MONTAUBAN, FRANCE - February 21, 2006
Novatec, a key research laboratory that develops new technologies for the electronics assembly industry, announces that it will display an innovative new assembly tool for board support ¾ VacuNest Shape Memory Tooling in booth 8-207 at the upcoming SMT/Hybrid/Packaging 2006 exhibition and conference scheduled to take place May 30 to June 1, 2006 in Nuremberg, Germany.
Board support is critical within any printer, dispenser and pick-and-place machine in order to run a repeatable process.
A custom dedicated machined tooling plate is the ideal solution but it must be planned well in advance, have the plate designed and then manufactured, and even then it is expensive and only a custom fit for that version of the board. Magnetic tooling pin posts and auto pin tooling do offer a flexible solution, but are limited to their pitch, the area they can support and these can cause stress and damage to components when the pins exert pressure on a device leg or body.
VacuNest meets these needs. The shape memory tool combines the benefits of a custom tooling plate with the versatility of pins. An antistatic membrane covers a foam former surrounded by polymer granules. Simply place a golden board onto the modules, press down, pull a vacuum and the memory of the board shape profile is held. The chambers are profiled to the shape of the underside of the board ¾ on activation of the vacuum this shape is now held. Simple, secure and a custom board support is created within seconds. The shape will be held for weeks/days/months until the vacuum is released, whereupon the modules return to their original form, awaiting a new set up for the next version of board.
VacuNest offers users numerous advantages, including no risk damage to a component due to the pin/printing pressure, the support forces are evenly spread over the entire board, the tooling provides firm and precise support, ease of use, no dedicated tooling and short payback period, and the shape tool can be simply reset when a board version changes.
Additionally, this flexible tooling features many cost benefits. It eliminates the cost of a custom tooling plate as well as pin tooling by providing a single, user-friendly solution. VacuNest has the capability to handle high-density boards with ease and requires little to no lead-time.
With flexible pin arrangement tools, the support force is applied locally (components can be damaged under the joint action of the pins and the squeegee/transfer head). VacuNest solves this problem by applying firm force consistently to the entire board. Also, unlike pin arrangement tools, VacuNest guarantees board flatness and is not sensitive to solder paste contamination.
VacuNest offers extreme ease of use, and can be implemented in three simple steps:
1.) Position required number of modules to suit board width
2.) Set up tooling plate. With board at print position, place tooling plate on conveyor rails, press down and switch on vacuum ¾ modules hold board profile.
3) Run. Production provided vacuum is held (auto regulated) and the shape will hold indefinitely.
Many VacuNest systems are already in use over the world.
or more information on VacuNest, visit the company at www.novatec-eap.com. Novatec is looking for interested and innovative distributors. If interested, please contact the company at +33 (0) 5 63 23 04 00 or e-mail novatec@novatec-eap.com .
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