Motion Control Application Stories Versatile Form Factors to Meet Diverse Applications Flat Panel Display Production Semiconductor Production SMT/PCB Industrial Assembly Electronics Assembly www.advantech.
The market for electronics manufacturing is among the biggest in the world, and more and more of the production is now being outsourced to facilities in the fast-growing economies of Asia. At the same time, new technologies are being implemented to minimize inventory, improve quality, and cut design time to launch products faster than ever before. The outsourcing model of manufacturing has often improved economies of scale, but has also highlighted the importance of a wholistic approach to making products.
Table of Contents Flat Panel Display Production 1 2 3 4 LCD Panel Loader/ Unloader Korea P. 5 TFT Defect Inspection in LCD Panel Assembly Taiwan P. 7 TFT Defect Repair in LCD Panel Assembly Taiwan P. 9 TFT Light Testing in LCD Panel Assembly Korea P. 11 Semiconductor Production 5 6 7 8 Electronics Assembly Automated Programmer for ICs Malaysia P. 13 RAM Module Compatibility Test China P. 15 Laser Marking for Microchips Taiwan P. 17 Solder Placement System for BGA/CSP Chipsets Taiwan P.
Complete Application-Ready Platforms for the General Advantech offers application-ready platforms that range from industrial workstations and industrial-grade CPUs, to motion control, encoder input and isolated I/O cards for general motion control (GMC) application such as SMT/PCB, semicondutor and LCD manufacturing machines. As machine automation develops, high speed, effective distance transmissions, and convenient wiring become increasingly important for system integrators.
Motion Control Market Voltage-command Motion Control Embedded Motion Control PCI-1241 PCM-3240 UNO-2170 Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Panasonic Panasonic Indicator & Sensor Handwheel & Jog Indicator & Sensor Distributed Motion Control Master 100M Slave Sensors and Actuators Motion Control Cards Sensors and Actuators Slave Sensors and Actuators Slave Sensors and Actuators Slave Sensors and Actuators 4
1 LCD Panel Loader/Unloader Flat Panel Display Production Korea Introduction Project Requirements LCD screens have replaced CRT’s as the preferable choice for computer monitors, and increasingly, TV’s as well. Therefore, LCD production is currently one of the fastest growing product categories in the consumer electronics market, and rapid growth is expected for many years to come.
Solution Description Conclusion The system has a robotic arm to load or unload the panels from the stack, and conveyers to move panels through the belt. On top of the conveying processes, there are sensors set up for panel alignment. Finally, the panels are placed to the designated machines or into storage with another robotic arm.
2 TFT Defect Inspection in LCD Panel Assembly Flat Panel Display Production Taiwan Introduction Project Requirements During the LCD manufacturing process, having a zero fault tolerance is almost impossible. Moreover, LCD panels are very delicate products, and can frequently have minor defects. Therefore, defect inspection is essential at each assembly station. Our customer wanted to increase the efficiency of their defect inspection stations and speed up their overall LCD production.
Solution Description Conclusion Each camera at the inspection station takes photos of different segments of each LCD panel. The processed picture will be compared to reference pictures for examination. Even though the idea of having more cameras seems obvious, it is limited by the hardware and software capabilities. In the old proprietary system, the non user-friendly programming language and poor compatibility impeded the manufacturing resources.
3 TFT Defect Repair in LCD Panel Assembly Flat Panel Display Production Taiwan Introduction Project Requirements LCD Panels can have defects that need to be repaired during the panel assembly process. Spending resources to find problems, but not being able to solve them in the most efficient way degrades the flow of the entire process. LCD panels have infinitesimal arrays and cells embedded in the panels, and require a precise laser to fix the minor defects in the pixels.
Solution Description Conclusion The repairing system is designed to identify each of the damaged pixels and have the coordinates sent to the mechanical laser arm. Then, the laser will burn the right spot for damage control. The whole process may seem very simple; however, the data acquisition and information flow are extremely complex. The coordinates may vary from 2D to 3D, and the commands for the mechanical arm have to be extremely accurate due to the size of each array on the panel.
4 TFT Light Testing in LCD Panel Assembly Flat Panel Display Production Korea Introduction Project Requirements Some manufacturing industries focus on mass production, while others focus on the quality of the product being created. In the growing LCD market, both quality and quantity are in high demand. An Advantech customer in the LCD market wanted to increase the quality control of their LCD inspection process, and decided to focus on the lighting inspections for their TFT panels.
Solution Description Conclusion Due to the complexity of the LCD manufacturing process, orientation and spacing are extremely critical. With Advantech’s PCI-1202 and ADAM3752FN/3754FN modules, sensors make sure all the panels are in the right order and correct position on the conveyor. All the push buttons are also integrated within this system. Furthermore, the handshake signal between this station and other stations (such as in-between material handling and unloading) ensures good traffic control.
5 Automated Programmer for ICs Semiconductor Production Malaysia Introduction Project Requirements A handheld electronics manufacturer faced the risk of not meeting customer demands when their assembly process slowed to a crawl. They wanted to run their machine vision simultaneously with motion control to save time, but the performance of their system became sluggish due to the large memory requirements of the vision software.
Solution Description Conclusion The automatic pick and place operation runs in the sequence of loading, position, marking, targeting programming, sorting and unloading. These steps can be time consuming, and a heavy duty motion control card is required to accomplish such tasks. Accuracy and speed are key elements for pick & place programming tools. The variety of motion control and the large data flow can cause huge traffic in the assembly process.
6 RAM Module Compatibility Test Semiconductor Production China Introduction Project Requirements To improve test speed and accelerate changes in their production line, a large RAM module manufacturer chose to switch from PLC to PC-based machinery for compatibility testing. The new system, designed with Advantech’s PCI-1240U, and PCI-1750, completely integrates motion control and data acquisition, dramatically reducing standby time and increasing output.
The process starts with loading the dimensions, pin assignments, profile, and batch number into the system computer. A tray of RAM modules is then placed in the machine, and the operator presses a button to start the test.
7 Laser Marking for Microchips Semiconductor Production Taiwan Introduction Project Requirements: One of the final steps in the production of microchips is the printing of the information on the chip itself. Most chips just have a batch number and logo, but there is a new trend to include more information and have more complex patterns printed on the chips as well.
Solution Description: The machine loads a pattern file into its memory and calibrates the machine vision software so that it knows where to print on the microchip, and where to check the finished markings. Microchips are brought to the machine in a continuous stream on a conveyor belt. One axis of the PCI-1240U is used to control the speed of the conveyor belt, which can help ensure there is coordination with other machines in the production line.
8 Solder Placement System for BGA/CSP Chipsets Semiconductor Production Taiwan Introduction Project Requirements The soldering process is a critical stage in the circuit assembly process, as any faults can cause severe damage to the device. Furthermore, technology improvements and higher consumer demand for electronic products have forced circuits to evolve smaller and smaller.
Solution Description Conclusion The concept of a proprietary solder placement system is to have a central computer compiling all the data and to provide real time monitoring for the users. Advantech’s UNO-2160 is a compact and fanless computing platform with two PC/104 slots allowing high expansion abilities. It has no moving parts and excellent vibration resistance.
9 Semi-Automatic PCB Separator SMT/PCB Industrial Assembly China Introduction After many tough years, the PCB industry has learned that survival relies on investing in new equipment and technology. Chief among the new PCB markets is mobile communications, where handsets need highly compact and flexibly shaped PCBs. To meet this demand, a machine builder in China used Advantech chassis, I/O and motion control products to create a new general-purpose PCB separator.
For more precise separation, machine vision software is used to set the cutting coordinates. A picture is taken of the PCB and cutting coordinates are calculated and sent by the machine vision software to the PCI-1240U motion control card. The laser starts cutting the PCB, using PCI-1240U’s interpolation features for the rounded and irregular shapes. PCI-1750 is used for on/off control of the laser beam.
10 SMT/PCB Line Mounter SMT/PCB Industrial Assembly Taiwan Introduction Project Requirements In the electronics industry, mass production has become a necessity for any manufacturer who hopes to succeed. To keep pace with market demands, the traditional methods of manual labor have become obsolete; so much so that no company can survive without the help of an automated solution. PC-based pick & place machines can quickly and accurately place the right component to the right place, with live updates.
Solution Description Conclusion One of the current implementations uses a PLC to control the nozzle, and a PC-based controller to integrate product information to MES. However, this is not very efficient; the need to maintain two different technologies is cumbersome and time consuming. The newly proposed solution with a plug-in motion control card integrates nozzle control and production information to MES in one system, and can be made possible with Advantech’s PCI1240U.
11 Auto-Optical Solder Inspection SMT/PCB Industrial Assembly Taiwan Introduction Project Requirements Printed Circuit Boards are used in virtually every electronic device today, from cellular phones and personal computers to industrial and medical machinery. One of the most integral steps in assembling Circuit Boards is the solder placement. Our customer was using an outdated system that required 2 expensive machines, one for machine vision and one for machine control.
inspection. These systems work independently within the machine providing a combined solution. In this application, the motion “trajectories” are sent from the host to the drives. The drives interpret the trajectories and drive the servo motors accordingly. The drives also run supervisory monitoring programs and can execute a programmed script that is stored in flash memory. Previously, a centralized controller with a PC frontend was used to interface with I/O pneumatics and the motion system.
12 Automatic Solder Dispenser SMT/PCB Industrial Assembly Malaysia Introduction Project Requirements According to Moore’s Law, the number of transistors doubles on integrated circuits every 18 months. This shows that the electronic components become smaller and more complex as technology improves. For SMT/PCB board, same story applies. More components are needed to be implemented and the gaps between pins are narrower.
Solution Description Conclusion The purpose of a dispenser is to enhance mounting large-sized components on SMT/PCB boards. When a SMT/PCB board is on a move through the assembly line, there is a tendency that the large components may shift out of the position. Therefore, the glue from the dispenser between the board and components are used to ensure an accurate and stable placement. As technology thrives, the role of the dispenser is necessary in the process of manufacturing SMT/PCB boards.
13 Quality Control of Frequencies for Mobile Phones Electronics Assembly Taiwan Introduction Project Requirements The high cost of state-of-the-art quality control systems for mobile phones has created a demand for more cost-effective alternatives. A leading ODM mobile phone manufacturer in Taiwan found such an alternative with Advantech. Standard products from Advantech were used to verify GSM and GPRS signals of mobile phones.
The steps are repeated two more times to test 1.8 GHz GSM and GPRS signals. Software takes care of switching from one test mode to the next, so the operator simply places mobile phones into the fixture, and listens to audio signals to see if the phone passes the test. After the three modes have been tested, the test results are automatically stored in a database together with the product’s serial number. The operator removes the phones from the fixtures, and replaces them with four new phones.
14 Keypad Quality Control for Mobile Phones Electronics Assembly China Introduction Project Requirements One of the basic tests in the Quality Control of mobile phones is checking the output signals after pressing keys on the keypad. This can be done manually by an operator (pressing the keys one by one and verifying the signal output with a multimeter), but a far more efficient and quality-assuring process can be created with a few Advantech I/O cards and a fixture.
in voltage levels defines the color. By testing these voltage signals with PCI-1711L, correct color display can also be tested. After verifying the various functions of the first key, a signal goes to PCI-1758UDIO to inform that it can proceed to the next key. The process continues to check each key on the keypad. When complete, a digital output channel is used to alert the operator so that the tested phone can be exchanged with a new one.
15 High-Precision Motion Control for 3D Laser Engraving Electronics Assembly China Introduction Project Requirements Although lasers have become a widely accepted tool in the industrial market, many 3D laser engraving machines are still being driven by proprietary systems. While functional, these systems lack the high-performance and high-accuracy capabilities that many of today’s demanding optoelectronic applications require.
The 4th axis of the motion control card is used to move the laser from its secure position to the engraving position, while a digital output signal is used to light up a warning indicator to show that the laser is active. A digital output of PCI-1240U is used to switch on the laser that carves the first point of the first layer. PCI-1240U switches off the laser after the allocated time, as the size of the cut depends on the time spent engraving.
16 Tube Bending Machine Electronics Assembly Taiwan Introduction Project Requirements As creative technology improves, new metal alloys have become stronger, lighter, and more durable. Many of these new metal products are being used in the airplane and aerospace industries, which require strong, light metal tubes with complex shapes and curves.
Solution Description Conclusion Bending machines function by taking advantage of separate motors to create differential torque. A tube traveling through the motors will be bent due to this opposing force. Sensors will then perform quality checks on the bent tube to ensure proper shape and smoothness.
Wiring Table Panasonic® MINAS-A 37 Yaskawa® SGDM
Mitsubishi® MR-J2S Oriental® LIMO EZMC 38
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