Pick and place machines

Competency Group: Electrical Engineering

Type: Hardware Manufacture Tools

Description: SMT (surface mount technology) component placement systems, commonly called pick-and-place machines or P&Ps, are robotic machines which are used to place surface-mount devices (SMDs) onto a printed circuit board (PCB). They are used for high speed, high precision placing of broad range of electronic components, like capacitors, resistors, integrated circuits onto the PCBs which are in turn used in computers, telecommunications equipment, consumer electronic goods, industrial equipment, medical instruments, automotive systems, military systems and aerospace engineering. These systems normally use pneumatic suction nozzles, attached to a plotter-like device to allow the nozzle head to be accurately manipulated in three dimensions. Additionally, each nozzle can be rotated independently. Along with PCB designs — a component list with circuit diagram is sent to a manufacturer and programmed to get solder components in place.

Citation for Description: Described by authors

Units: Final hardware electronic boards

Advantages: Only method of being able to produce vast quantities of electronic and electrical products in today's market.

Limitations: For most applications — will be outsourced — equipment costs very high. Required the machines to be programmed for individual board designs which can be expensive.

Regulations: IPC. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.ipc.org/ContentPage.aspx?Pageid=Standards

Target Audience: Engineering

Relevant to Universal Design: No

Stages and Steps: 7.1

Purchase Resource: European Circuits Limited. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.european-circuits.co.uk/