Due to the majority of electronic products specifying surface mount components, the bulk of our assembly work is performed within Surface Mount Technology (SMT). Our SMT Department is equipped with the latest manufacturing tools available including DEK Horizon’s Solder Paste Inspection tools, Juki’s high-speed placement machines, and Mirtec’s laser Automated Optical Inspections. In addition, to help maximize quality efficiencies Cogiscan’s TTC System is supported on all five of our lines.
Our Surface Mount Technology Department is arranged precisely to react quickly to changing client requirements while still delivering an exceptional quality product. Each line shares the same process flow, equipment and programming software giving us ultimate flexibility when scheduling your product’s assembly.
Our Surface Mount Technology process flow is similar across each line:
- Solder Paste Inspection
- SMT Placement
- Oven & Heating Technology
- Automated Optical Inspection
- Component Storage Solutions
Due to the majority of SMT defects originating in the printing process, before placing one single component on a PCB, our stencils are verified through an SPI Machine checking solder coating, thickness, aperture, as well as the printing press and speed. Data recorded on our SPI machines is linked directly to our AOI’s allowing us to quickly investigate and analyze any concerns or failures.
Our high-speed Juki lines can place an average of 66,000 components per hour and support placements as small as 01005. Each pick and place machine is equipped with smart feeders embedded with RFID technology that allow our SMT Team to automatically marry each reel to the appropriate feeder. This technology not only ensures that all of the reels are loaded in the proper location, but also helps to minimize changeover time with a 10 minute, low-level warning system that alerts when a reel needs to be replaced.
Each line is equipped with a seven-zone Heller oven configured with KIC Profiling software in order to create customized, optimized profiles for each electronic product. In order to select the ideal oven temperatures, our SMT Team will program soak times, peak temperature to liquid solder, cooling times, etc. into the KIC software.
Every single SMT component is 100% inspected on an Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) verifying solder quality, part markings, pad placement, and solder joints in order to guarantee quality of all SMT placements. Each AOI shares software and offline programming capabilities, giving us ultimate flexibility to examine your product at every step of the manufacturing process.
Beyond our standard inventory program, we also have a Juki ISM 2000 Fortress to house critical components. This Fortress is linked directly with our MRP system and will automatically pull the required SMT components for a specific job. In addition, the Fortress registers the MSD requirements for each part and will signal an alert to our technicians when a reel has been out for too long. For enhanced traceability, the Fortress is linked directly to our Cogiscan TTC System.