Jet solder paste and mount components in one machine

By jetting, rather than printing solder paste, companies can save costs for stencils, eliminate printing errors and enhance production flexibility, particularly for lower to midsize volumes. Essemtec has merged its dispensing and pick-and-place expertise from the Scorpion and Paraquda machines into the SMT production centre. Suitable for 0201 components, the solder jet printer is very fast (printing up to 80,000 dots per hour) and very precise (with precision of 51µm at 3σ). While electronics manufacturers have traditionally needed to buy specially designed and costly solder pastes for jetting, Essemtec's system enables most type 4, 5, 6 or 7 pastes to be used.

By combining jet printing with pick-and-place, Essemtec has eliminated the need to program two different machines, which significantly reduces investment costs. While cleaning of the valve takes just 5-10 minutes, the return on investment of the jet printing option is achieved with less than 100 stencils (or even faster when stepped stencils are used). Using an integrated paste library (the same that is used for the pick-and-place machine), quick setup is performed directly from CAD data. With fully automated production, solder paste application and component placement are seamlessly integrated while process monitoring ensures high-quality results.

At APEX 2014, Essemtec will present its modular mid-/high-volume production line (which consists of the Tucano fully automatic stencil printer, the Paraquda multifunctional SMT assembler with solder jet valve and the Zonda high-capacity 26" wide reflow oven). Suitable for subcontractors and product manufacturers producing a large variety of PCBa at midsize to high volumes, this system features very fast and simple line changeover and possibilities for modular expansion of the production capacity.

Also at the show, Essemtec will be demonstrating its high-mix/low-volume entry-level SMT assembly line (comprised of the Fino semiautomatic printer with vision, the Pantera-XC inline pick-and-place machine for prototype and mid-size series manufacturing and the RO300FC-C full convection reflow oven). Producing high-quality electronics with low effort, this assembly line suits companies looking for an inexpensive entry into automatic SMT assembly with quick setup and a large application range.