Semiconductor Packaging / Assembly Equipment (Page 2 of 2)

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Deflash/Trim/Form/Singulation (DTFS) Machines

The Deflash (mechanical), Trim, Form, and Singulation of IC packages may be achieved by employing one dedicated machine for each step, or by using one equipment capable of doing all of these steps.  Basically, DTFS  is a purely mechanical process, so a DTFS machine consists simply of an automated system of punches, blades, strippers, anvils, etc.  See also DTFS process.

Solder Plating Machines

A typical automated solder plating machine used for applying lead finish on semiconductor products has the following components:  a large non-corroding frame structure for housing the other parts of the equipment, a system or belt for transporting the IC's through the various steps of the lead finish process, a channel through which the products pass while being processed, storage tanks for the chemicals used in the plating process, pumps for effecting the flow requirements of the fluid chemicals, an extractor system for extracting all the gases released from the various sections of the equipment, loading and unloading systems, and an elaborate control system that orchestrates the interaction and operation of these various components.

The lead finish process starts with the equipment's loading system, which places the products on the belt. The belt then transports the units through the channel of the machine, which consists of several sections.  It is in these sections that products are subjected to specific electrochemical treatments that deposit the necessary metal layers on the leads of the products. 

Pumps are used to bring the chemicals from the storage tanks to the channel sections and to return the used chemicals to the storage tanks through discharge pipes. Gases are continuously released during the plating process, so an extractor is used to continuously remove these gases.  After the products have gone through the entire solder plating flow, the unloading system of the equipment places the products back in their appropriate cassettes or carriers. MECO and Technic are examples of manufacturers of solder plating equipment. See also Lead Finish process.