The printed circuit board industry is always developing, chasing ever decreasing features driven by the components manufacturers.
Pressure to deliver finer features to a tighter tolerance has seen the development digital imaging systems that are able to deliver excellent definition and accuracy, the solder mask ink systems have been developing in tandem.
The printed circuit board industry is always developing, chasing ever decreasing features driven by the components manufacturers.
Pressure to deliver finer features to a tighter tolerance has seen the development digital imaging systems that are able to deliver excellent definition and accuracy, the solder mask ink systems have been developing in tandem. The MDI imaging systems are able to deliver this level of performance but are not able to supply the power to fully cross link the polymers within the solder mask ink, a secondary exposure to UV is required to ensuring a robust solder mask that is capable of withstanding the rigors of the subsequent assembly processes.
The LED UV curing machine is a brand new efficient design delivering excellent results at lower cost. To ensure full exposure, the LED lights deliver across the light spectrum simulating the output from the traditional vapour phase lamps, 365, 385, 395, 405 and 415 nanometres. These are arranged to deliver the proportion of each wavelength to suit individual products and ink application methods, a level of control which has never been available with vapour bulbs. Thought has also been put into the operation and maintenance, the lamps are easily accessible and liquid cooled for quiet standalone performance. There are interesting features such as the double-sided exposure which is facilitated by glass rollers on the transport conveyor so the light intensity is not restricted.
There is a secondary benefit, the old system outputs so much heat a skin effect was created on the solder mask that prevented ident application after UV exposure, the new LED UV system with ‘low heat output’ can now be run in line with LPI developing.
The new LED UV Curing delivers efficiency and an uplift in productivity to the older single sided mercury lamp system.