Product category: PCB Assembly Equipment and Tools
News Release from: DEK | Subject: Snapshot shield
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 25 February 2003
Automatic placement for
novel plastic shield
DEK has combined with WL Gore and Associates to deliver a lightweight, easily removable EMI board-level shield for wireless communications devices
Gore's new Snapshot shield, along with DEK's Direkt Imaging Ball Placement technology, provides devices with excellent protection against EMI and overcomes limitations of metal cans. Gore's Snapshot shield, composed of a metallised, high-temperature, high-performance plastic material, can be thermoformed to accommodate intricately shaped designs or multicavity configurations.
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 25 February 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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The innovative material weighs 80 to 90% less than a metal can of similar size.
The electrical insulating properties of the base material allow a lower profile shield design that virtually eliminates the gap between components and shield and reduces the required minimum component-to-component spacing by 25 to 50%.
Gore's patented snap-attach mechanism secures the Snapshot shield to the surface of the circuit board.
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A series of holes around the shield's perimeter snap over solder spheres placed and reflowed on the PCB, providing both mechanical retention and electrical connection.
In cavity-to-cavity testing, the shielding effectiveness of Snapshot shield has been shown to out perform typical metal cans and removable lid cans.
DEK's advanced expertise in materials transfer technology enables the Snapshot shield to be integrated easily into high-speed, high-volume SMT production lines.
The robust process begins with a screen printer depositing solder onto solder mask defined (SMD) pads that have been designed onto the PCB.
A second inline printer, equipped with a DEK Direkt Imaging Ball Placement head, places solder spheres into the solder on the PCB using a stencil that has been configured to the correct pattern.
The fully enclosed head and Direkt Imaging technology ensure gentle, but rapid and repeatable, deposition of the spheres.
Once the circuit board has been fully populated with components, it proceeds to reflow, where both components and spheres are soldered in place.
Following reflow and inspection, the Snapshot shield can be installed manually, semi-automatically or fully automatically using a standard SMT odd form cell.
If needed, the shield can be removed and a new shield installed easily, without desoldering or resoldering the shield.
'We are pleased to join forces with DEK to introduce a revolutionary, board level, multicavity shielding product that provides excellent protection against electromagnetic interference', states Bill Candy, Technical Manager for Gore.
'By combining DEK's wealth of experience in the electronics assembly industry with our years of experience in EMI shielding, we can better meet the needs of our customers'.
According to Rich Heimsch, President of DEK International, the process illustrates 'the value of flat, focused specialists in the new value chain, who can partner more quickly and effectively to advance core technologies'.
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