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Electronics Assembly Lab
Facility & Equipment

Facility

The EAL maintains a full range of in-circuit and function low volume assembly. Using various types of equipment in order to assemble high quality standard boards. The EAL boasts high quality Surface Mount Technology (SMT) assembly and produces low-volume SMT boards. The capabilities allow possibility for EAL, while maintaining highest quality of product. Facility includes:

  • Dedicated lab for use to build cable and harness assemblies
  • Cable pull tester, (a NASA requirement)
  • Various crimp, insert and removal tools
  • Clean room assembly available
  • Vibration analysis for simulation and test
  • Full CNC machine shop
  • Clean room assembly available
  • Environmental test chamber

Equipment

EAL’s state-of-the-art equipment includes:

Stencil Printers
The EAL maintains two stencip printers, the Elite Model 5920 Manual (manual operation) and SMT Opt Print 1616PD (semi-automatic operation). Solder paste is applied to the PCB using stainless steel stencil.
The operation location is ESD safe.

ESSEMTEC semi-automatic pick and place machines
Equipped with two ESSEMTEC-Expert semi-automatic pick and place machines, the EAL is able to produce a maximum PCB size of 16” x 9.5”. The inspector picks a component in designated location, then places the component onto the PCB. The Essemtc-Expert SAFP has built on video cameras for inspection and visual view of component placement accuracy.
Machine location is ESD safe environment.

Vapor Phase Reflow Oven RD2
The EAL housestwo RD2 vapor phase reflow ovens; one for pb, and one for non pb. The reflow oven reflows solder paste to create perfect solder joints assuring process uniformity. The purpose of RD2 Vapor Phase is to meet a good solder connection on SMT components. This particular Vapor phase has four stages in order for board to complete the process. The four stages are; preheat, vapor, dwell, and cool-down. The four stages during the vapor phase have fix time frame for each. The boards preheats for 160 seconds, in vapor stage it stays for 50 seconds, in dwell stage it stays for 20 seconds, and in cool-down for 300 seconds.
Vapor phase machine provides an ESD safe environment.

Metcal BGA/CSP 3500 System
The Metcal GA/CSP 3500 System allows BGA rework the accurate placement of the device as well as consistent controlled convection heating for solder reflow. After completion of BGA placement and reflow, the R time x-ray system Glenbrook Technology machine is used for inspection.
Machine location is Electrostatic Discharge environment.

ABC 2002 Board Cleaner
The ABC 2002 Board Cleaner is designed to clean assembled PCB boards. The board cleaner uses E-2001p aqueous cleaner solvent.

Air-Vac DRS24B
The Air-vac DRS24B, complete with software, offers precise measurement and analysis tools. The DRS24B has a high quality and efficiency when removing components from PCB.

Metcal VPU-1000
Optical Inspection system with software package, which offers precise measurement and analysis tools, multi-focusing and image enhancement capabilities. To inspect under an array package with a standoff height as low as 0.002” (0.05mm).

Metcal MX-500
Six workstations are equipped with a Metcal MX-500 soldering, Talon and desoldering systems. All workstations are grounded, have ionizers and are ESD safe. Two workstations have Lieca GZ6 microscopes and one workstation has a Vision Engineering Microscope. All workstations have a light magnifier lamp. Various tools such as tweezers, cutters, pliers, etc.
All tools are ESD safe.

Glenbrook X-ray and Metcal optical BGA inspection equipment
R-Time in EAL has inspection capability for screening Ball Grid Arrays (BGAs), solder shorts, solder voids, and alignments. The x-ray machine in the EAL is used to perform accurate inspection on SMT components. R-time x-ray system Glenbrook Technology has the workmanship standard. The x-ray location is equipped with ESD safe environment.

SA520 Wave Solder
The SA520 Wave Solder is designed to remove and solder thru-hole components. SA520 wave solder is frequently used on thru-hole connectors.

Plato Solder pots SP-500
Plato Solder pots SP-500 in EAL function on 500°C with ±10 °C. The Solder pot is used for tinning component leads. When tinning leads, the technique is to tin up to bent area.

Model 4806 Universal Vertical Access SMD
Micro Tec: Model 4806 Universal Vertical Access SMD Lead form and Trim System.
The 4806 Lead forming and Trim system handle SMD from 6.35 mm to 50.8mm and component leads up to .035mm thick.

Stereomicroscope

ZT-1 PCB

SMD-VAC-H vacuum

Thermometer Fluke

DMM Fluke

Tenny Jr. Environmental Chamber for bake out

Lead Straightener and co-planarity tool

Desiccator Cabinets (Nitrogen cabinets)

Herrmidifier (humidifier)

ZT-6 Air Fountain

Tools

• Two convection rework stations Airvac and Metcal for BGA and fine pitch parts
• Lead forming and cutting equipment
• Unit design Board washer
• Nitrogen generation and Terra universal nitrogen purge cabinets for EEE parts storage/inventory
• Airvac Wave solder stations
• Cirrus 3500 cable pull tester
• Conformal coat and staking clean room
• ESD workstations
• ESD inspection stations
• Leica stereomicroscope with CCD camera and printer
• Metcal hand soldering stations