Faster prototyping with fewer frustrations
20 January 2010
A new MY500 solder-jet printer from MyData is helping Thales to meet its requirements for rapid prototype production and achieve first–time right soldering on boards that incorporate difficult components.
At its plant in Hengelo, in The Netherlands, Thales develops and manufactures its range of naval radar systems and also undertakes high-end board assembly for selected third parties. An essential part of the work is the production of prototypes, and the goal of the company is to deliver these in the shortest possible time.
A limiting factor used to be the time needed to obtain stencils for solder paste applications, but the company has solved this problem by installing a MyData MY500 solder-jet printer, which eliminates the need for stencils.
A further benefit is that the MY500 makes it easy to work with unusually shaped components that create problems that are difficult to address with conventional solder paste application techniques.
For example, one design calls for a special SMD coaxial connector mounted in a cavity. The cavity is almost 900 microns deep, so soldering the connector using conventional techniques is almost impossible.
However, the MY500 can shoot solder paste into the cavity, and in addition, QFP components with exposed pads underneath the body can also be tackled with ease, even though they have a stand-off up to 150 microns between the component body and the connection pins.
Erik Hodes, Manufacturing Engineer at the Thales plant, is also impressed with how easy it is to assemble boards that incorporate SMD connectors with additional through-hole pins.
“With the MY500 it’s simple to create pin-in-paste deposits without modifying the pad design. All that’s needed is to tell the software the thickness of the board, the through-hole diameter, the pad size and the pin diameter. The machine then automatically calculates the right volume of solder to jet, and the paste is applied, with the result that a perfect joint is created during reflow.”
At Thales, the MYDATA MY500 solder-jet printer is making a major contribution to reducing the lead time for prototypes. It is also allowing the company to work with difficult components that would otherwise have to be mounted manually, and it is ensuring that it meets its key objective of providing customers with products that satisfy the most exacting standards for performance and quality.
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