Conveyor controls PCB warpage during selective soldering.
August 28, 2009 -
To ensure repeatable selective soldering process, SMART Conveyor automatically senses and adjusts to printed circuit board size, then crowds PCB for snug fit to ensure accurate board location. Conveyor then automatically clamps two parallel edges and re-sizes holding area while exerting gentle pressure that eliminates board shape issues.
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Original Press release
ACE Production Technologies
INC., 3010 N. Industrial Park, 1st Street,
Spokane Valley, WA, 99216
USA
ACE Introduces 'SMART' Conveyor, Controls PCB Warpage During Selective Soldering
Spokane, Washington, USA - ACE Production Technologies, Inc. announces the introduction of its new SMART Conveyor that controls PCB warpage during the selective soldering process. The SMART Conveyor was developed in response to the continuous challenges of selective soldering process development.
Printed Circuit Board assemblies, due to size, thickness, multi-part routing and component weight tend to sag or warp. Until now, operators had to use a variety of different board holding strategies, including custom fixturing, to ensure a reliable and repeatable selective soldering process. Custom fixturing is expensive, however, and time-consuming. Now, with ACE's newly-developed SMART Conveyor, most of these difficult set-ups can be handled easily and automatically. ACE's SMART Conveyor automatically senses and adjusts to board size, then "crowds" the PCB for a snug fit to ensure accurate board location.. Then, the SMART Conveyor automatically clamps the two parallel edges and re-sizes the holding area while exerting gentle pressure that eliminates any board shape issues.
"PCB warpage has always been a key concern during the electronics assembly process, but it is even more critical now due to the higher precision in the assembly process demanded by today's circuit assemblies" says Al Cable, President. "Lead-free assembly is less forgiving than lead-based, and today's assemblies are more complex and demanding than ever before. Warpage of PCBs directly impacts the precision of the selective soldering process, and to ensure good solder connections, repeatability, and product reliability, warpage must be controlled to keep the board as planar as possible."
Cable adds, "Our new SMART Conveyor, in conjunction with automated optical alignment and skew correction, addresses the critical requirements of true automation for 'lights-out' operation. Our SMART Conveyor is another example of ACE's dedication to finding ways to reduce handling time while ensuring a quality soldering cycle."
ACE will exhibit the new SMART Conveyor at IPC Midwest, Booth 633.
ACE Production Technologies is a designer and builder of simple, affordable selective soldering systems suitable for lead-free electronics assembly. ACE's line of rugged, reliable selective soldering systems includes the KISS 101, KISS-102, KISS-103, and the KISS-104 models. All of these flexible systems feature lead-free compatible solder pots and are ideal for low to medium volume assembly, prototyping, and rework, post-reflow offline assembly, and other soldering applications such as odd-form devices. For more information about A.C.E., including sales and technical, contact ACE Production Technologies, INC., 3010 N. Industrial Park, 1st Street, Spokane Valley, WA 99216; Tel. 509-924-4898, e-mail sales@ace-protech.com; www.ace-protech.com.
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