REF: MYD028 |
 |
Protonic jet-prints solder for flexibility and quality
Increased flexibility, enhanced quality and elimination of the need for costly electroformed stepped stencils are among the benefits being enjoyed by Protonic, a leading Dutch developer and manufacturer of industrial electronic products, following the company’s installation of a MYDATA MY500 solder jet printer.
Many of the products manufactured by Protonic include both power and logic circuitry on the same board, which means that components in a wide range of package sizes and formats have to be used. To allow the correct amount of solder paste to be applied for each size of component, this has, in the past, meant that it was necessary to use expensive stepped stencils.
“Even with the stepped stencils, it was sometimes difficult to guarantee that the optimum amount of paste was applied to every pad,” said Michiel de Bruin, President of Protonic, “and there was no convenient way of adjusting paste application once the stencils had been produced. This made it particularly challenging for us to achieve optimum results when we were working with new and unfamiliar components, and when it was necessary to use substitute components during a production run.”
“For all of these reasons, and because of our commitment to always providing our customers with the best possible combination of service and quality, we decided to look for a better and more flexible method paste application. And that’s exactly what the MYDATA MY500 provides.”
The MY500 prints solder paste in a similar way to an office inkjet printer. This means that no stencils are needed, and that paste deposition can be controlled on a pad-by-pad basis. It is even possible to profile the application of paste across a pad, and adjustments to the amount of paste applied can be carried out quickly and easily.
At Protonic, the new MY500 machine is used in conjunction with the company’s MY19 high-performance pick-and-place machine to form a production line that offers the highest levels of versatility and flexibility while consistently delivering high-quality boards with an exceptionally low rate of defects.
“Not only is the MY500 meeting our needs for a better method of solder paste application, it is also proving very easy machine to work with,” said Michiel de Bruin. “It took virtually no effort for us to adapt to the solder jet technology and we were using the machine on production boards less than a day after MYDATA had finished commissioning it. From that time on, it has operated consistently and reliably.”
By eliminating the need for complex stencils, the MY500 solder jet printer is enabling Protonic to make substantial cost savings. The company also finds that the enhanced flexibility that the machine provides means that it can now respond even more quickly to its customers’ requirements and to changes in those requirements.
In addition, the MY500 makes it easy for Protonic to fine-tune the paste application process to achieve the best possible performance and board quality, and to cater for component substitutions.
For further information:
Paul Rooimans, MYDATA automation
Flightforum 880, 5657 DV Eindhoven,
Netherlands
Tel: +31 40 2620667
Fax: +31 40 2620668
Email: paul.rooimans@mydata.com
www: www.mydata.com
Press enquires:
Amanda Price, Fresh Public Relations Ltd
12 Church Street, Kidderminster, DY10 2AA
Tel: +44 (0) 7875 029458
Fax: +44 (0) 1562 844202
Email: amanda@freshpublicrelations.co.uk