WORD

DESCRIPTION

ABGA

Advanced BGA*. Has much better thermal and electrical characteristics than a normal BGA and can have up to 1008 balls.

Adhesive

1. SMT adhesive: used to hold components on the PCB until soldering.

2. Conductive adhesive: used to form a mechanical and electrical connection

    as a alternative to soldering.

Air Knife

Well-defined blast of air in a oven. It is used after the last wave to remove bridges.

AOI

Automatic Optical Inspection. Unit inspecting solder paste print or soldered PCB’s using vision technology.

Aperture

In screenprinting an opening in the stencil through witch the paste is squeezed.
The apertures together correspond to the pattern of the PCB.

Assembly

The production process of mounting parts and components onto a PCB. The soldering or joining process is sometimes considered as part of assembly.

ATE

Automatic Test Equipment. Test equipment that performs automatic testing of assemblies.

Back-light

Used in a placement machine.  Components are lighted from behind and a camera recognizes them by the shape of their shadows.

Ball pitch

Distance between the centres of two balls on a BGA.

Bare Board

A fully manufactured PCB without any parts, components, jumpers, connectors, etc.

BGA

Ball Grid Array (or Bumped Grid Array), a large surface mount package consisting of a plastic substrate, whose input/output connections consist of solder balls in  an array on the bottom of the package. It can have up to 672 balls and has a 1.27 mm. ball pitch.

Blade Attack Angle

The angle between squeegee and stencil during solder paste printing.

Board support

Units (mainly in screenprinters and placementmachines) that support the PCB from below.

BQFP

Bumpered Quad Flat Package. A QFP with four corner bumpers.

Bridge

A solder defect characterized by connecting to otherwise electrically non-connected conductors (leads, pads, lines)

Bulk feeder

Is used to feed chip components delivered in bulk containers, which hold up to 50,000 components. The container is placed on the bulk feeder and the components fall into a small chamber where compressed air whirl around the components and force them into a slope channel ending at the pick-up position. The bulk feeder must be designed to a components specific dimensions.

Center-to-Center Spacing

Refers to the way the pitch of leads on components is measured: center lead to adjacent center lead.

CF Style feeder

Most new type of JUKI 700-series feeders

Chip Component

The class of passive components packaged in leadless ceramic; glass or plastic form (resistors, capacitors and inductors).

Chip shooter

Fast SMT placement machine primarily placing small chips.

CL type feeder

Newer version of the Philips GEM feeders. These came after the older FV-type.

Cold solder joint

A defect of soldering caused by adhesion of solder without proper chemical reaction between the base metal and the tin of the solder. Usually caused by inadequate thermal conditions.

Component

An electrical building block of an electronic circuit. They function as resistors, capacitors or inductors. There are others, which are processors and memory modules. Components come in a variety of body shapes and forms.

Component range

Range from smallest to biggest component that can be placed. For example: 0201 to sq75 mm means that the smallest is 0.02 x 0.01 INCH (=0.5 x 0.25 mm) and the biggest is 75 mm square.

Condensation

A method of reflow soldering using highly specialized liquids. These liquids are boiled and the latent heat of evaporation is used to heat those items which have been lowered into the vapor.

Conductive adhesive

An adhesive that is mixed with certain metal flakes (copper, silver, gold) to make it electrically conductive

Convection

A method of reflow soldering. Convection is a heating method which employs either gases, liquids or vapors.

Cph

Components per hour

CSP

Chip-Scale Package: a very small component type.

Cure

The polymerization of a material that usually changes it from a soft to a harder form by lengthening and intertwining the molecular chains. Curing needs the application of energy in form of heat (convection, radiation).

Delta T

The difference between the lowest and the highest temperature on a PCB in a furnace.

Dewetting

A condition where the solder has withdrawn from a previously wetted surface.

Edge clamping

Method used by new SMD placement machines to lock the PCB in place. This is done by pneumatic pistons pressed against the PCB edge.

Edge conveyor

Device transporting and supporting the PCB on the edge.

Embossed tape

See *tape feeder. Usually cheaper than paper tape.

EUP

Equipment Utilisation Program: methods to understand DEK-machine's to realise serious productivity.

FAC

Forced Air Convection. Most types of reflow ovens use this method. The heat transfer occurs by forcing air over the PCB.

FC

Flip-Chip

FCBGA

Flip Chip Ball Grid Array. A kind of BGA with optimum thermal and electrical characteristics. It can have up to 3000 balls.

FF Style feeder

JUKI 700-series feeders, about four/five years old

Fiducial mark

A PCB can have at least two of these marks, used by a camera to calculate the PCB position relative to the placement head.

Fine pitch

Refers to a distance smaller than 0.5 mm between the centres of two leads on an IC.

Flat Pack

A low profile IC package, which typically has gull wing type of leads on two or four sides.

Flip Chip

A bare silicon IC flipped and attached directly onto the PCB

Flow soldering

Wave soldering*.

Flux

Chemical mixture, when heated used to clean component and PCB surfaces for oxides and contaminants.

FNC

Flying Nozzle Change

Front-light

Used in placement machines. Components are lighted from the front and a camera recognizes them by all details in dark and light colours.

FPGA

Field Programmable Gate Array, a small programmable chip

FTP

Fine Pitch Technology

FV type feeder

Older version of Philips GEM feeders. After these came the CL type feeders.

GEM series

Platform of Philips/Assembleon placement machines. The GEM platform consists of 4 main models, the Topaz, the Emerald, the Sapphire and the Opal. Each model represents a specific application area: the Topaz is a multi function machine with a unique mix of high speed and a very broad component range; the Sapphire is a dedicated chipshooter and the Emerald can be used when fine pitch and odd capability is required.

IC

Integrated Circuit. Package containing multiple components forming a specific circuit.

ICT

In Circuit Testing

In-circuit testing

A test method that uses probes to make connections to the internal nodes of a circuit for signal injection or signal monitoring.

Intelligent feeder

A feeder with a microprocessor which can avoid set-up and inventory errors.

Large component  mounter

A SMT placement machine capable of handling large components.

Matrix tray

Flat plastic tray with components ready to be placed on the PCB by the placement head.

Mounting tact

Time needed to place one component (sec/pc)

MSD

Moisture Sensitive Device, a component with moist in it. This can expand during soldering which can result in cracking.

NF Style feeder

Oldest version JUKI 700-series feeders

Nitrogen

This gas is used in reflow furnaces during the soldering process to avoid oxidation of components, solder paths and solder alloy.

Node

A test point on a PCB that is contacted to check the performance of the electrical circuit that is connected to it.

Nonwetting

The condition that results when solder is not accepted or did not move onto the surface.

Nozzle

1.A vacuum device on the head of a placement machine that holds a component during transport from feeder to PCB. Some special nozzles have mechanical tweezers for handling of odd-shape components that cannot be lifted by vacuum.

2. One of many holes in a forced convection reflow oven through which hot air is forced into the processing chamber.

OLE

Off Line Editor, this is a sysytem of DEK. Uses a digital image of the board to determine pin locations. (Tooling details are established and verified long before the assembly enters production). Can be stored on any drive in the network.

Paper tape

See *tape feeder. Usually more expensive than embossed tape.

PBGA

Plastic Ball Grid Arrey. See BGA.

PCB

Printed Board Circuit. Also called PWB (Printed Wire Board).

Pick and Place

The method of certain placement equipment of picking components (mechanically or by vacuum) from tapes or magazines and placing them in the correct position on the PCB.

Pick and Place head

Pick-up head unit in a placement machine, mounted on a X-Y gantry, that picks up the component from a feeder placed in a fixed position and moves it to the placement position on the PCB that is also placed in a fixed position.

Pitch

The distance between a feature and the adjacent feature on a component. Also the distance between two pockets on a tape of a feeder.

Placement machine

(Automatic) equipment used to mount components onto a PCB.

Placement rate

Number of components that is mounted in the hour. It is very depended on the PCB design and components used on the PCB. But the throughput is also depended on the changeover time between product runs, down time due to change of empty component reels and unbalance between sequential set-up placement machines.

Placement tact time

Time needed to place one component (sec/component)

PLCC

Plastic Leaded Chip Carrier. A plastic IC package for surface mounting applications that has leads, generally "J" leads, on all four sites.

PTH

Pin Through Hole

Pyrometer

IR detector to measure the temperature of a PCB.

QFP

Quad Flat Pack, a large component from square 10 mm (36 leads) up to square 40 mm (230 leads). Leads are on all four sites and the pin pitch is 0.4 to 1.0 mm

Radial component

A component that has the leads attaches radially, i.e. at the ends.

Reflow soldering

A process in which solder, either in paste or solid form, is placed between the component lead and land before soldering heat is applied. When sufficient heat to melt the solder is applied, the solder forms the connection.

REM

Remote Event Monitor. From DEK, brings each machine's internal event log to the desktop

Rotary head

Pick and place head* that can rotate in a vertical direction

SCC

Square Chip Carrier. A chip carrier with a square body.

SCFH

Standard Cubic Feet per Hour. For measuring the amount of nitrogen used in a reflow oven: total cubic feet of gas used divided by the number of hours in which it is used. 35 SCFH = 1 cubic meter / hour.

SMC

Surface Mount Component. These components are designed for and used in surface mount technology. (any electrical or mechanical component that can be attached to the surface of a substrate with solder.

SMD

Surface Mount Device. A PCB mounted with SMC's. Also another name for a SMC*.

SMT

Surface Mount Technology. A technology that came after the conventional pin-thru-hole technology. Components are attached directly on the PCB surface.

SO

Small Outline. A package resembling a flat pack with leads on only two sides.

SOIC

Small Outline Integrated Circuit. A specific IC component with leads on two opposite sides.

SOJ

A plastic IC package with "J"leads on two sides.

SOL

Small Outline - Large. Also called SOW (SO - Wide). This package is about two times as wide as a SO.

Solder ball

Spheres of solder on the PCB after soldering. Their mechanism of creation is different in wave soldering and reflow soldering.

Solder joint

A conductive joint which was created by soldering between the conductors of the PCB and the leads of the component.

SOT

Small Outline Transistor. A plastic leaded package for diodes and transistors.

Squeegee

A metal or rubber blade in a screenprinter. It forces the solder paste or adhesive through the apertures of the stencil onto the PCB.

Stencil

A foil (mostly metal) with apertures to reflect the pattern to be printed.

Stick feeder

Feeder with components in one or more  tubes / sticks. It works by using a gentle pulse of compressed air which moves the components along the tube to the pick-up position.  

Tact rate

Time needed to place one component (sec/component)

Tact time

Time needed to place one component (sec/component)

Tape feeder

Device that feeds components from paper or plastic embossed tape to the head of a placement machine. The components are hold in the carrier tape pocket by a thin transparent cover tape. The tape pocket pitch is the distance between the components on the tape and the tape width ranges from 8 to 136 mm. They can be machanical activated, pneumatic activated or electrical operated by moters.

TBGA

Tape-Automated-Bonding-Ball-Grid-Array. A kind of BGA with improved thermal characteristics.

TM10

Tray module, can randomly access up to 10 JEDEC trays. Mounts to the rear of the machine and takes up no feeder space.

Tray feeder

Is used to feed large components supplied in trays. Different approaches are possible. If only a few trays are used for a job, some machines allow single trays to be placed into the machine feeding area. Another way is to fit the machine with an automatic tray-handling unit. These units have a elevation system for tray "storage" and move the trays needed for the product one by one into the machine.

Turret head

A placement head with multiple heads rotating parallel to the PCB. They pick up the component in one position and place it in another position. The feeders are then moved to the pick-up position and the PCB is moved in the X and Y direction to the placement position.

VibBase feeders

Vibratory base feeders. They move components by vibration through usually more than one stick / tube  in order to hand them to the placement head. Adjustment of a vibrating stick feeder is very delicate.

Vision on the fly

Vision system in a placement machine. The components picked up, move over a camera for recognition and alignment and then move to the placement position on the PCB.

Wave soldering

A soldering technique which uses a system that flows solder against the bottom of a PCB, making connections between solderable surfaces that are close enough for the solder surface tension

Wetting

The formation of a relatively uniform, smooth, unbroken and adherent film of solder to a base metal.