Product category: Electronics Manufacturing Machinery and Materials
News Release from: Novatec | Subject: VacuNest
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 5 September 2006
Vacuum board support
proves popular in Europe
Many customers throughout Europe have implemented VacuNest in their facilities, and each has reported significant time and cost savings as a result
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 because the plate must be designed and then manufactured, and even then it is expensive and only a custom fit for that version of the board.
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Magnetic tooling pin posts and auto pin tooling do offer a flexible solution, but are limited to their pitch and the area they can support.
Additionally, 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.
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VacuNest is simple and straightforward to use, allowing any operator success: 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 - 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, whereon 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 great ease of use, and can be implemented in three simple steps.
First, position required number of modules to suit the board width.
Then set up the tooling plate: with the board at print position, place the tooling plate on conveyor rails, press down and switch on the vacuum - the modules hold the board profile.
Then run: the vacuum is held (auto regulated) and the shape will hold indefinitely.
Many customers throughout Europe have implemented VacuNest in their facilities, and each has reported significant time and cost savings as a result.
The first customer is CRDE, a French subcontracting company in state-of-the-art electronics.
CRDE works for the air industry, bus transmissions, radio and powerline communications (PLC).
CRDE offers numerous services including research, industrialisation, component purchase, board assembly, test and control, integration of end product, as well as logistics and customer service.
Providing ready-made high technology services, CRDE must be fast and flexible.
The company turned to Novatec to help it meet these challenges.
CRDE has been using two VacuNest systems on its printer for more than a year.
CRDE's technical manager is pleased with the time savings achieved during each production change (at least one change per shift).
Several other flexible systems were tested, but only VacuNest offers a wide support area and, in that respect, generates no risk of damaging the components.
Having recently celebrated the one-year installation of the VacuNest systems, CRDE is finding the tool to be both reliable and flexible, while resulting in significant time and cost savings.
The second customer, Sigmatek, was founded in 1988 and is known as one of the leading suppliers of programmable logic controllers and visualisation devices for industrial automation and machine construction.
An Austrian enterprise that takes part in the global market, Sigmatek provides research and development, production, sales, and service centrally from one location.
Although the company's headquarters are based in Austria, it has offices throughout Europe and the USA.
The Austrian facility called on Novatec and the VacuNest for help.
The facility was running two Philips pick-and-place systems and needed a flexible resource that would result in both time savings and high support quality.
The VacuNest was implemented on both systems.
Sigmatek's manufacturing manager reported that both targets have been met and exceeded by the VacuNest.
The European headquarters of Dolby Laboratories, the third customer, is based in Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, UK.
Dolby Laboratories develops and delivers products and technologies that make the entertainment experience more realistic and immersive.
For over four decades, Dolby has been at the forefront of defining high-quality audio and surround sound in cinema, broadcast, home audio systems, cars, DVDs, headphones, games, televisions and personal computers.
The facility in Wootton Bassett has its own SMT production manufacturing line producing Dolby's professional products.
Having tried other flexible support tooling systems for their SMT paste printer, Dolby heard of Novatec's product and asked for a trial.
After installing VacuNest, Gordon Lawless, the Senior Manufacturing Process Engineer at Dolby, was impressed by the support quality and the speed at which the operators adopted the tooling.
'VacuNest has dramatically reduced setup at each production change, alleviating bottlenecks and increasing accuracy', he said.
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