How to Start PCB or SMT Assembly at Your Facility Without the Hassle
Many of our core customers are first time users of SMT equipment required to build their end products in-house. Typically, they have farmed out their assemblies overseas or to local contractors with unsatisfactory results driven by lead times, quality issues, failures, escalating costs and excuses. Many customers have turned to Manncorp because of our experience and patience with first time adapters trying to scale and simplify their business.
When looking to start production in-house, companies often run up against the traditional equipment sales model, where it can be very difficult to get pricing upfront and properly evaluate the equipment they'll need. We’ve heard many stories of customers requesting pricing from manufacturers and haven’t had any response for several weeks or months. Often customers receive quotes after they are filtered through layers of independent reps, regional managers, application engineers, and inside salespeople causing unnecessary delays.
At Manncorp, we simplify this entire process, selling direct with all prices available to view online. Our dedicated sales team is comprised of seasoned veterans in the SMT industry to help you through the entire process. During the first inquiry, customers will receive a rough quote. Firm pricing can be provided after answering a few questions:
What volumes are you anticipating?
What is the number of placements on your board(s)?
How many unique part numbers are on one side of the board (maximum)?
What is the maximum board size?
Are there any 01005 chips or special parts that are of concern?
Do you have space allocated for the equipment? What is an estimate on the area size?
Once these questions are answered, our team can recommend the best equipment for your application. The selection of the pick and place is based on four key items: feeder slots, board size, speed requirements and budget.
Choosing the pick & place machine enables us to provide you with a rough budget for your full line.
Our pick & place options range from manual to fully automatic, with placement speeds up to 20,000 CPH.
Pick & Place machines variety
For the most accurate quote, we recommend sending a few of your worst-case-scenario BOMs to our sales team to review. With a free BOM analysis from Manncorp, you’ll know exactly how many 8mm feeders, 12mm feeders, stick feeders, tray holders, etc., you'll require. Feeder requirements are key in getting firm prices, as they can make up a significant portion of the cost for your SMT line.
After evaluating your BOM and reviewing your answers to the standard questions listed above, we will provide you with 2-3 recommended options for your production line. With these options, you can compare the production speed, overall cost, and the available space for your line to find the perfect fit. We can also supply custom line drawings of the equipment layout to confirm the exact amount of space required, and how the SMT line fits in your production area.
Full Equipment Support
Working with a one-stop-shop equipment supplier like Manncorp is highly beneficial to our customers because we supply the whole SMT line and offer the support to back it up. Other equipment suppliers, using a traditional layered sales process, only provide part of the solution. For example, a pick & place company is only able to assist with their machine, and are unable to help with concerns involving other equipment. To reach a solution, you must bounce between different companies for support. It is much easier to have access to full support in one place.
When you purchase equipment from Manncorp, unlike our competitors, you receive a direct service phone number. It goes straight through to our technicians, with our senior technician as the first line of support. Eric, our senior technician, has been with the company over 25 years. Our other technicians, Gerald and Andy, have each been with Manncorp for over 15 years. Our team is always available by phone and email to troubleshoot issues with software, hardware or your process. Most issues are solved in the first phone call. Supplying an internet connection will help us remote-access your equipment to solve issues on the spot. With direct-selling and dedicated service, the benefits of working with Manncorp are clear. Our experience shows with over 55 years in the industry.
A Few Recent Customer Stories
Our relationship with many customers begins when they decide to bring SMT assembly in-house. Some of our partnerships now exceed 10 years and are still growing. We work with companies in different industries worldwide to configure the best production line for their in-house assembly. Check out these customer stories:
CoralVue Inc., located in Slidell, LA, is a relatively new customer but has already seen the advantages to bringing assembly in-house by ditching insanely long lead times. CFO Brandi D’Aquin expressed, “We very much appreciate everyone at Manncorp. You all have gone above and beyond, and it just gives us so much relief here that you are always on standby to help us.” You can read CoralVue’s full story here.
Brandi and David D'Aquin shown with a printed circuit board from the SMT line at CoralVue.
Sensaphone, located in Aston, PA, first purchased a Manncorp SMT line over 12 years ago. Since then, they have increased production enough to add a second line to the mix, while the original equipment is still running strong. Read more: Sensaphone & Manncorp, A 12-Year Partnership, Still Growing
Manncorp Tech, Andy, reviewing equipment information with Sensaphone Project Engineer, Tom.
Antonio Ricaurte, founder of AR Technologies, began production in-house nearly 10 years ago in a very remote part of Ecuador, where this equipment is not typically seen. He purchased a full Manncorp line to build his own product to help locate lost boats. He first visited our PA headquarters in 2013, and has kept in touch with our team since. Read more
No matter what industry you work in, and whether you are a start-up manufacturer, OEM, or contract manufacturer, Manncorp is here to support you. As a leader in the SMT industry, we are proud to provide our customers with exceptional service and consider each relationship a partnership.
How to Assemble and Check SMD Components - Complete Guide
What is meant by SMD components? How many types do you know about SMD? Why SMD components are popular nowadays? This blog will give you a detailed answer.
1. What are SMD Components?
SMD components (chip components) are electronic components printed on a PCB.
It will use surface mount technology - SMT technology.
The process of mounting and soldering chip components is correctly called the SMT process.
SMD components are one of SMT(Surface Mount Technology) components.
Let's take a look at the main SMD elements used in our modern devices.
Resistors, capacitors, small inductors, diodes, and other components look like ordinary small rectangles.
On large SMD elements, they put a code or numbers to determine their affiliation and denomination.
In the photo below, these elements are marked in a red rectangle.
SMD capacitor (tantalum or simply tantalum):
2. SMD Components Assembling Process?
SMD components include resistors, capacitors, and microcircuits.
It can be determined based on the dimensions of the element itself.
In the previous lesson, we already got acquainted with the so-called SMD components (chip components). Now it's time to find out how they are installed and soldered by hand and special equipment.
Processes of soldering an SMD part by hand:
Step 1. Apply the solder to one contact pad.
Step 2. Use tweezers, set the chip component to the desired position and, hold the part with tweezers.
Step 3.Warm up one of the pins and fix it.
Step 4. Solder the second output of the component.
Processes of soldering SMD components and PCBA Process
Step 1. BOM checking
Step 2. Transferring PCBs from automatic loader to solder paste printing machine
Step 3. Printing solder paste onto the PCBs
Step 4. Testing thickness and shape of solder paste
Step 5. Transferring components into the two mounters
Step 6. Placing small components onto the PCBs
Step 7. Placing large components onto the PCBs
Step 8. X-ray inspection and visual inspection
Step 9. Reflow soldering
Step 10. Repeat step 2 to step 9 to mount components on the other side (optional)
Step 11. AOI testing, visual inspection, and sampling inspection
Step 12. Fit long legs of components through PCB holes using DIP
Step 13. Wave soldering
Step 14. Touch-up, cleaning, and visual inspection
Step 15. IC-programming (optional)
Step 16. Functional testing using a PCB tester
Step 17. Aging testing
Due to its small size below are their advantages.
No need to drill holes for component leads
Can install components on both sides of the PCB
High installation density, saving materials
Cheaper than conventional ones
Deeper automation of production
3. SMD Components Soldering Defects
Surface mount component defects include:
lower the speed of component assembly
A too high speed of assembling components, as a rule, provokes a large number of sharp vibrations of the board, which can lead to displacement and even dropping of components from the board.
Put emphasis on secure the board during assembly
Board deflection can be eliminated by securing the board with a large number of support pins.
Variables such as thinner or more flexible PCBs and high pressure during installation create the potential for deformation of the PCB during assembly.
Faster lifting of the mounting nozzle allows the curved PCB to abruptly return to its original position, resulting in dropping or other mounting problems.
Check the mounting pressure (pressing force)
If the pressure is correct, check the components for the correct thickness or the correct entry for the thickness of the mounting components.
Excessive pressure when installing open-frame components can lead to the spreading of the solder due to the squeezing of the paste from the contact pads.
Note
Unlike the “headstone” effect, what you should do if there is a "billboard" effect?
Unlike the “headstone” effect, the “billboard” effect is directly dependent on the installation process.
The "billboard" effect is usually seen on passive components such as resistors and capacitors.
Unlike the "headstone" effect, in which one component lead is soldered to the contact pad and the other is not soldered and oriented toward the sky, with the "billboard" effect, both component leads are soldered into the board, but the component is standing vertically on the side ...
If there is a "billboard" effect, you need to check that the coordinates of the component gripping point in the feeder, the feed rate of the components in the feeder, the type of the feeder belt, the absence of obstacles in the path of the component movement, the tolerance for the position of the component or the skew of the feeder belt into the machine for setting the components.
4. What is the Smallest SMD Component?
Manufacturers have placed on the market ever-smaller passive electronic components: for SMD electronic components, however, the right balance must be found between costs and performance.
The passive electronic components not only represent a considerable part of an electronic circuit but also represent one of the areas in which the electronics industry measures their capacity of miniaturization of SMD technology.
For some years now, companies have been launching smaller and smaller SMD transistors and SMD capacitors on the market of components, to the point of talking about real prodigies of nanotechnologies.
New footprint standards for passive electronic components
Of course, for now, there are only the very minimum dimensions of the latest generation passive electronic components: if the measurements for the SMD capacitors produced today reduce the standard dimensions by 70% (with total dimensions of 0.4 x 0.2mm), the same can also be said for the SMD transistors used in the latest generation smartphones are no exception.
5. What is the Difference between SMT and SMD?
SMT stands for SURFACE MOUNT TECHNOLOGY: it, therefore, identifies the technology, the process, which allows you to mount components on the surface of the circuits.
SMD stands for SURFACE MOUNTING DEVICE: these are the components that are mounted on the surface of the circuits.
SMT technology was developed in the 1960s but only became popular in the late 1980s. In those years, electronic equipment had electronic boards on which the traditional PTH (Pin through-hole) components were mounted by inserting the terminals of the components themselves in the holes made on the circuits.
The SMT solution offers several advantages:
1.Reduced dimensions of the components and therefore of the boards and consequently of the finished product
2. Faster assembly thanks to machinery
3.Possibility of mounting on both sides of the circuit
4. Reduction of the problems that were present with the previous technology, caused by the large distance between traditional components and the PCB (printed circuit)
We always adhere to the principle of "quality first, credit first". We are fully committed to providing our customers with competitively priced quality products, prompt delivery and professional SMT loader services
