Pressac. Call us on: ELECTRONIC PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT. Summer 2015 Issue 52

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1 ELECTRONIC PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT Call us on: Summer 2015 Issue 52 News Pressac ramps up production with i-pulse Pressac Communications manufacturer of electronic Telecommunications products as well as a new range of Energy harvesting radio controlled sensing products, has increased production capacity by installing a second SMT placement line supplied by Blundell Production equipment. A new i-pulse M20 SMT mounting machine is the centrepiece of the new line at the company s Nottingham factory and it is partnered by an Ersa Hotflow reflow oven and a DEK Horizon screen printer. Pressac s production engineering manager John Patterson takes up the story: We already have an ipulse line based on an M4 machine which was installed in This has performed extremely well for us with hardly any downtime, therefore it was an easy decision to purchase a second ipulse machine. We did look at offerings from other suppliers but there was not anything offering the same flexibility, build quality and value well as increased production on existing Telecommunications products. The ipulse machines are robust, sturdy and have proven themselves to be very flexible across a whole range of component packages. The new M20 machine has been specified with the latest F3 electric feeders which John is very impressed with. They are tough, quiet, accurate, easy to use and we do not get any missed picks he says. Of Blundell s installation and training he says It was first class. He singles out Ian Bell, Blundell s senior installation and Pressing the start button maintenance engineer for on Pressac s new line special praise. He always goes the extra mile and the for money. This coupled with our most important thing is that I know experience of Blundell s support, I can always pick up the phone and which has been superb with all of get answers straight away, Blundell the equipment supplied by them have always given us reliable, meant that we preferred to stay speedy service with Blundell rather than change to Still having a mix of through hole a supplier whose support was and surface mount work means unproven. that Pressac also use an Ebso He continues: We needed more selective soldering machine and a capacity to handle the new Energy CMS 400 wave soldering machine Harvesting Sensing products as both supplied by Blundell.

2 DEFLUXING MOISTURE CONTROL CABINETS REFLOW OVENS Marl leads the way with 1 million LED investment Avisit to a manufacturing equipment exhibition two years ago led to an investment of over 1 million in a new SMT production facility for integrated solutions and LED industry leader MARL International. Their engineers visited the Blundell stand at Southern Manufacturing where they were immediately impressed by the ipulse M20 SMT placement machine. Nathan Orton, Marl s deputy managing director says: The ipulse machine seemed ideally suited to our work in LED placement. The paste dispensing facility appealed to us straight away as it would allow us to produce short runs of LED products without the need for time consuming screen printing. We could see it would give us the ability to make rapid prototypes which is very important to us. A visit to the Blundell demonstration room followed, where some trial boards were assembled which confirmed Marl s impression that the M20 was the right machine for them. We established that it would meet a broad range of current and future LED lighting requirements continues Nathan Orton. We were originally looking for one machine but soon realised that we needed two machines to handle future volumes, so we decided to create an SMT Centre with two new lines to add to the line we already had. As well as the two ipulse M20 machines Marl purchased two Iemme Neo 20 convection reflow ovens from Blundell. Linking conveyors were supplied by Nutek. The purchase of the equipment and the refurbishment of the building was helped by a grant from Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership and it became part of a 1 million investment in Marl s production facility. Marl are one of the pioneers of the LED lighting industry. They have been working with LED technology for over 40 years. A particular strength is in their design department where they have 12 strong team working on designs for leading LED suppliers, and serving industries such as rail, telecoms, power generation and rugged electronic products. Managing director Adrian Rawlinson says: We at Marl have ambitious growth plans which the team at here are confident of delivering, with the help of the new ipulse lines.

3 STENCIL CLEANING SMT PROTOTYPING PICK AND PLACE Blundell inducted into the MTC Hall of Fame Blundell Production Equipment has joined the rapidly growing roll call of members of the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry. Having supplied several items of production equipment to MTC s advanced technology production line, Blundell was a leading contender for full membership of the prestigious MTC Manufacturing Technology Group. MTC chief executive Dr Clive Hickman said he was pleased that a company with Left to right: Paul Blundell, Dr. Clive Hickman, CEO of MTC and Neil Blundell Paul Blundell fixes the Blundell plaque to MTC s Member s wall the specialist expertise of Blundell had joined the MTC s community. Blundell has been an industry leader since it was established in the early 1980 s and we look forward to working with Blundells technicians at MTC he said. The MTC opened in 2011 and was founded by the University of Birmingham, Loughborough University, the University of Nottingham and TWI Ltd. The MTC s members include some of the UK s major global manufacturers.

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6 DEFLUXING MOISTURE CONTROL CABINETS REFLOW OVENS Speedboard moves to vapour phase soldering with IBL Speedboard Assembly Services has enhanced its PCB assembly capabilities by investing in an IBL BLC 509 Vapour Phase reflow machine from Blundell Production Equipment. Speedboard s decision was based on the fact that Vapour Phase affords much better control and stability over the entire soldering process, compared to traditional reflow soldering, regardless of board characteristics. PCBs manufactured using Vapour Phase do not experience the high temperature differences typically produced during traditional reflow soldering, which can cause component and/or board damage. The Vapour Phase process works by heating the assembled PCB in a vapour of boiling Galden, an inert liquid which is ideal for the wetting of lead-free alloys without risk of oxidation. Neil Owen, Speedboard s Managing Director, comments: High complexity, high value, boards demand the use of alternative production techniques to maintain consistently high quality. Following our investment in Vapour Phase, we have been able to tackle increasingly challenging projects for customers operating in sectors such as Industrial, Defence, Medical, Communications and Security, where stringent standards are demanding consistency and quality throughout the entire manufacturing process. During Vapour Phase soldering, a PCB cannot become hotter than the vapour in which it is suspended. Its position within the vapour (e.g. height above the boiling Galden) governs the maximum temperature the PCB will be able to reach; IBL s patented Soft Vapour Phase control system allows for the creation of soak, plateau or linear temperature profiles. It is also very easy to switch between temperature profiles, even if there are significant differences between the masses of the boards, as there is no waiting time for the temperature to stabilise. A Vapour Phase oven requires far less electrical power than a traditional reflow oven, so is a cost effective solution for small batch PCBs. Owen adds: Galden is an environmentally-friendly liquid plus the IBL machine has airlocks to minimise evaporation to atmosphere as well as the volume of liquid lost during board transfer on the pallets. We are expecting to use no more than a few litres of Galden per year. Working conditions for employees are also a priority for Speedboard, and in this respect the IBL oven is easy to work around and is well insulated; so does not radiate as much heat as a conventional reflow machine. Speedboard purchased their IBL BLC 509 Vapour Phase oven through Blundell Production Equipment, IBL s exclusive distributor in the UK, and installation and support is all provided by Blundell. The oven is now fully operational and its use is confirming IBL s claims and resulting in consistently high quality boards. Owen concludes: Customer satisfaction is of paramount importance to us, and our new Vapour Phase soldering process allows us to take on increasingly complex projects knowing that we will produce the repeatable high quality results for which Speedboard is renowned

7 HD-INSPECTION CONFORMAL COATING MACHINES Welcome resurgence of wave soldering machine sales There has been a strong revival of the wave soldering machine market in the past year according to Paul Blundell of Blundell Production Equipment. After a few years when demand appeared to be in decline, strong demand has re-emerged for both new and used machines. Says Paul. One reason appears to be a return to in-house manufacture by some companies who had decided a few years ago to outsource production. Another is the realisation that through-hole and mixed technology assembly is not going away. The CMS 400 has been manufactured in the UK by Blundell since its launch in 1990 when it started a revolution in wave soldering with the first spray fluxer being offered as standard and its low dross wave dynamics. After several facelifts It is still as efficient and reliable as ever, and both new and reconditioned machines are available from Blundell. The factory rebuilt models represent especially good value as they cost roughly half that of a new machine but are still warrantied for a full 12 months. Most new wave soldering machines today have very large footprints, are very expensive, and have high running costs. The CMS 400 is compact and economical and can achieve results equivalent to or better than large machines. Exhibition success for IBL Our German partners IBL, leading manufacturers of Vapour Phase soldering machines have reported a very successful SMT Exhibition in Nuremburg, Germany in May. They will also be taking a large stand at Productronica in November. IBL have become established as the leading innovator in the Vapour Phase Soldering machine market. Their patented soft vapour phase technology is renowned for producing high quality results on complex high technology PCB assemblies that cannot be soldered in a heat reflow tunnel. Pictured is Florian Wuest, IBL s service manager on their stand at the SMT show. We at Blundell have installed more than 50 IBL machines in the UK since becoming UK distributors in 2010.

8 VAPOUR PHASE SOLDERING FIRST ARTICLE INSPECTION Low humidity dry storage cabinet range expanded New cabinet sizes are available in the X-Treme range of Low Humidity storage cabinets which are supplied and supported in the UK by Blundell Production Equipment. These popular attractively designed cabinets are used by many UK electronics companies for storing moisture sensitive components and assemblies. Users include BAE Systems, Ultra Electronics, Renishaw and Siemens. There are over 100 UK installations. The 4-door cabinet has been a best seller but now there are 2 door and 1 door versions available for users with limited space or small storage requirements. The ultra-fast dehumidification rate make these cabinets stand out from the crowd, the relative humidity is reduced to just 1% in less than 10 minutes. They also have very low power consumption. Heaters and dryers can be fitted as an option if the storage products need to be kept at a constant or higher than ambient temperature. A user friendly touch screen display regulates the setting, controlling, monitoring and servicing of the cabinet. An optional data logger records all events such as door openings and power outages. Calibrated digital sensors measure humidity and temperature. The double skinned air tight cabinet body and large double glazed thermal glass windows provide excellent insulation and a clear view of the cabinet contents without opening the doors. Internal lighting switches on automatically when movement is detected. These X-Treme cabinets are both stylish and highly efficient and enable users to meet JEDEC standards and provide confident short or long term storage. Tel: Quinn Close, Seven Stars Industrial Estate, Coventry CV3 4LH