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New LPKF CuttingMaster 2122 Improves Depaneling Efficiency
June 24, 2021 | LPKFEstimated reading time: 1 minute
LPKF has enhanced the performance of the proven and popular LPKF CuttingMaster depaneling system even more with a newly developed laser source. Initial applications demonstrate a significantly higher cutting speed and, as a result, an up to 25% higher output. For users, this yields a whole new dimension for improving efficiency in this price-to-performance range. It gives PCB manufacturers the full advantages of laser technology for the price of a milling machine.
Drawing on extensive expertise in both laser technology and depaneling, LPKF’s engineers have developed a special laser source that is now used in the latest addition to the CuttingMaster platform. It delivers precision and speed with high reliability. The time needed by the predecessor machine to cut a comparison sample in a 0.8 mm FR4 board with “FastCut” was already impressive at 7.3 seconds, but the new LPKF CuttingMaster 2122 does the job in just 5.9 seconds. That's a difference of nearly 20%, and it can even be more than that by using CleanCut technology. All this is achieved with the same invest. In the cutting of coverlayers, too, the new laser system achieves a considerable improvement for the price-to-performance ratio. Compared with the prior state of the art, the LPKF CuttingMaster 2122 makes it possible for users to achieve a whole new level of performance and added value. With it, LPKF combines the advantages of laser technology in a particularly cost-efficient system.
All laser machines of the LPKF CuttingMaster 2000 series are ideally suited to cutting of flexible, flex-rigid, and rigid PCBs – made of, for example, FR4, polyimide, or ceramics. With laser cutting, no mechanical or appreciable thermal stresses are introduced. Therefore, even sensitive substrates can be processed with high precision. Ablation products are directly extracted. The cutting channels are just a few µm wide for optimal panel area utilization.
Processing by the LPKF CuttingMaster is completely software-controlled. The layout files can be transferred to the machine with a click of the mouse – no lengthy changeover or prior elaborate tool manufacturing is required. Processing parameters and laser paths are adapted to take into account varying materials or cutting contours directly. The high level of automation of the compact system, which can be selected modularly depending on the application, results in high throughput and high repeatability.
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03/29/2024 | MKS’ AtotechMKS’ Atotech and ESI will participate in this year’s IPC APEX EXPO 2024, the PCB industry’s largest event in North America, to be held in Anaheim, California, to be held from April 6-11 2024 at the Anaheim California Convention Center.
PCBflow Helps Designers Choose Best Manufacturer for the Job
03/28/2024 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineI recently spoke with a few technologists who have first-hand experience with PCBflow: Susan Kayesar, technical product manager with Siemens; Evgeny Makhline, CTO of Nistec, a CEM based in Israel; and Peter Tranitz, senior director of technology solutions and leader of the IPC Design Initiative. They explain how PCBflow functions, from the designer’s and manufacturer’s viewpoint, and how this database helps break down the wall between these stakeholders.
ICAPE Webinar: Want to Know How to Order PCBs in 5 Minutes?
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Elementary, Mr. Watson: Ensuring Design Integrity
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Punching Out: Acquiring a PCB/EMS Shop: Brownfield vs. Greenfield
03/27/2024 | Tom Kastner -- Column: Punching Out!We often get asked about establishing a new company (greenfield) rather than buying an existing PCB or EMS shop (brownfield). There are many criteria to consider. Many buyers want to grow through M&A, but they cannot find acquisition targets that fit their criteria. Perhaps they can find the right shop, or at least one that fits five out of 10 criteria, but they encounter obstacles, such as owners who do not want to sell, price expectations that are too high, or negotiations that are too difficult. Despite the interest in building new facilities, since 2000, few companies have gone the greenfield route. Here is a look at the pros and cons of buying vs. building.