-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueLearning to Speak ‘Fab’
Our expert contributors clear up many of the miscommunication problems between PCB designers and their fab and assembly stakeholders. As you will see, a little extra planning early in the design cycle can go a long way toward maintaining open lines of communication with the fab and assembly folks.
Training New Designers
Where will we find the next generation of PCB designers and design engineers? Once we locate them, how will we train and educate them? What will PCB designers of the future need to master to deal with tomorrow’s technology?
The Designer of the Future
Our expert contributors peer into their crystal balls and offer their thoughts on the designers and design engineers of tomorrow, and what their jobs will look like.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - design007 Magazine
Eutect Overcomes Panel Soldering Challenges with New Gripper
September 6, 2024 | Eutect GmbHEstimated reading time: 2 minutes

The selective soldering of assemblies in panels is not a real challenge. However, if you need to solder relatively large panels with towering components, specialists like those at Eutect GmbH have to step up to the plate. The experts for selective soldering automation have developed a complex special gripper on customer request, which reliably meets this challenge.
"In this particular case, it was a relatively large PCB that was divided into four panels. Two THT capacitors had to be soldered to each individual panel, which were not allowed to bend during the process. As these were very large and high, they were quite unstable in their unsoldered state," recalls Matthias Fehrenbach, Managing Director of Eutect GmbH. The challenge was to prevent the large circuit board from bending and to keep the capacitors in position. "A standard inline mini-wave process was therefore out of the question," says Fehrenbach.
The process specialists at Eutect therefore developed a special gripper that both holds the components in position and prevents the PCB from bending. "Our customer specified that no bending force should act on the components. It was therefore necessary to feed the assembly absolutely straight to the respective processes," recalls Lars Iwers, sales representative at Eutect, and continues: "The special feature here is that the panel arrived on the conveyor belt in the process cell without a workpiece carrier. However, as the component spacing was positioned too close to the belt, we could not solder directly under the belt. The panel therefore had to be picked up from the belt." During pick-up, the PCB is pressed against spacers from below and thus held absolutely straight in the gripper. The upright capacitors were also pressed against component-specific hold-down devices. The gripper then moves to the IW 1 mini wave soldering module with a specific soldering nozzle using an axis system. A titanium mask was mounted above the nozzle of the mini wave soldering module to protect the circuit board, which is moved to the soldering position using a spring base mechanism.
"The fact that we had to move a PCB panel without a workpiece carrier in this project required the gripper to have a special configuration. After all, a panel like the one in this case is relatively unstable, which is not very helpful for a reproducible soldering process," continues Fehrenbach. Therefore, attention was paid to ensuring that the gripper feeds the PCB panel into the soldering process in an absolutely stable and horizontal position. In addition, the gripper we developed allowed us to avoid the need for a soldering frame, which in other cases stabilizes the panel during the soldering process. "This allowed us to fully meet the customer's specifications. Thanks to the special gripper, it is now possible to guarantee a reproducible and cycle time-optimized process," says Fehrenbach.
Suggested Items
SolderKing Enhances Brainboxes' Electronics Manufacturing with Expert Support and Advanced Materials
03/26/2025 | SolderKingIn modern electronics manufacturing, success relies on more than high-quality soldering materials. Technical knowledge and process expertise are just as crucial for achieving consistent results. SolderKing, a leading UK manufacturer, provides both, combining advanced consumables with specialist support to help manufacturers optimise their soldering processes.
Indium to Showcase High-Reliability Solder Technology at IPC APEX EXPO 2025
03/05/2025 | Indium CorporationIndium Corporation®, a leading materials provider for the electronics assembly market, will feature its high-reliability solder solutions at IPC APEX EXPO 2025, taking place March 18-20 in Anaheim, California.
SolderKing Doubles Facility to Meet Growing Demand
02/18/2025 | SolderKingSolderKing, a leading UK manufacturer of soldering materials, has expanded its operations by doubling its facility. The move follows a significant rise in export sales throughout 2024 and reinforces the company’s position as a key supplier of regulatory-compliant soldering solutions across the UK and Europe.
SEHO to Highlight Cutting-Edge Soldering Technology at IPC APEX Expo 2025
02/17/2025 | SEHOSEHO, a worldwide leading manufacturer of complete solutions for soldering processes and automated production lines, is thrilled to present its best-selling selective soldering system SEHO SelectLine-C at the IPC APEX Expo 2025 in Anaheim.
Bridging the Gap: Workforce Collaboration in East Texas
02/13/2025 | Cory Blaylock, IPCIPC has partnered with Stephen F. Austin State University's (SFASU) Center for Applied Research and Rural Innovation (CARRI) and the IPC Education Foundation on a transformative project aimed at aligning academic training with real-world demands in electronics manufacturing.