Semiconductor Test Equipment - Page 3 of 3

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Tape and Reel Equipment

Tape and reel equipment (see Fig. 3), as the name implies, is the equipment used in packing and sealing finished products into individual pockets of a carrier tape, and in rolling this tape onto a reel.  Taping and reeling is an alternative packaging process for small surface mount devices that are impractical to ship in tubes.

A typical tape and reel equipment consists of an input or loading stage, a vision system for inspection, a taping and reeling mechanism, and an output stage.  The input stage usually consists of an automatic tube loading mechanism.  The units from the input tubes are inspected one at a time for marking and lead defects before being deposited by a pick-and-place system into the individual pockets of the carrier tape. 

The seal or cover tape and the carrier tape meet at some point in the machine, with the seal tape covering the carrier tape.  The machine then applies heat to the seal tape to seal the pocket.  This cycle repeats as the tape winds around the reel, and the process continues until the required number of units are taped and reeled.  A series of empty pockets are generated at the start and end of the reel, known as the leader and trailer, respectively. 

Systemation, Ismeca, STI, and Microvision are examples of manufacturers of tape and reel equipment.