The Knowledge Base: The Era of Advanced Packaging
Standard of Excellence: Finding and Developing Future Leaders in Manufacturing
Global Sourcing Spotlight: Navigating the Variables of Holiday Schedules in Global Sourcing
DDM Novastar Awarded Custom Pick-and-Place Machine Order
August 30, 2016 | DDM Novastar Inc.Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
DDM Novastar, a U.S. manufacturer of SMT and PCB assembly equipment, was awarded an order to design, build and commission a unique reel-to-reel in-line PCB assembly line. The customer, a large international medical device manufacturer, sought a company that could take a reel of substrate, populate it with BGA logic circuits, reflow them in place, and finish by rolling the completed strip onto an outboarding reel interlined with paper.
Solder paste is dispensed in the first step of the process, then an automatic vision system verifies its accuracy. Next, as the strip proceeds without stopping, an in-line pick-and-place machine positions a micro BGA circuit, via various loop controls, from a tape feeder onto the strip, with accuracy of +/- .0005”. Another vision system verifies its position. The strip then travels through a continuous oven to reflow the solder, and passes through a cooling unit to return the assembly to ambient temperature. The next station performs an electrical test of the final circuit on the fly, and the strip is then rolled into a final coil, to be moved to additional processing stations.
When complete, a single reel contains nearly 15,000 micro BGA circuits, each of which is ultimately used to provide feedback on a single medical device.
Commented Bob Voigt, DDM Novastar’s application engineer, “The customer came to us because of our skills at making non-standard assembly equipment, and quite frankly, they’ve been very happy with the end result. For customers looking for some level of customization, DDM has vertically integrated design, engineering, software and manufacturing capabilities to get the job done, soup to nuts.”
About DDM Novastar, Inc.
With over 24,000 SMT and PCB assembly systems sold, DDM Novastar is a leading USA manufacturer of OEM equipment for the short to medium run production environment. Since our introduction of the first Through Hole Lead-forming and Component Counter products in 1982, DDM Novastar has remained an industry leading innovator. By offering our customers the most reliable, easy-to-operate, easy-to-service, and lowest total cost of ownership “turn-key” SMT OEM systems available today, our commitment is to be your primary source for the most comprehensive range of solutions for prototyping, pilot manufacturing, and low to medium run high mix applications. DDM Novastar’s unparalleled array of stencil printers, automated pick and place, reflow and batch ovens, selective and wave solder equipment is backed by superior technical support and can accommodate the most demanding applications with absolute precision.
Share on:
Suggested Items
Book Excerpt: The Printed Circuit Assembler’s Guide to... Low-Temperature Soldering, Vol. 2, Chapter 5
12/23/2024 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamChapter 5 introduces the advantages of using low-temperature soldering for through-hole components, including cost efficiency, reliability improvement, and reduced warpage. Also covered: the evaluation of different fluxes and the performance of HRL3 in wave soldering and selective soldering processes.
Overview of Soldering Systems With Vacuum
12/18/2024 | Dr. Paul Wild, Rehm Thermal Systems GmbHWhen soldering electronic assemblies, the focus of the vacuum application is on the removal of volatile substances from the solder joints and the associated reduction of pore formation. Particularly in the thermal management of power electronics components, pores can cause so-called hotspots with higher temperatures due to their poor heat conduction. These hotspots can lead to overheating of the components on the one hand and to thermally induced destruction of the solder structure on the other.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
12/13/2024 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007This week, Peter Tranitz discusses the upcoming Pan-European Electronics Design Conference, set for Jan. 29-30 in Vienna, Austria. Pete Starkey brings us a review of the most recent EIPC Technical Snapshot webinar, which featured a global PCB maker update by Dr. Hayao Nakahara. Don't miss our interview with Manfred Huschka, who explains how companies can begin their own China Plus One plan. Stan Farnsworth breaks down photonic soldering and discusses its use in soldering materials that are not typically compatible. I also enjoyed Dan Beaulieu’s discussion on the value of consistency, and why just showing up for work is half the battle, especially in an inconsistent, evolving industry like ours.
Advancing Photonic Soldering
12/11/2024 | Nolan Johnson, SMT007 MagazineStan Farnsworth, director of customer satisfaction at PulseForge, discusses the advancements in photonic soldering that highlight its energy efficiency and versatility. Over the past two years, the company has refined its applications for flexible substrates and energy reduction, finding that photonic soldering allows the processing of materials that typically aren’t thermally compatible and offers significant energy savings compared to traditional methods.
Indium Introduces New ROL0 and Halogen-free Flux-cored Wire
12/11/2024 | Indium CorporationIndium Corporation announced the global availability of CW-807RS, a new high-reliability, halide- and halogen-free flux-cored wire that improves wetting speeds and cycle times for electronics assembly and robot soldering applications.