Process requirements for high density SMD placement

As the drive towards assembly miniaturization continues and Surface Mount Technology matures, components are becoming ever smaller and thinner. Despite considerable skepticism when 0201 devices were first introduced, they are now commonly used for high density board assembly. Now, it is the turn of 01005 components to enter production.

Although processors take the electronic headlines, to production equipment they are just singe components (admittedly with a lot of closely-spaced connections). The great majority of components by number are made up of chip resistors and capacitors, and these largely determine the board size of electronic end products. However, taking full advantage of this miniaturization demands a further reduction of component interspacing.

The 01005 chip components are so small (dimensions are just 0.4 mm long by 0.2 mm wide) that they place extra demands on soldering and assembly processes. Processes must be fully stable and capable before components can be placed reliably. That will need work on printing stencils, the placement process itself, and soldering conditions since the components cannot be used in mass production until defect per million levels are close to single digit figures.

To read the full article, click here