Quality nozzles and feeders are the core of pick-and-place. In this article, Zachery Shook, Count On Tools, describes five major issues associated with improper nozzle maintenance and/or the use of poor quality nozzles in the SMT pick-and-place process.

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No SMT equipment can place components accurately and run efficiently without quality nozzles and feeders. These two factors are the core of the pick-and-place process. If the machine is either unable to pick parts consistently or hold on to the components during the transport from feeder to PCB, defects will result. An increase in defects means a decrease in production, costing the company more money over a short period of time. Proper feeder and nozzle maintenance is critical, especially with the current market growth and technological advancements in SMT equipment.

Figure 1. The placement nozzle is responsible for bringing the SMT component from the feeder to the PCB safely, quickly, and accurately.

At first glance, the principle of using vacuum pressure and precision nozzles to enable component placement are basic and straightforward. It is a process that is repeated in every type of SMT assembly equipment. There are five distinct stages to the pick-and-place process:

• Picking: SMT components are withdrawn from a feeder or tray by a vacuum nozzle.
• Holding: components are steadied for rapid movement while the machine detects proper alignment.
• Transport: components are transferred from the picking location to the PCB for assembly.
• Placement: components are lowered to their specific location on the circuit board.
• Release: components are released by the nozzle, which returns to the picking area to restart the process.

Nozzles are the first and last thing to touch all components placed onto a PCB. Pick-and-place nozzles can move tens of thousands of parts every hour (comprising a placement machine’s components per hour or CPH rating). With electronic component sizes reaching microscopic proportions, nozzle manufacturers must strive to maintain precision tolerances and exact dimensions in their designs. These nozzles are required to hold the part during transport to the board while the machine is moving and/or rotating at high speeds. The lack of proper nozzle maintenance and/or poor-quality nozzles will lead to part issues, machine issues, and other process problems.

Five Major Maintenance Problems at the Pick-and-place Machine

Each stage of the placement process must be executed repeatedly without failure. Careful review of these processes has determined the following five major issues associated with improper nozzle maintenance and/or the use of poor quality nozzles.

Loss of vacuum. Vacuum loss may be responsible for some issues, as it can prevent the nozzle from picking up a component from the feeder. It also could cause components to shift on the nozzle during transport. One of the main reasons for less suction and vacuum power loss is that nozzle quality is not maintained during the manufacturing process. The quality and structure of the nozzle must match the component(s) it is designed to place. Another issue related to loss of vacuum is poor pick-up location on the component. Poor-quality nozzles can cause extra fatigue on the pick-and-place equipment as it must constantly acclimatize to maintain efficiency.

Short or worn nozzles. Short or worn nozzles result in poor pick up and can cause the part not to be embedded correctly into the solder paste. When the part is not placed into the solder paste correctly, there is not enough surface tension to hold the part while the PCB is moving. Parts will shift on the board. One benefit of monitoring nozzle tip length is that it can allow scheduled preventive maintenance to prevent nozzle tips from causing quality issues.

Nozzle tip wear can also cause less vacuum to be generated, allowing electronic parts to drop or shift during transport. New advancements in ceramics, ESD material, and special coatings allow nozzle manufacturers to design nozzles with exceptional durability and toughness, especially under the extreme conditions in which they work.

Sticking nozzles. When a nozzle sticks, it drastically changes the height at which the nozzle is presented. There are a few things that may cause this to happen. One of the most prominent is the quality of the material used to manufacture the nozzle. Over time, certain plastics and metals can deform, causing the nozzle to not fit correctly in its holder. This results in the nozzle sticking during the picking, transport, or placement stages.

Higher than normal rejection rate at inspection. Causes for higher failures at SMT inspection (visual, AOI, or AXI) include:

• components were not presented to the nozzle in a consistent position;
• poor nozzle lighting from degradation of reflective disks or nozzle face over time, dirty reflective disks or nozzle face, or poor quality of reflective disks or nozzle face;
• nozzle height is incorrect;
• stuck nozzles from part height incorrectly set in program, nozzles worn beyond their tolerances, or incorrect length tolerances on nozzles.

Component and circuit board damage (caused by ESD). With the constant movement of nozzles and components, it is possible to build electrostatic charges (ESD) on the nozzle tips. Once released, this charge can 

Figure 2. ESD during pick-and-place is a major cause of damage.damage vital electronic components being placed. Electrostatic discharge is one of the major causes of device failures in the electronics and semiconductor industry. Manufacturers and users of integrated circuits (IC) must take precautions to avoid ESD during the pick-and-place process. Nozzle manufacturers also must take precautions by researching and developing nozzles that use electrostatic dissipating (also abbreviated ESD) materials.Choosing a Nozzle Supplier

Equipment OEMs are no longer the only option for high-quality SMT nozzles and consumables. With so many nozzle manufacturers out there, it may be difficult to choose the right one. The best process is to factor the price-to-performance ratio. Pick a nozzle manufacturer that offers high-quality products at the most affordable pricing. Request sample nozzles for testing purposes to guarantee that the products perform as well as or better than your current nozzles. Consider the benefits of warranties on parts, and suppliers that serve multiple brands and ages of equipment, if you have a mixed line. If the proper supplier isn’t sourced ahead of time, assemblers risk having to put production on hold due to backordered supplies.

Conclusion

Nozzles touch tens of thousands of components every hour. They are highly critical to the pick-and-place process. The need for proper preventive nozzle 

Figure 3. A tombstoned component.maintenance along with the use of high-quality nozzles is essential.  Properly maintaining pick-and-place equipment, nozzles and feeders can save a company time and money. There are many problems associated with poorly maintaining placement equipment, especially nozzles. Some of these issues include mispicking or misplacing components, tombstoning post-soldering, or flipped components. Other issues include sticking nozzles, component and circuit board damage, and higher rejection rates.

The pick-and-place process is critical to an electronics assembly company. Remember, a down machine that cannot place SMT components cannot make money. With appropriate preventive maintenance measures combined with high-quality nozzles from a reputable source, better results can be achieved on the SMT line.

Zachery Shook, marketing director, Count On Tools/PB Swiss Tools Dist., Hilton Drive, Suite 3, Gainesville, GA ; (770) 538-, ext. 303; Fax: (770) 538-; ; www.cotinc.com.

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FAQ Feeder Setup

For the feeder basics you need to setup the machine depending and part depending parameters.

Part depending parameters are:

Part Angle: correction value for pick up to reach zero degree position.

West = 90°, North = 0°, East = 270°, South = 180°

(Altium user should know 360 == 0 >> no rotation)

Part Length & Width: definition of visual area

(max area is limited to camera preset!)

Part Height: Most important for placement need to be set smaller than real part height to apply some force to push part in the paste.

The stock count is only for information and will be decreased on each pick up cycle!

Different basic angle orientation of parts in tape

Part Angle: correction value for pick up to reach zero degree position.

Chip resistor have the following orientation West = 90°, North = 0°, East = 270°, South = 180°.

Other component types need more or less angle offset show in the pictures below.

During feeder setup we need to test and setup the correct Part Angle.

I use a double sided tape to test part placement.

Machine depending parameters are:

Feeder number: Feeder index need to be unique on each feeder side.

Feeder orientation: West, North, East, South (South feeeders used for CL Feeder they can be located on different phyiscal positions)

VP-HP-CL32 = 1 - 32 West side

VP-DP-CL32 = 1 - 16 East, 17 - 32 West side

Pickup coordinate X/Y: We setup using camera and CX / CY button or using nozzle head 1 center position  by X / Y button.

Suction Delay:

This parameter need to be used to stabilize the vacuum before head moves up on pick up cycle.

Normal value should between 25 to 100ms for small parts and nozzles (CN030 - CN065) and 100 to 200ms for bigger nozzles (CN220, CN400)

Put Delay:

Most important parameter on placement cycle because the part will be blown away if vacuum was closed and pressure push occurs. For sensitive parts slow Z speed and longer push delay should be defined.

Normal value is 25ms for a TQFP we use 100 to 200ms.

Nozzle Height:

The local nozzle height setting should be used on all plastic tapes and grid box feeders.

We have two common pickup height parameters in basic settings dialog for head 1 and head 2.

• Nozzle 1 to Feeder Height (Measurement using nozzle in head 1 standing on part surface in common feeder line)
• Nozzle 2 to Feeder Height (Measurement using same nozzle in head 2 standing on part surface in same feeder line like measurement for head 1)

If there are problems like part rotates or shifts during pick up, we need to define a local pick up height or need to adjust the basic settings.

For feeder defined (local) setting use the assigned nozzle for this part to get the pickup height!

Plastic tapes, grid feeder, vibration feeder need to set the local pickup height.

For the paper tapes mostly, the basic setting is ok.

If Nozzle Height is set to zero the global parameter will be valid!

Feeder Mode

The Feeder Mode switch the feed actions:

Push Feeder  = Integration Feed

CL Feeder = Auto Feed

Vibration Feeder = Vibration Feed

Grid Box = Grid Box

Push Feeder using 2mm component pitch =

Examples

TQFP perfectly aligned using CN400 nozzle and 200ms Put Delay. The Z speed setting was 8 / 16.

Most important is the bottom camera center setting and calibration to receive this result!

This misplacement was caused by too short push delay and wrong part height adjustment.

You can easily detect because paste surface not touched by part so no mark visible.

If single parts placed wrong we need to decrease part height setting in feeder setup in 0.05mm steps until part is placed perfectly.

The push delay should be set to maybe 100ms first until height adjustment is perfect.

After this we decrease the put delay again.

This should be the steps:

1. slow down Z speed, set put delay to 100ms

2. adjust Part Height until part is placed perfect

(use place selection to test placement!)

3. reset Z speed and put delay

CAMERA CALIBRATION

Bottom camera center adjustment and calibration should be done if parts constant placed with position or angle offset.

If placement is disturbed in different PCB areas it could depend on bend PCB panel and resulting Z position errors on surface.

PICKUP POSITION

The pickup coordinate should be on the geometric center of the component.

We use Top Camera to teach in the center position for part pickup.

We have 3 different feeder types to discuss.

PUSH FEEDER

The first one is the push feeder system.

It's based on a push feeder arm moving to the adressed feeder tractor line.

Each push advances the tape by 4mm and is activated by air pressure.

The table shows how to setup push count, delay, open length and close length for the different component distances in tape.

Our Push feeder need to advance the tape while component pockets are closed.

Are you interested in learning more about Smt Feeder Parts? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!

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So first step is to move clear cover tape forward (Open Length).

Then push cycle starts and tape move 4mm forward.

Last step the clear cover tape pulled back (Close Length) to open the pocket.

For parts we need to select the mode so our system knows to use 2mm component pitch.

Define the pick up position on the second part in front of the feeder line top spring. After pickup of first component the machine will automatically access the secon part on X-2mm position and advance tape for the next 2 parts.

Pitch [mm]

4

8

12

16

Push Count

1x

2x

3x

4x

Delay [ms]

100

200

200

200

Open Length [mm]

8

12

16

20

Close Length [mm]

16

20

24

28

Manual Feeder Push Feeder Control

Feder control buttons.

Arrow buttons move push feeder head or winder motor depending on feeder side.

Selection of current feeder side for manual controlling feeder arm position or winder turn.

To open menu right click on manual control panel background.

The center button shows the selected feeder side and starts a feed cycle when clicked.

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CL FEEDER

Cl Feeder setup need only Feed Time setting.

It should be between 100 and 250ms.

This feeder type can only be logically assigned to South feeder orientation. But Part angle need to get adjusted according to physical position.

Cassette feeder need to get mounted carefully.

The feeder cassette need to feed in the holes of corresponding feeder slot and should be moved down parallel to the feeder bank surface.

• The surface need to be clean for proper fastening.
• Then lock the feeder by pushing down the handle.
• Head 1 or top camera should be moved above the pickup position and take over X / Y position.
• Move nozzle down to the surface and take over the local Z position.

A standard feed time is between 100 and 200ms.

South feeders used for CL Feeder they can be located on different physical positions!

VP-HP-CL32 = 1 - 32 West side

VP-DP-CL32 = 1 - 16 East, 17 - 32 West side

CL feeder manual control dialog.

Open and close operations performed on mouse click.

For instruction how to put the tape inside the feeder and how to change the feeder pitch for 12 / 16 / 24mm CL feeder please refer to our video section. You will find some instruction videos about CL feeder setup.

How to adjust CL Feederpickup position

This is the CL Feeder setup sequence:

1. The feeder bank surface needs to be clean for proper fastening.
2. Install CL feeder parallel and lock by pushing down the handle.
3. Open the CL feeder by setting Feed Test check box!
4. Move top camera to feeder position and adjust to pocket / part center.
5. Take over X / Y position to feeder settings using CX and CY button.
6. Move nozzle down to the part surface and take over the local Z position.
7. Close the CL feeder by unchecking the Feed Test!

A standard feed time is between 100 and ms. Wide feeders need longer delay time because cylinder is bigger and need time to move. For CL Feeder you need to adjust the “Local Pickup Height” setting because the global Z axis setting used for the Z position of push feeder bank. If the parts are similar, it’s mostly ok to copy the local pick-up height setting from neighbor CL feeder on same bank.

Feed time (delay) for different CL Feeders

Width [mm]

8

12

16

24

32

Push Count

1x

1x

1x

1x

1x

Delay [ms]

100-150

200

200

800

GRID FEEDER

Any position in machine working area can be used as grid feeder.

It is only necessary to define pickup position and row and column count plus pitch.

For strips you only use row or column count to define the strip orientation.

The used parts will be stored inside of the feeder and machine will skip empty locations.

Don't forget to save because feeder states stored in ini files!

Row: Row count

Col: Column count

Row Space: Distance in Y direction (take care need to be negative on negativ Y Axis!)

Col Space: Distance in X direction

Place all Parts: Reset the stock state information

Right click on a box opens movement menu and position can be checked by nozzle or camera position.

VIBRATION FEEDER

Vibration Feeder setup need only Feed Time setting.

It should be between 100 and ms.

The pickup position can only be teached in using head 1 nozzle because position mostly outside of reachable area of TOP camera!

For vibration feeder settings we need to get the pickup position and runtime in milliseconds.

• The head 1 should be moved above the pickup position and take over X / Y position. On some machines the top camera can be used to find pickup position.
• Then move down to the surface and take over the local Z position.

A standard vibration time is between 150 and 250ms.

Use double sided glue tape to fix the tubes in vibration feeder pickup area!

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Juki Replacement Parts.