With electronics manufacturing increasing across India, picking the right solder paste printer can improve the productivity and quality of a product.
The surface mount technology (SMT) market was valued at US$ 3.24 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach US$ 5.42 billion by 2022, with a CAGR of 8.9 per cent over that period, claims research firm MarketsandMarkets. With the demand for electronic products rising, the requirement for PCBs has also increased, leading to a greater use of SMT machines, of which there are various types.
In the surface mount assembly process, the most critical part is the application of solder paste to the PCB. This involves accurately depositing the correct amount of paste in each of the pads that need to be soldered. According to experts, if this important procedure is not done correctly, then most of the assembly might have defects. A popular method that is used to apply solder paste to a PCB, using a stencil printer, is squeegee blade printing.
Let’s find out more about some of the latest solder paste printers launched by leading companies.
| Model: MPM Momentum II HiE; Manufacturer: ITWEAE |
The new MPM Momentum II HiE is a single-rail printer with servo motors, rather than stepper motors, driving the vision system’s X, Y, and Z axes. Faster than steppers, servos drive the vision gantry at a higher speed and thus increase throughput and cut cycle time,  making the HiE an efficient high-volume printer. New features enable improved productivity, yield, versatility, and ease of use. The MPM’s rigid frame is welded for low vibrations, and major assemblies are driven by precision ball screws. This allows for higher repeatability and greater reliability, over time. The Momentum II has an advanced print head featuring a high precision load cell with closed loop pressure control for precise and consistent squeegee force. Tighter performance tolerances mean consistent repeatability with higher yield.
Key features: Contact: Leaptech Corporation, www.leaptech.in |
| Model: US-X; Manufacturer: ESE, Korea |
| The US-X series from ESE offers high precisionscreen printers with table alignment. The ESE printing table features four ball screws and three LM guides. This design precisely and firmly  positions and supports the print table, allowing even squeegee pressure across the entire width of the print table, resulting in good accuracy.In this series, the XF10 has a fully automatic changeover. The US-XH is a high speed printer, with a core cycle time of 4 seconds. The US-2000X offers 12.5-micron accuracy and wet printing repeatability of 25 microns @ 6 sigma, while the US-2000XQ offers 10-micron accuracy and wet printing repeatability of 20 microns @ 6 sigma.
Key features: Contact: Hanwha Precision Machinery, www.hanwha.com |
| Model: MPM Momentum II Elite; Manufacturer: ITWEAE |
| The MPM Momentum II Elite comes witha new set of enhanced technologies for improvements in machine productivity, yield, ease of use and flexibility. According to company sources, the Elite is the top performer of the Momentum series, boasting of the highest throughput and shortest cycle times of all. Its vision system is driven by servos for speed, and it is configured with a highly-efficient tripletrack rail system that saves cycle time by buffering PCBs inside the machine. A new board is indexed into the machine and positioned next to the centre nest, ready to print, while other boards are being loaded and offloaded.The Momentum II Elite is designed for high throughput and accuracy.
Key features: • Higher throughput and shorter cycle times Contact: Leaptech Corporation, www.leaptech.in |
| Model: Yamaha YSP10; Manufacturer: Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd |
This high-end solder paste printer is compatible with the full automation of changeover work, and the company claims it delivers the world’s fastest level tact time. In addition to  existing automatic programme changeover and print stability control systems, the fullautomation of the changeover work is achieved by including the new automatic push-up pin exchange, automatic stencil replacement, and the automatic solder transfer function (all of which are optional). Also, the cycle time (including stencil cleaning) has been improved by 20 per cent compared to previous models, state company sources.The machine applies a cream based soldering product made of fine soldering particles, viscous fluid flux and a binder to the PCB with a squeegee. By heating in a reflow oven, the solder melts and bonds the surface-mounted electronic components to the PCBs. Key features:
Contact: TransTechnology, www.trans-tec.com |
| Model: DEK TQ; Manufacturer: ASM SMT Solutions |
This printer has a footprint of only 1.3m x 1.0m, thanks to a completely revised and robust machine design. Fast, precise linear drives, a new three-stage conveyor and thelatest generation of the ASM NuMotion control system with optical fibre wiring reduces the core cycle time to 5 seconds.To exchange data with other line components or higherlevel IT systems, the printing platform features a multitude of standard interfaces such as IPC Hermes 9852, Closed-Loopto- SPI, ASM OIB, and IPC CFX, making it a good fit for the concept of the integrated smart SMT factory. Key features:
Contact: www.asm-smt.com |
| Model: VERSA PRINT 2; Manufacturer: Kurtz Ersa |
VERSAPRINT 2 is based on the tried-and-trusted VERSAPRINT series of stencil printer  models. The revised software interface communicates clearly and directly with the operator via touchscreen, and icons for menu items and commands simplify and speed up operation. The new printer sets benchmarks in communication with the operator, as well as in terms of drive technology and system accessibility, claim company sources.
Key features:
Contact: www.kurtzersa.com |
