![[RSS]](http://tweakimg.net/g/if/v2/icons/rss_small.png){kind=icon}
Preparing the PCB's
How the orders are processed here in Galway will be explained in the next few pages using a lot of visual material. Unfortunately it was impossible to take a picture of every little detail in the plant. Part of the equipment was labeled top-secret. Sadly to say, but in this industry people introduce themselves as potential buyer, seller or journalist to find out what kind of testing equipment Dane-Elec uses or to find out how Dane-Elec manages to produce their ComplactFlash memory so fast. That is why all the pictures we wanted to bring home from the plant had to be screened by the head of production.
Back to ordering. An order exists out of 5 to 2000 modules. These can be different types of modules. Larger orders are split up into work orders of 2000 modules per order. This first step is to collect the necessary components from the warehouse. Think of PCB's, resistors, chips etc.
The PCB's are then placed into a feeder, which sends them to a screen printer. This printer uses a very precise pump mechanism, controlled by a special camera, to stamp the correct pattern of soldering paste on the PCB. This has to be done before any components are placed on the PCB's, because they stopped using PCB's with holes in the bottom which can be soldered eons ago. The paste in raw form is a very toxic gray mass, but also very expensive because it (amongst others substances) has silver in it. This is not only good for looks, but also good for conduction.
The PCB's go to a Philips Sapphire Machine through a conveyor belt. This machine can put a small component on 6 PCB's in less that a second. The robot arm is fed by special rolls and can hold 24 different types of small components. The computer that controls the robot arm on the sapphire machine relies on information from a high-resolution 10x zoom camera, to put the components in the correct place.
Femme taking a peek
Back to ordering. An order exists out of 5 to 2000 modules. These can be different types of modules. Larger orders are split up into work orders of 2000 modules per order. This first step is to collect the necessary components from the warehouse. Think of PCB's, resistors, chips etc.
The PCB's are then placed into a feeder, which sends them to a screen printer. This printer uses a very precise pump mechanism, controlled by a special camera, to stamp the correct pattern of soldering paste on the PCB. This has to be done before any components are placed on the PCB's, because they stopped using PCB's with holes in the bottom which can be soldered eons ago. The paste in raw form is a very toxic gray mass, but also very expensive because it (amongst others substances) has silver in it. This is not only good for looks, but also good for conduction.
The screen printer - in the reflection you can see where the PCB's are supposed to be
Solder paste
This is where the wannabe-modules come out
The PCB's go to a Philips Sapphire Machine through a conveyor belt. This machine can put a small component on 6 PCB's in less that a second. The robot arm is fed by special rolls and can hold 24 different types of small components. The computer that controls the robot arm on the sapphire machine relies on information from a high-resolution 10x zoom camera, to put the components in the correct place.
Sapphire in all it's 1337-ness
The inside of the machine
The moving robot arm with 24 heads
One of the highly sensitive camera's
Supplying parts to the machine
The mechanism that takes the resistors from the roll to the machine
No shortage here…
Next page (Mounting the memory chips - 4/7)
