ambient air across the PCB at the end of the cycle.

The BR790-HD BGA rework station is well suited for use with virtually any rework application. Its short learning curve and user-friendly design puts precision rework in the hands of even inexperienced operators. Visit http://www.manncorp.com/smt/prod-483/BGA-SMD-rework-station-BR790HD.html for specifications, pricing, and a video of the machine in operation.