Due to increasing miniaturization and ever higher packaging density, the demands on the individual production steps in the electronics industry are rising. This also applies to the laser soldering of assemblies, where precise alignment of the laser is a guarantee for avoiding solder bridges and for highly accurate, reproducible soldering results. Since miniaturization and increased packaging density are an unstoppable trend, laser soldering specialist Eutect is cooperating with Jenoptik to ensure even more precise alignment of the laser for future applications.
“We usually get the projects on the table that cannot be implemented with standard solutions. This also applies to selective soldering processes where a laser is considered for melting the solder,” explains Matthias Fehrenbach, Managing Director of Eutect GmbH. It makes no difference whether the solder wire is conveyed via a wire feeder or via the Sustained Ring Soldering (SRS) soldering process newly presented at productronica in Munich. The SRS module produces solder rings from common solder wires, which enable a new cycle time-optimised, highly accurate and economically sustainable assembly soldering process. Using the newly developed SRS module, pre-assembled solder rings can be produced on the fly and placed on and around THT pins. The automatically reproducible solder rings can be positioned manually, with the aid of special tweezers and magazine dispensers, or automatically by means of special, highly dynamic pick & place handling on the solder joints to be processed or over the plated-through pins. These are then processed using laser, piston or induction soldering processes, as well as using IR emitters or hot air. “In order to achieve highly accurate results that meet future requirements, especially when processing the solder ring with lasers, the vision-assisted laser tool JENvelt® from Jenoptik is ideal,” Fehrenbach continues.
The JENvelt® is a plug & play solution combining 2D galvo scanner, F-Theta lens and camera with integrated image processing and intelligent software. It is a platform solution that can be optimized for different applications and integrated into existing machine solutions as a ready-to-install system. “The JENvelt® is easy to integrate into machines and meets the requirements of current and future laser material processing,” explains Steffen Reinl, Key Account Manager at Jenoptik Optical Systems. System integrators such as Eutect GmbH benefit from the complete solution with a short set-up time and an intelligent software package. This software is the core of the system, which combines scanner and laser control as well as image recognition. The software maps manufacturing projects, ensures the monitoring of the running process as well as the evaluation and feedback of the acquired data into the control system.
Eutect will include the JENvelt® as another laser module in the company’s modular system. “With this vision-assisted, intelligent optical laser tool, we can create even more precise solder joints, especially when it comes to highly demanding assemblies,” emphasizes Fehrenbach, and Reinl adds, “The integrated image channel is perfectly aligned and calibrated with the galvo scanner. In combination with our software solution, we ensure the positioning of the laser is independent of position and shape tolerances of the part to be processed, thus achieving very high precision.” Reinl goes on to explain about the JENvelt ® system that its ability to reliably detect component, assembly or contour positions allows customers to generate new or optimized manufacturing concepts. Devices for positioning the assembly can become obsolete, new machine concepts would be possible. A reduction in laser power can also be achieved. Component tolerances are also compensated for, as the JENvelt® always detects the actual position. This feature leads to more accurate soldering results, reduced fixture costs and thus reduced costs per assembly. For Fehrenbach, however, there is another very decisive advantage: “We presented our SRS module together with our new inline production concept E-ssembly at this year’s Motek. E-ssembly is based on the integration of the XPlanar mover system from Beckhoff, in which different assemblies can be transported simultaneously within a production line and supplied to different processes. The JENvelt® is able to detect different assembly variants within a production process and to treat them with high precision. Thus, the data communicated via the QR code of the XPlanar Mover could be cross-checked again by the JENvelt®. It is therefore an ideal complement to our idea of innovative inline production.”
Jenoptik is exhibiting the JENvelt® optics module at productronica in hall B2, booth 506. Eutect presents the SRS soldering at the competence stand on the subject of soldering in hall A4, booth 315.
