IMS has 65,000 placements per hour of Surface Mount Assembly capability in 2 lines.  The heart of our Surface Mount Assembly capability is provided by state of the art Juki Flexible Placers. We have 2 SMT lines, both anchored by Juki's KE 2060 pick and place machines, capable of 13,000 placements per hour. These lines will place parts as small as 0201, 12mil pitch feeders and micro BGA's.

All our Surface Mount Lines are in line for better throughput quality.

SMT LINE 1

The SMT prep area/feeder load station is equipped with two set up areas and portable feeder carts for the FX-1 and 2060 Juki machines.  These portable carts are pre-loaded at the feeder load stations and once the portable feeder carts are fully loaded, they are transported to the Juki Machines, placed in position, connected to the machines and the Operators are ready to continue the process on line. 

These feeder carts allows for speedier set up at the SMT lines as operators are able to verify parts, set up feeders and load the feeder carts ahead of time.  Once the previous job is finished on line, the portable feeder carts that are currently on line are released from their positions on the machine and moved back to the feeder set up station.  The next load of portable feeder carts are exchanged on the Juki machines in just a few moments, ready to go for the next job.  An Operator will then be responsible for unloading the previous job and gettting the next set up ready.

SMT line 1 is also equipped with JOT Automation Line Loaders and Unloaders.  At the front end of SMT Line 1, the magazine is loaded with bare PCB's, inserted into the JOT Magazine holder and the boards are then fed directly into the printer. 

Once the board is printed, the MPM fully inspects the PCB for paste disposition and bridging.  The board will then continue down the conveyors, through the FX-1 and 2060 pick and place machines.  As the PCB build is completed on line, a 100% pre-oven inspection is performed before the PCB proceeds into the Conceptronic Oven.  At the end of SMT Line 1, the PCB's are loaded directly from the oven conveyor into another JOT magazine.

When this magazine is full, it is removed and transferred to the AOI (Automated Optical Inspection Machine), where the PCB's will be transported one at a time into the machine for a thorough inspection by an AOI machine program created from the original board CAD XY Data. There is virtually no handling of boards from the start of the printing process to AOI Inspection. 

Line 1 operates with the MPM Momentum Fully Automatic printer, with automated paste inspection for bridging and paste deposition. 

The Vi-3K is a High Performance AOI System that determines the presence and absence of components, their value and ensures placement accuracy and solder integrity.  The AOI Station is set up directly at the end of our SMT lines, for 100% inspection and re-work done immediately before moving the boards along the process.

We have a veteran staff of through-hole assemblers who work very accurately and efficiently to ensure quality manual assembly. Their experience is complimented by a variety of lead forming/cutting equipment, 2 slide lines and a Technical Devices Nu-Era soldering machine.

Our Cable Assembly department is anchored by Schluinger cut/strip/crimp equipment. Our staff has years of experience in a variety of different cable and harness styles, including RF, Military Circular, Single and Multi Conductor.

IMS is pleased to offer inspection services using the patented "ERSACOPE". The ERSASCOPE optical system is the world`s first BGA optical inspection system enabling non-destructive viewing of concealed soldering joints under a component. With magnification up to 700 X, problematic areas under µBGAs and Flip Chips can be easily inspected at a minimal distance from the component. Three light outlets at the ERSASCOPE optical system ensure superb light distribution beneath the component. From the front, light fibers surround the optical system, creating the smallest shadows on the solder balls and decreasing glare; optically coupled backlighting from the rear highlights the contours and joints of internal solder balls.

Thanks to the mechanical coupling of the backlighting with the inspection head, the illumination remains uniform during movement along the component, and allows for the fastest multiple BGA inspection of any system on the market.In practical inspection work, components widely distributed on the board often have to be quickly inspected. ERSA inspection tables can be quickly adjusted ergonomically through hand sliding action. During the inspection phase, the hand wheels allow for micrometer movements to precisely view even the smallest structure. This combines user friendliness and productivity with precision adjustment. Thanks to the system`s modularity, ERSASCOPE offers upgradability to handle any board size, e.g. large motherboards, Internet router/backplane PCBs, and solder paste stencils. The combination of the pull-out unit (260mm detractable slide) and XL inspectionr table (600mm x 700mm) allows an inspection range of approximately 500 x 600 mm without having to move the PCB! BGAs are just one area of application where ERSASCOPE technology adds value. Other critical areas which are currently difficult to inspect to standards are PQFP heel fillets, PTH wall integrity, fine pitch solder paste deposition, through hole connectors, and MID structures. Here, multiple applications are possible through the quick and accurate adjustment of the stand, which allows oblique views and, in combination with the rotatable inspection table, panorama views with 7 axes of movement.

The possibility of top view surface inspection with the ERSASCOPE optical system is a further indicator of its versatility. The key to achieving repeatable and accurate inspection results lies in ease of use of the system. The ERSASCOPE uses a Hardware/Software guided approach to guarantee the highest quality of operation for all levels of operators.

Dan Radu, Purchasing Manager

Randy Basom, Operations Manager

Andrew Koles, P.Eng.

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