World-class equipment provides high flexibility and accuracy for LED placement

The future, from a lighting prospective, will look drastically different. Besides providing high flexibility and accuracy, LED technology is cost effective and saves both companies and homeowners money on electricity bills. Because of this, LED technology is being used in more and more applications throughout the world.

In the last few years, Essemtec has provided the LED industry with state-of-the-art production equipment in various areas. Most of this production equipment was manufactured by customer design. Many customers now desire a batch manufacturing solution to produce sensor strips. The production begins by screen printing the solder paste on a high-end SP200 printer and then dispensing with a jet dispenser, pick-and-place LED and UV curing of the adhesive on a FLX2010-based module. The next step is to laser solder the pads using a third-party laser soldering system.

The sensor strips are based on a foil substrate consisting of up to 56 strips with three LED each. The process steps include dispensing adhesive with a jet dispensing unit, pick-and-place LED and curing the adhesive with UV light. The target cycle time for most customers is 5.4 seconds per sensor strip; however, Essemtec AG can achieve 4.1 sec. per strip, resulting in a 34 percent production capacity increase.

The concept of the LED solution is based on the FLX2010, which is equipped with a movable vacuum table, UV chamber and dispensing unit with jet valve. The foil is placed on a carrier. The vacuum table and the carrier are then pressurized permanently. The movement of the table is software controlled and the GUI is customized for the application. The head unit is equipped with a jet valve and the pick-and-place Z axis. The vacuum pump is located outside of the machine and runs constantly.

The placement system is based on the well-received pick-and-place modules from Essemtec AG. High precision and reliability are guaranteed and proven with more than 500 installations on a worldwide basis. The customization has been conducted under consideration of feasibility and cost effectiveness. The system is flexible and can be upgraded easily. It is a safe investment for the future extension of production capacity.