Z-AXIS has installed a new SMT line as part of a $1.5 million expansion that began in the spring of 2024. This is our third SMT line, and it’s already running at faster speeds than the other two.
In this video, you’ll see how our new board de-stacker, stencil printer, and pick-and-place machines are helping us to speed production and promote quality at our Made in USA manufacturing facility.
PCB De-Stacker
Our new PCB de-stacker loads bare boards for assembly. This sturdy unit features an intuitive touchscreen interface and is equipped with a motor instead of a crank for adjusting the width with ease.
A board is removed from the bottom of the stack and lowered onto a conveyor belt that resists electrostatic discharge. Z-AXIS has three board de-stackers in all, but we like our newest one the best.
Stencil Printer
Next, the board travels to a new stencil printer, a Mycronic MYPro S30. This machine hit the market last spring and produces high-quality prints. Its speed helps us avoid bottlenecks with boards that don’t have a lot of parts.
The MYPro S30 also has a laser management system that measures solder paste height. If the paste isn’t high enough, more is automatically added to the stencil. That’s a labor savings for us and a cost savings for customers.
This new printer also has a bottom stencil cleaner that runs after every 10 prints. That’s a big help with fine-pitch components, and it also cleans apertures. When the board leaves the stencil printer, it’s inspected visually.
Pick-and-Place Machines
Next, the board travels to the first of two new Mycronic MYPro A40 pick-and-place machines. Each machine has two heads, each with 7 nozzles spaced 20 millimeters apart for placing larger components.
More SMT Line Equipment
These new heads are faster because they support 7 up-and-down motions and 7 individual rotations. The heads on our older pick-and-place machines have 8 nozzles, but they can’t rotate individually and are 10 mm apart.
With our new pick-and-place equipment, each head rotates, flies in, places the first part, and then places each successive part without moving all the way back up and spinning each time. Together, these two machines will place 40,000 components per hour.
The second new pick-and-place machine is identical to the first. It places the rest of the parts while letting us use just one stencil printer. In our next video, you’ll see the board turner, oven, and AOI in our new SMT line.
Watch our next video to learn more.