Printed circuit board assembly tool

IpC The Institute for Interconnecting and packaging Electronic Circuits : - The final American authority on how to design and manufacture printed wiring. Also known as a Golden Board. Laminate Thickness : Thickness of the metal-clad base material, single- or double-sided, prior to any subsequent processing.

Laminate Void : An absence of epoxy resin in any cross-sectional area that should normally contain epoxy resin. Land : The portion of the conductive pattern on printed circuits designated for the mounting or attachment of components. Also called a pad. Laser Photo-Plotter : A plotter that uses a laser, which simulates a vector photo-plotter by using software to create a raster image of the individual objects in a CAD database, then plots the image as a series of lines of dots at a very fine resolution.

A laser photo-plotter is capable of more accurate and consistent plots than a vector plotter. Legend : A format of lettering or symbols on the Printed Circuit Board: e.

It is the most accurate method of mask application and results in a thinner mask than dry film solder mask. It is often preferred for dense SMT. Application can be spray, curtain coat or squeegee.

Mounting Hole : A hole that is used for the mechanical support of a printed board or for the mechanical attachment of components to a printed board. Multilayer PCB : Circuit boards consisting three or more layers of printed circuits separated by laminate layers and bonded together with internal and external interconnections. Netlist : List of parts and their connection points which are connected in each net of a circuit.

Node : A pin or lead to which at least two components are connected through conductors. Open : Open circuit. An unwanted break in the continuity of an electrical circuit which prevents current from flowing. Pad : The portion of a conductive pattern for connection and attachment of electronic components on the PCB.

Also called Land. Panel : Material most commonly an epoxy- copper laminate know as FR-4 sized for fabrication of Printed Circuit Boards. Pattern : The configuration of conductive and nonconductive materials on a panel or printed board.

Also, the circuit configuration on related tools, drawing, and masters. Photo Resist : A material that is sensitive to portions of the light spectrum and that, when properly exposed can mask portions of a base metal with a high degree of integrity. Its purpose is to serve either as a contact point for a through-hole component or as a via.

Positive : A developed image of photo-plotted file, where the areas selectively exposed by the photo plotter appear black and unexposed areas are clear. For outer-layers, color will indicate copper. Positive inner-layers will have clear areas to indicate copper.

Prepreg : A sheet of material that has been impregnated with a resin cured to an intermediate stage. B-stage resin. Printed Circuit Board : A flat plate or base of insulating material containing a pattern of conducting material. It becomes an electrical circuit when components are attached and soldered to it.

The conducting material is commonly copper which has been coated with solder or plated with tin-lead alloy. The usual insulating material is epoxy laminate but there are many other kinds of materials used in more exotic technologies. Single sided boards have all conductors on one side of the board. With two-sided boards, the conductors, or copper traces, can travel from one side of the board to the other through plated-thru holes called vias, or feed through.

In multilayer boards, the vias can connect to internal layers as well as either side. Reflow Soldering : Melting, joining and solidification of two coated metal layers by application of heat to the surface and pre-deposited solder paste. Resist : Coating material used to mask or to protect selected areas of a pattern from the action of an etchant, solder, or plating.

Schematic : A diagram which shows, by means of graphic symbols, the electrical connections and functions of a specific circuit arrangement. Scoring : A technique in which grooves are machined on opposite sides of a panel to a depth that permits individual boards to be separated from the panel after component assembly.

Solder Bridging : Solder connecting, in most cases, misconnecting, two or more adjacent pads that come into contact to form a conductive path. Solder Wick : A band of wire removes molten solder away from a solder joining or a solder bridge or just for desoldering.

Step-and-Repeat : The successive exposure of a single image on order to produce a multiple-image production master. Also used in CNC programs. Stuff : Components are attached and soldered to a printed wiring board. Often done by an assembly house. Sub-Panel : A group of printed circuits arrayed in a panel and handled by both the board house and the assembly house as though it were a single printed wiring board. The sub-panel is usually prepared at the board house by routing most of the material separating individual modules leaving small tabs.

Surface Mount : Surface mount technology. Components are soldered to the board without using holes. The result is higher component density, allowing smaller PWBs. Abbreviated SMT. Test Point : A specific point in a circuit board used for specific testing for functional adjustment or quality test in the circuit-based device.

Test types include: in-circuit, functional, system-level, reliability, environmental. Turnkey : A type of outsourcing method that turns over to the subcontractor all aspects of manufacturing including material acquisition, assembly and testing. Its opposite is consignment, where the outsourcing company provides all materials required for the products and the subcontractor provides only assembly equipment and labor.

UL : Underwriter's Laboratories. A popular safety standard for electrical devices supported by many underwriters. Via : A plated-through hole used for interconnection of conductors on different sides or layers of a PCB. Wave Soldering : A manufacturing operation in which solder joints are soldered simultaneously using a wave of molten solder.

Read More about Bernanke declaration.. Read More about 4pcbassembly. The dimensions on the left side of the handle are key to engaging properly with the PCBA handle for removal purposes.

Referring next to FIGS. Also shown in FIG. A mylar retainer is shown mounted below the PCBA and engaged in channel of the extraction tool. The retainer is slotted such that the PCBA extends through and below it. When the retainer is not engaged in slot of the extraction tool, it extends beyond the edge of the PCBA, and since that portion of the retainer is not slotted, it prevents the PCBA from being removed from the card file in which it is mounted.

However, when the retainer is engaged in slot and the extraction tool is used to engage the PCBA and extract it from the card file, the retainer is bent away from the PCBA, thereby allowing the PCBA to be removed from the card file. A channel in the extraction tool is strategically placed to accept the mylar card retainer.

As the extraction tool is used to remove the PCBA, the mylar retainer is pushed down, deactivating or displacing the retaining feature. Referring finally to FIGS. Again FIG. Also shown is the angle of handle , the way the tool face contacts PCBA handle and the way the rubber bumper protects the card file designation strip.

Note, however, in this particular application, the mylar retaining strip is not present. In summary, the Printed Circuit Board Assembly Extraction Tool provides the extraction function while eliminating the problems experienced with existing versions of the extraction tool. Notably, a rubber bumper is provided to protect against damage of the card file designation strip.

The handle design accommodates removal of PCBA's in the file directly above the fuse panel. A channel in the tool provides for automatic deactivation or displacement of the mylar card retainer. Although the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated, and that form described, it is readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

All rights reserved. Login Sign up. Search Expert Search Quick Search. Printed circuit board assembly extractor tool. United States Patent The Extraction Tool is provided with a rubber bumper that protects the card file designation strip from damage during the extraction process.

Also provided is an handle design that accommodates spare rubber bumpers. Finally, a channel is provided that acts to automatically deactivate card retainer strips while using the tool. Carol Stream, IL. Click for automatic bibliography generation. Download PDF What is claimed is: 1. An extraction tool as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first, said second and said third members have a rectangular cross-section.

An extraction tool as claimed in claim 1 wherein said third member is curved from said first end of said third member to said second end of said third member. An extraction tool as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a protector means for protecting said subsystem while said circuit card is being extracted, said protection means being attached to said first end of said third member.