ASSEMBLÉON FEEDER TAKES 4-MM TAPE TO IMPROVE 01005 CHIP PLACEMENT AND REDUCE WASTE BY 75%

Veldhoven (Netherlands), 15 june 2010

A 4mm feeder for Royal Philips Electronics subsidiary Assembléon’s A-Series pick & place machines improves the reliability of 01005 component placement. Assembléon’s ITF3 feeder accepts the new W4P1 all-plastic tape standardized by the International Electrotechnical Commission (under IEC 60286-3-2: Type VI). The tape eliminates the paper dust that can cause bad solder connections to the micro-miniature components. It is also static free, and gives a more stable pick & place operation for a better pick rate. Its smaller size also helps to cut waste by 75% compared with traditional 8-mm tapes on a 2-mm pitch.

ITF3 4mm tapefeeders      

According to Jeroen de Groot, Assembléon’s Director of Marketing, the feeders are particularly aimed at module manufacturers and EMS (Electronic Manufacturing Services) industries. “These are now seeing large increases in demand for 01005 chip components,” he said. “Many equipment assemblers have previously avoided using the components because of the difficulty of placing them reliably. Our A-Series however gives single-digit defect-per-million (DPM) figures for all components. The machines use parallel placement which sets the industry benchmark for reliability, and is a much more controlled process than with the turret or revolver heads that dominate the rest of the industry. Another major improvement of introducing the W4P1 feeder is the ability to reduce waste drastically. Currently, the yearly worldwide use of ceramic capacitors and resistors uses over 8 million kilometers of 8-mm paper tape, which corresponds to 10 round trips to the moon. That can now be cut by 75%.”

Dust and static free
With 01005 chip components measuring only 0.4 x 0.2 mm (LxW), they are only just visible to the naked eye. Because the pocket dimensions cannot be guaranteed with W8P2 paper tapes, components can lie in different positions in the tape which increases the risk of mispicks and misplacements. Paper fibers come loose when the tape cover is pulled off by the feeders, and also in the pick process when nozzles press components (especially small ones) into the paper when picking.

Plastic tapes can eliminate fiber risk, but an 8-mm plastic tape is also not ideal: it can act as a springboard when pick & place nozzles press onto it to pick the 01005 component, tending to throw the component out of the tape and so giving a high chance of mispicks. The new W4P1 tape is much more stable (also because it is on a 1-mm pitch instead of the conventional 2 mm, and is just 4 mm wide). The tape is also static free to reduce the risk of components being thrown out when the cover tape is pulled off before they are picked.

Reducing environmental impact
The new feeders are the result of Assembléon’s ongoing R&D efforts to reduce the environmental impact of assembly equipment. The smaller size of the tapes and reels not only halves shipment and storage costs, but also reduces waste by around 75% since it cuts both the tape width and tape length by half. Combined with the industry’s lowest energy consumption for its A-Series equipment, the new feeders allow SMT companies to further improve their sustainability efforts. The company worked closely with Murata, which originally developed the W4P1 tape, to develop the feeders.