Evolution of special-shaped components

It is fulfilled in today's technologically advanced society. Especially in the electronics industry, the product-to-market cycle for computers, disk drives and laptop products has been reduced from a few years to 12 months or less. Faster, better, and cheaper products are evolving at a rapid pace. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and contract electronics manufacturers (CEMs) that want to remain competitive in the global market must increase production, quality and productivity by automating as much as possible. Manual processes on the production line must be carefully reviewed to determine how to automate or optimize these processes.

The reality of special-shaped components and their continued existence

Od-form assemblies are hand-crafted processes that are inefficient and can be found on production lines worldwide. It is a component placement that may have an unusual shape; requires special handling; a small amount on the board; or other problems that do not allow it to be automated through a sophisticated placement system. Typically, these shaped elements are assembled by hand. Due to the diverse nature and the lack of an adjustable stabilization method, profiled assemblies are often considered to be the final challenge of automation. However, special-shaped automation is becoming a growing reality for industry leaders who recognize that this is an unnecessary roadblock for complete line optimization.

Originally shaped components (Odd form by default)

Contrary to the original idea, the through hole technology did not completely disappear. In fact, advances in surface mount component technology have eroded the use of more and more via components and shaped components. As yesterday's standard components were replaced by smaller, more advanced packaging such as flip chip and ball grid array (BGA), the remaining standard components became shaped components. For example, dual inline package (DIP) components and DIP devices have been standard in PCB assembly. However, DIP is now a common variant because of its limitations on PCBs, so it is not possible to purchase equipment that only has this type of component.

Other form factors that were previously considered to be standard components have been replaced by smaller, faster component packages. Examples include connectors, resistors, and capacitors. Although reduced, the use of such components will not disappear because of their reliability, integrity, cost and usability, which does not require small or advanced packaging components. In addition, many through-hole components are easier to purchase and have shorter lead times than surface mount components. For all of these reasons, the industry seems to be aware of the use of through-hole components as much as possible, and it is commercially useful to treat the profile as an integral part of the future assembly process.

Designed for use with odd-shaped components (Odd form by design)

Other factors that continue to exist in the assembly of shaped components are the shaped components that are considered for design. These components are often considered to be shaped as equivalent to other surface mount or via components on the PCB, their size and special processing requirements. Examples of shaped components on these designs include transformers, LEDs, displays, relays, headers, SIMMs, DIMMs, and power connectors. The value that such components provide for the product is that the more advanced and cost-effective packaging prices are not met and the higher durability is achieved. For example, in the cost-intensive automotive industry, electronic engine control modules are required to withstand an environment that is difficult to tolerate. Frequent exposure to extreme heat and vibration requires the most robust and reliable assembly technology at a reasonable price. Some similar examples can be found in telecommunications, computer electronics, and consumer electronics. In these applications, cost and reliability are the differences between success and failure.

Today's shaped automation

Fig.1 Until now, the original shaped components made it more difficult to use automated equipment because of the small amount of placement/insertion. In addition, the problem with odd form by design is that there are not enough flexible devices to handle these highly mixed shaped components. Nonetheless, with existing special-shaped electronic assembly techniques, automation is both reasonable and available. In most cases, equipment manufacturers offer the flexibility to handle highly-mixed and high-volume shaped components on a single platform. Using today's technology, profiled through-hole and surface mount components can be mounted in a single system by providing advanced feed, positioning, gripping and clamping techniques (Figure 1).

Current feeding techniques include reliable strip, tube, stock and bulk supply methods. This different product mix has made automation of almost all shaped components possible. Each feeding method has its advantages and disadvantages, depending on its application, but it provides a more reliable, flexible and faster method for manual replacement. Also, as the industry standardizes component packaging and feeding methods, the feeding technology will be improved.

Current locating techniques include three-dimensional (3-D) compliance and vision. 3-D compliance technology allows components to be reliably positioned on the feeder, eliminating unnecessary visual requirements. The vision solution is best suited for profiled, surface mount applications, with more precise pitch pins and a variable package design that requires reliable positioning and placement.

Today's grapping technology allows for the handling of virtually any shaped via and surface mount components in any mix and sequence without the need for tool changes. Existing techniques can be grabbed by the body or pins of the component, which is most effective when dealing with DIP. Today's crawling technology ranges from precision tools to only a few component types to flexible 3-D compliant tools that can handle the most component types. Cycle time and mix/yield requirements often determine which technology is best for an application. More sophisticated tools offer better benefits for lower mix, higher throughput applications, while more flexible 3-D compliant tools yield better benefits in medium and high mix, medium volume applications.

The current clinching technology is the most flexible. High speed, programmable, single thimble clamping technology allows any number of pins to be clamped in any direction (0 to 360°) and angle. Large pins (up to 0.062" steel pins) can now be clamped, and the special clamping program used to determine the manual process can now be handled more reliably and faster with today's clamping technology.

As a result of these profiled advancements, work previously done off-line can be done more efficiently in-line through fully automated or semi-automatic profiled systems.

From manual to automated: the ideal profile

Some applications that exist in the automated profiled assembly process will provide more beneficial and more productive results on the production line than manual assembly processes. Some of these applications include:

Components requiring a pin-in-paste process
Components that are difficult to handle by hand due to their size and shape, such as LEDs, triacs, small axial components, and pin headers
Components that require the user to cut and shape, such as TO-220
Non-standard surface mount components with dense feet
Component with polarity problems
Components that require clamping (ie, the back of the insert), such as components with heavier heads
Manual assembly of higher throughput components that do not maintain the rhythm rate of the production line
Large pin components requiring clamping (Figure 2)
Components requiring special clamping procedures
Fig.2 Once the automatic shaped equipment has been purchased, the line balance is the next step. Typically, profiled mounting systems are installed near the end of the line - after the top surface mount component system or specialized radial or axial inserter, prior to the wave soldering process. Since most through-hole components can only be processed by a wave soldering furnace rather than a reflow soldering furnace, this layout helps to mix the components with the appropriate soldering process. Until all via elements can be subjected to a reflow soldering environment and wave soldering is not necessary, the layout of such a line will continue to depend in part on the supply of the required soldering process.

Is special-shaped automation economically cost-effective?

The ROI (return on investment) of a fully automated assembly system can be achieved in 12 to 18 months. The standard for similar, high reuse fixed equipment is 3 to 5 years. A semi-automated approach with relatively few fixed asset costs may provide even faster returns.

In addition, automation may be more reasonable if one considers the loss of revenue due to the poor quality output typically produced by hand-shaped assembly. If you calculate the additional costs of scrap, waste, rework, repair, re-inspection of returned goods, shipping and repackaging, claims payable, replacement, and reputation, manual shaped assembly can be prohibitively expensive.


in conclusion

Shaped assembly is not necessarily a manual process. For factories that have begun to automate the manual processes that have been retained on their production lines, the results are more plausible. Some industry leaders get a lot of savings every year when they rework, and the defects on the single line are reduced by 75%. With such benefits and the existence of two fully automatic and semi-automatic assembly systems, it is of great significance to automate the existing manual shaped process on the production line.