Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1243344
66 SMT007 MAGAZINE I MAY 2020 And we have been able to improve even more. You may remember we acquired the company Vi Technology in France a while ago. They had special competence in SPI and AOI technolo- gies. The solder paste inspection (SPI) technol- ogy was extremely important and relevant for us because we can now combine the jet print technology with an advanced inspection tech- nology and offer our customers a closed-loop solution, a tangible step forward, providing an Industry 4.0 contribution. When every board matters and customers would like to have 100% trust in their solder depositing process, they buy the connected solution—the SPI behind the jet printer. The SPI recognizes after jet printing any deviation from being perfect, creates a potential neces- sary repair file, and returns this file back to the jet printer. When you bring back the same board in the jet printer, based on the barcode, it recognizes if a board needs to be repaired; in this case, it only executes the repair file, the board is perfect, and you avoid waste. We can also do the same combining a sten- cil printer, an SPI machine, and a jet printer because sometimes the line speed demand is so high that customers still have to operate stencil printers. Then, you can, as a next process step, inspect the printed board with our SPI. It may recognize that there is some deficiency in the printed result. Again, the SPI creates a repair file and sends it to the jet printer. In the next process step, the board goes into the printer where it will be repaired. That means the com- bination of technologies like the SPI and the jet printer delivers higher quality and measurable improvement than ever possible when relying on the standard stencil printer. Johnson: I'm imagining what that would look like on the manufacturing floor. You're run- ning boards through the jet printer and look- ing at the results of that printing process. Some boards are going to go straight through, and some boards are going to take two passes through the machinery with the help of an operator. Jargon: Yes, you can connect the stencil printer, the SPI, and the jet printer, and—in the ideal case—the PCB passed straight through the line, it stencils, inspects, and repairs. In case you set up your line stencil-free and invest only in jet printing and SPI, you set up the process dif- ferently. When the SPI identifies a deficiency and alerts a defect on the board, the operator can manually bring the board back in the jet- ter for repair. Some customers have installed another jet printer behind the SPI; they do not need to touch the board, and it goes automat- ically and straight in the repair process. All those combinations are possibilities. It depends on the setup the customers install on their factory floor. Johnson: Obviously, software—programming the inspection routines—becomes a critical part of the process. Jargon: That's correct. The machine has more mathematics and intelligent algorithms than hardware. The technology to print is a combi- nation of very reliable hardware and advanced software. You need a very robust platform with a high-quality gantry, unique ejector technol- ogy, and operating software. We are jet print- ing now since 2005.The software is a very important part of the entire Mycronic solution, which we have continuously improved. We are printing solder dots on the fly. That means the ejector is continuously moving while we deposit material. The algorithm in the software calculates in advance the ballistic When every board matters and customers would like to have 100% trust in their solder depositing process, they buy the connected solution— the SPI behind the jet printer.