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www.us-tech.com
February, 2013
Siemens Switches to Ovation PCB Support Systems
other products for industrial automa- tion — for both its own business unit and for the world market. Products are assembled on six SMT lines, in three-shift operations running five days a week. Last year, as part of the compa-
S
ny’s efforts to further improve quali- ty, a decision was made to procure PCB support systems for SMT pro- duction. With standard widths of 160 to 210mm, double-sided mounting and high densities, the circuit boards in production were somewhat prone to vibrations, especially when assem- bled by modern high-speed pick-and- place systems. While magnetic sup- port systems are available as stan- dard equipment from the SMT ma- chines in use at the plant, those sys- tems did not meet Siemens’ stringent requirements — and an alternative had to be found. Siemens’ Michael Wohrle and
Markus Pasurka, both from the as- sembly production engineering area, began a search for a suitable support system.
Magnetic Supports Inadequate The company had already
gained experience with PCB support systems, since its sophisticated pro- duction equipment already included various types of support technolo- gies. The existing systems were the magnetic support type pins integrat-
iemens Electronic Manufactur- ing (EM) production unit pro- duces PCB assemblies and
ed into the host machines. In such systems, individual pins
provide selective support for the un- dersides of circuit boards. The disad- vantage is that the pins have to be
nents. Just one wrong position would lead to defects. With large circuit boards, it is especially difficult to find a golden mean that would allow ab- solutely precise pin placement
gies, was a perfect fit for our produc- tion needs. The fully automatic Grid- Lok support system was able to ac- commodate large, densely populated circuit boards across their entire sur- face areas. And, it was able to do so in areas where magnetic pins just wouldn’t have worked. In addition to having the best
Grid-Lok from Ovation provides PCB support for all aspects of placement and printing processes.
readjusted when production machin- ery is retooled for different products. In discussing the challenges this presents, Markus Pasurka explained:
“Because of the large sizes of our cir- cuit boards, and because we use dou- ble-sided mounting, positioning the pins proved to be an extremely tricky task. We have a number of ‘pin-in- paste’ processes, and in those processes there was always a possi- bility for a support pin to come into contact with the solder paste and then track paste onto other compo-
The Best Performance in Convertibility... WEST·BOND’s 7300E Pick & Place Systems
throughout a broad range; any wrong position can have pretty disastrous consequences.”
Eliminating Defects Michael Wohrle evaluated a
number of common support systems that met the applicable require- ments. “We looked at three fully au- tomatic systems and two brushcard systems in light of our benchmark,” explained Wohrle. “We soon discov- ered that Ovation Products’ Grid-Lok system, which is supported by local German distributor Ben-Technolo-
price/performance ratio, Grid-Lok also provided a solution for our “pin- in-paste” process.” There were other factors to consider as well, such as electrostatically sensitive areas. Every system in the manufacturing line must incorporate ESD protec- tion. This proved to be another area in which the Grid-Lok support sys- tem performs perfectly; upon contact with components, it can carry out gentle electrical discharges that do not damage components in any way. These advantages really do the
job in a production operation with six SMT lines, running on a three-shift basis, with about eight to ten actual product changes per shift and line. “Our lot sizes range from 200 to 1,500 units, meaning that the auto- matic Grid-Lok support systems has a great potential to reduce our costs,” said Wohrle. After an initial evalua- tion period, Siemens ultimately se- cured a total of 21 Grid-Lok systems,
comprising 62 modules. Contact: Ovation Products,
3864 Courtney St., Suite 240, Bethlehem, PA 18017 % 484-893-1028 Web:
www.ovation-products.com r
• Encoder Controlled Rotating Pick-up Tool • Orthogonal X, Y, and Z Axes • Microprocessor Controlled • Throatless Chassis • ESD Compatibility • Epoxy Dispense or Eutectic Die Attach • Tweezer Die Pickup • Ultrasonic Beam Lead Diode Attach
www.westbond.com 1551 S. Harris Court Anaheim, CA 92806 Tel 714·978·1551
MD&M 2013, Anaheim Convention Center Booth # 853 in Hall E, Febdruary 12- 14, 2013
Manufactured in the U.S.A. since 1966 See us at Electronics West/MDM Booth 853 See us at IPC/APEX Booth 208
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