ÿþ<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html><!-- InstanceBegin template="/Templates/empfasis-article_newtmp.dwt" codeOutsideHTMLIsLocked="false" --> <head> <!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="Head" --><title>Empfasis - March 2011 - Manufacturing Cost Reduction through Automation</title> <!-- InstanceEndEditable --> <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../emphasis.css" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../emphasis_new.css" type="text/css"/> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <script language="JavaScript" type="text/JavaScript"> <!-- function MM_preloadImages() { //v3.0 var d=document; if(d.images){ if(!d.MM_p) d.MM_p=new Array(); var i,j=d.MM_p.length,a=MM_preloadImages.arguments; for(i=0; i<a.length; i++) if (a[i].indexOf("#")!=0){ d.MM_p[j]=new Image; d.MM_p[j++].src=a[i];}} } function MM_findObj(n, d) { //v4.01 var p,i,x; if(!d) d=document; if((p=n.indexOf("?"))>0&&parent.frames.length) { d=parent.frames[n.substring(p+1)].document; n=n.substring(0,p);} if(!(x=d[n])&&d.all) x=d.all[n]; for (i=0;!x&&i<d.forms.length;i++) x=d.forms[i][n]; for(i=0;!x&&d.layers&&i<d.layers.length;i++) x=MM_findObj(n,d.layers[i].document); if(!x && d.getElementById) x=d.getElementById(n); return x; } function MM_nbGroup(event, grpName) { //v6.0 var i,img,nbArr,args=MM_nbGroup.arguments; if (event == "init" && args.length > 2) { if ((img = MM_findObj(args[2])) != null && !img.MM_init) { img.MM_init = true; img.MM_up = args[3]; img.MM_dn = img.src; if ((nbArr = document[grpName]) == null) nbArr = document[grpName] = new Array(); nbArr[nbArr.length] = img; for (i=4; i < args.length-1; i+=2) if ((img = MM_findObj(args[i])) != null) { if (!img.MM_up) img.MM_up = img.src; img.src = img.MM_dn = args[i+1]; nbArr[nbArr.length] = img; } } } else if (event == "over") { document.MM_nbOver = nbArr = new Array(); for (i=1; i < args.length-1; i+=3) if ((img = MM_findObj(args[i])) != null) { if (!img.MM_up) img.MM_up = img.src; img.src = (img.MM_dn && args[i+2]) ? args[i+2] : ((args[i+1])? args[i+1] : img.MM_up); nbArr[nbArr.length] = img; } } else if (event == "out" ) { for (i=0; i < document.MM_nbOver.length; i++) { img = document.MM_nbOver[i]; img.src = (img.MM_dn) ? img.MM_dn : img.MM_up; } } else if (event == "down") { nbArr = document[grpName]; if (nbArr) for (i=0; i < nbArr.length; i++) { img=nbArr[i]; img.src = img.MM_up; img.MM_dn = 0; } document[grpName] = nbArr = new Array(); for (i=2; i < args.length-1; i+=2) if ((img = MM_findObj(args[i])) != null) { if (!img.MM_up) img.MM_up = img.src; img.src = img.MM_dn = (args[i+1])? args[i+1] : img.MM_up; nbArr[nbArr.length] = img; } } } //--> </script> </head> <body onLoad="MM_preloadImages('http://www.empf.org/empfasis/nav/images/empfasis_nav_01-over.gif','http://www.empf.org/empfasis/nav/images/empfasis_nav_02-over.gif','http://www.empf.org/empfasis/nav/images/empfasis_nav_03-over.gif','http://www.empf.org/empfasis/nav/images/empfasis_nav_04-over.gif','http://www.empf.org/empfasis/nav/images/empfasis_nav_05-over.gif','http://www.empf.org/empfasis/nav/images/empfasis_nav_06-over.gif','../../nav/images/empfasis_nav_01-over.gif','../../nav/images/empfasis_nav_02-over.gif','../../nav/images/empfasis_nav_03-over.gif','../../nav/images/empfasis_nav_04-over.gif','../../nav/images/empfasis_nav_05-over.gif','../../nav/images/empfasis_nav_06-over.gif')"> <table width="100%" border="0"> <tr> <td width="19%"><img src="http://www.empf.org/empfasis/archive/images/empfasis.jpg" width="360" height="71" border="0"></td> <td width="81%"><div align="right"><a href="http://www.empf.org" target="_parent"><img src="http://www.empf.org/empfasis/archive/images/empf.jpg" width="144" height="90" border="0"></a></div></td> </tr> </table> <div align="center"><!-- #BeginLibraryItem "/Library/empfasis_nav.lbi" --> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td><a href="http://www.empf.org/empfasis/index.html" target="_top" onClick="MM_nbGroup('down','group1','empfasis','',1)" onMouseOver="MM_nbGroup('over','empfasis','../../nav/images/empfasis_nav_01-over.gif','',1)" onMouseOut="MM_nbGroup('out')"><img src="../../nav/images/empfasis_nav_01.gif" alt="" name="empfasis" width="64" height="34" border="0" onload=""></a></td> <td><a href="http://www.empf.org" target="_top" onClick="MM_nbGroup('down','group1','aci','',1)" onMouseOver="MM_nbGroup('over','aci','../../nav/images/empfasis_nav_02-over.gif','',1)" onMouseOut="MM_nbGroup('out')"><img src="../../nav/images/empfasis_nav_02.gif" alt="" name="aci" width="58" height="34" border="0" onload=""></a></td> <td><a href="http://www.aciusa.org" target="_top" onClick="MM_nbGroup('down','group1','empf','',1)" onMouseOver="MM_nbGroup('over','empf','../../nav/images/empfasis_nav_03-over.gif','',1)" onMouseOut="MM_nbGroup('out')"><img src="../../nav/images/empfasis_nav_03.gif" alt="" name="empf" width="48" height="34" border="0" onload=""></a></td> <td><a href="http://www.empf.org/empfasis/index.html#archive" target="_top" onClick="MM_nbGroup('down','group1','archive','',1)" onMouseOver="MM_nbGroup('over','archive','../../nav/images/empfasis_nav_04-over.gif','',1)" onMouseOut="MM_nbGroup('out')"><img src="../../nav/images/empfasis_nav_04.gif" alt="" name="archive" width="70" height="34" border="0" onload=""></a></td> <td><a href="http://store.aciusa.org" onClick="MM_nbGroup('down','group1','techpubs','',1)" onMouseOver="MM_nbGroup('over','techpubs','../../nav/images/empfasis_nav_05-over.gif','',1)" onMouseOut="MM_nbGroup('out')"><img src="../../nav/images/empfasis_nav_05.gif" alt="" name="techpubs" width="154" height="34" border="0" onload=""></a></td> <td><a href="mailto:empf@aciusa.org" target="_top" onClick="MM_nbGroup('down','group1','contact','',1)" onMouseOver="MM_nbGroup('over','contact','../../nav/images/empfasis_nav_06-over.gif','',1)" onMouseOut="MM_nbGroup('out')"><img src="../../nav/images/empfasis_nav_06.gif" alt="" name="contact" width="74" height="34" border="0" onload=""></a></td> </tr> </table> <!-- #EndLibraryItem --></div> <table width="100%" border="0"> <tr> <td width="85%" class="style17">A publication of the National Electronics Manufacturing Center of Excellence</td> <!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="Date" --><td width="15%"><div align="right">March 2011 </div></td> <!-- InstanceEndEditable --> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0"> <tr> <td width="237" valign="top"> <div align="center"> <table width="237" height="1280" border="0" cellpadding="30" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td width="237" valign="top" background="../../archive/images/left_banner4.jpg"><div id="lft_banner"> <table width="185" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td><a href="http://www.aciusa.org" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.empf.org/empfasis/archive/images/aci_sm.gif" alt="Go to the ACI website" width="69" height="44" border="0" align="left" longdesc="http://www.aciusa.org"></a></td> <td><a href="http://www.empf.org" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.empf.org/empfasis/archive/images/empf_sm.gif" alt="Go to the EMPF website" width="65" height="44" border="0" align="right" longdesc="http://www.empf.org"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"><div align="center"> <!--link here--> <table width="175" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td valign="top"><span class="style24"><br>In This EMPFasis Issue<br><br></span></td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top" style="padding-left:10px"> <p align="left"><a href="affordable.html">Affordable Manufacturing of WDM Electro-Optical Assemblies</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top">&nbsp;</td></tr> <tr><td valign="top" style="padding-left:10px"> <p align="left"><a href="help-0311.html">Ask the EMPF Helpline!</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top"><p align="left">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr><td valign="top" style="padding-left:10px"> <p align="left"><a href="cost.html">Manufacturing Cost Reduction through Automation</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top"><p align="left">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr><td valign="top" style="padding-left:10px"> <p align="left"><a href="tech-tips-0311.html">Tech Tips: Setting Up an Affordable, Automated, Selective Soldering Operation</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top"><p align="left">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr><td valign="top" style="padding-left:10px"> <p align="left"><a href="manf-corner-0311.html">Manufacturer&rsquo;s Corner: Selective Soldering and the Modular Approach</a></p></td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top"><p align="left">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr><td valign="top" style="padding-left:10px"> <p align="left"><a href="design.html">Design for Producubility of Complex RF Circuit Assemblies</a></p></td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top"><p align="left">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr><td valign="top" style="padding-left:10px"> <p align="left"><a href="http://store.aciusa.org">EMTC Online Registration</a></p></td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top"><p align="left">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr><td valign="top" style="padding-left:10px"> <p align="left"><a href="../html/empfasis/emlcupcoming.pdf" target=_blank>Training Center Course Schedule</a></p></td> </tr> </table> <!--link here--> <br> <hr align="center" size="1"> <br> <a href="http://store.aciusa.org"><img src="http://www.aciusa.org/images/lower-pricing-ad.gif" alt="Discount pricing on IPC training course J-STD-001, 610, 600, 7711, 7712" width="150" height="288" border="1"></a> <a href="http://www.empf.org/empfasis/subscribe.htm"> </a> <p class="style9"><script language="JavaScript"> <!-- function random_imglink(){ var myimages=new Array() myimages[1]="http://www.aciusa.org/wwwaci/html/random/boot.gif" myimages[2]="http://www.aciusa.org/wwwaci/html/random/lead.gif" myimages[3]="http://www.aciusa.org/wwwaci/html/random/help.gif" myimages[4]="http://www.aciusa.org/wwwaci/html/random/service.gif" myimages[5]="http://www.empf.org/empfasis/archive/images/subscribe2.gif" var imagelinks=new Array() imagelinks[1]="http://www.aciusa.org/courses/train_boot.htm" imagelinks[2]="http://www.empf.org/empfasis/leadfree.htm" imagelinks[3]="http://www.empf.org/helpline/helpline.htm" imagelinks[4]="http://www.aciusa.org/ana/ana_home.htm" imagelinks[5]="http://www.empf.org/empfasis/subscribe.htm" var ry=Math.floor(Math.random()*myimages.length) if (ry==0) ry=1 document.write('<a href='+'"'+imagelinks[ry]+'"'+'><img src="'+myimages[ry]+'" border=0></a>') } //random_imglink() //--> </script></p> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"><div align="center"><span class="style5">ACI Technologies Inc.</span><br> One International Plaza<br> Suite 600 <br> Philadelphia, PA 19113 <br> (610) 362-1200 <br> <span class="style6">FAX: </span>(610) 362-1290<br> <span class="style6">HELPLINE: </span>(610) 362-1320<br> <span class="style6">WEBSITE: </span><a href="http://www.empf.org">www.empf.org</a><br> <a href="http://www.aciusa.org">www.aciusa.org</a></div></td> </tr> </table> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div align="center"> <p align="center" class="style7">Michael D. Frederickson<br> <strong><em>EMPF Director </em></strong><br> <br> Barry Thaler, PhD.<br> bthaler@aciusa.org <br> <strong><em>Empfasis Technical Editor<br> </em></strong><br> Paul Bratt<br> pbratt@aciusa.org <br> <strong><em>Empfasis Editor</em></strong><br> </p> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <p align="center" class="style7"><img src="http://www.empf.org/empfasis/archive/images/iab_sm.gif" alt="IAB" width="100" height="52"><br> <span class="style9">Industrial Advisory Board</span><br> <span class="style14"><em>Gerald R. Aschoff</em>, The Boeing Company<br> <em>Dennis M. Kox</em>, Raytheon<br> <em>Gregory X. Krieger</em>, BAE Systems<br> <em>Edward A. Morris</em>, Lockheed Martin<br> <em>Jane Krueger </em>, Rockwell Collins<br> <em>Gary Kirchner</em>, Honeywell<br> <em>Andrew Paradise</em>, Northrop Grumman<br> <em>Richard Kidwell </em>, ITT Industries</span></p> </div> <p align="center" class="style7"><br> </p> </div> </td> </tr> </table> </div></td> <!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="Body1" --><td width="70%" rowspan="2" valign="top"><div class="body_style" id="body_content"> <p align="center"><img src="images/cost.gif" alt="title"></p> <p class="body_text"><span class="style20">D</span>efense systems and its manufacturers are often blamed for not embracing new and innovative technologies to manufacture products compared to its commercial counterparts. Commercial product manufacturers are known to think"outside the box" in coming up with new products which are cheaper, have fewer parts, and easier to manufacture using automation. Automation leads to consistent quality products which are reliable and reproducible. Implementing some of these producibility design practices into defense systems will greatly reduce the cost and insertion time for new products.</p> <p>Products like the radio frequency (RF) tuner, used in a radar application for the Navy, are complex and involve hybrid assembly. Hybrid assembly in electronic manufacturing can be broadly defined as using automated and manual assembly lines to produce a finished product with enhanced product reproducibility and performance. Defense electronics manufacturers are spending most of their time designing products to meet the cost target, eliminate manufacturing bottlenecks, and develop new manufacturing techniques to increase the automation in hybrid manufacturing processes.</p> <p>Traditionally, all RF microwave parts are packaged in hermetically sealed packages for performance and reliability reasons. Electromagnetic interference (EMI), cross talk between channels, and corrosion due to the presence of moisture inside the package are some of the reasons why RF modules are always hermetically sealed. RF components have been hermetically sealed for decades and the manufacturers have enjoyed the increased pricing demanded for these parts. Today, customers including naval defense industries are looking for ways to trim cost without compromising performance. Design and manufacturing engineers are forced to look at alternate materials, manufacturing processes, and new hermetic packaging technologies to reduce labor touch time through automation.</p> <p>The building blocks of a hermetically sealed RF package include a metal casing, ceramic substrate, active and passive components, different melting solders, epoxies, and wirebond interconnects, and a metal cover. Raw material costs are high with the use of metal enclosures and ceramic substrates. The manufacturing process is a mostly low volume, batch process with semi-automatic production lines. This increases the labor touch time which in-turn increases the cost of the part. A typical hermetically sealed part undergoes the manufacturing process steps shown in the Figure 3-1.</p> <p align="center"><img src="images/fig3-1.gif"></p> <p>With the advancement in software, detailed thermal and electrical modeling is performed before the substrate is ordered. Ceramic substrate manufacturing has advanced to include designs with multiple layers and embedded high density interconnects and passive components between the layers. Printed resistors, capacitors, and inductors are now commonly designed into the substrate. These increase the substrate component density, reducing overall size and cost. Stand alone modules placed discretely on the circuit card assembly (CCA) are being redesigned in a single system on chip approach (SoC). As major components condense, the associated circuitry also condenses. Input and output control lines along the RF transmission lines are now designed closer together with a smaller width. This has forced tighter component spacing and pad sizes to shrink. Manufacturing technologies once used to dispense, attach, and interconnect are finding it difficult to meet these needs and are lagging in technology. Defense manufacturers are finding ways to automate these hybrid modules to keep the cost low. Some of the innovative approaches for manufacturing RF tuner modules for radar applications are explained below.</p> <p><b>Ceramic to Case Attach:</b> This is traditionally a manual batch process. The ceramic substrate is attached to the metal casing with low temperature solder paste or preforms. The process involves expensive graphite fixturing to position the substrate accurately inside the case and reflow oven. This area will be closely considered for automation as it involves excessive manual labor touch time. Alternatively, a B-stage epoxy preform could be tacked on the case and the substrate is placed and attached using the force and temperature generated by the pick and place machine. Excess epoxy bleed out (if any) is trimmed by a laser. Fully automated, this process can produce a uniform bondline thickness between the metal casing and the substrate. Automation can reduce labor touch time, eliminate expensive graphite fixtures, and improve throughput and product quality.</p> <p><b>Active Component Attach:</b> This is mostly an automated process. Adhesive is dispensed using an automated dispensing machine with a time/pressure valve or a positive displacement pump. Components are placed using an automated die placement machine. With the advancement in ceramic design, the dispensing accuracy and component placement accuracy should greatly increase to prevent any shorting. Manufacturers are looking into using advanced dispensing solutions like jet dispensing technology where the adhesive can be jetted as discrete dots or a rapid succession of dots to form a line. Adhesive dots with diameters as small as 100 µm can be jetted with good repeatability. Die placement machines with placement accuracy as fine as ±5 µm are used to place active components to meet the placement requirements.</p> <p><b>Interconnects:</b> Fine wire or ribbon (25.4 µm) is used to connect the SoC to the substrate and the substrate to the package. This is a fully automated process. The package and wire configuration is programmed into the machine with wire parameters. The operator loads parts in Auer boats and bonds the components. New bonding techniques are being evaluated using trace lines smaller than 20 µm to eliminate the manual bonding process. </p> <p><b>Automatic Optical Inspection (AOI):</b> Manual inspection under the microscope is time consuming and inefficient. A hermetic package like the RF-tuner can have hundreds of components and thousands of fine wire bonds. The location and position of the wires inside the package can be pre-programmed into an AOI system and parts inspected. Missing or damaged wires or parts are identified and sent for repair. Non value-added cost is significantly reduced using these inspection systems.</p> <p><b>Pre-Seal Testing:</b> This step is a semi-automatic process. While the software is automated, testing one unit at a time is time consuming. The RF-tuner in particular requires a lot of tuning to meet the product specification. Tuning is done by either replacing some parts or by modifying the RF trace lines of the printed resistors, capacitors, or inductors. Defense manufacturers are looking into ways to tune these parts in-line using a laser based system to modify the trace line and re-test. Pre-seal testing is usually the biggest bottle neck in any hybrid assembly line.</p> <p><b>Pre-Bake and Lid Sealing:</b> This is a batch automated process where the bake out cycle and the sealing parameters are programmed. Lids are either laser or seam sealed in an inert atmosphere</p> <p><b>Hermeticity Check:</b> Package hermeticity is checked by gross and fine leak equipment after pressurizing the packages. Any minute leak is detected and the units are set aside for rework.</p> <p><b>Final Testing:</b> Results from the pre-seal testing are verified. This is an automated test and done as a batch process. Units that pass are packaged for final inspection and shipping.</p> <p>Hybrid modules are here to stay for the foreseeable future. The manufacturing process steps are well defined. Defense manufacturers use lean manufacturing techniques to determine bottle-necks in the line and to find innovative ways to redesign modules by combining multiple functions into a single chip. The EMPF is working closely with manufacturers to develop new manufacturing techniques for an RF-tuner and to qualify new materials and manufacturing processes to meet the stringent military environmental requirements.</p> <p>For more information about automating the hybrid assembly, please contact the EMPF Helpline at 610.362.1320, via email at helpline@empf.org or visit the website at www.empf.org.</p> <p class="body_text"><img src="../../archive/updated/anand.gif"></p> </div> </td> <!-- InstanceEndEditable --> </tr> <tr> </tr> </table> <br> <table width="100%" border="0"> <tr> <td colspan="2"><div align="center"> <p><em>The EMPF is a U.S. Navy-sponsored National Electronics Manufacturing Center of Excellence focused on the development,<br> application, and transfer of new electronics manufacturing technology by partnering with industry,<br> academia, and government centers and laboratories in the U.S</em></p> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="footer">ACI Technologies, Inc - - <a href="http://www.aciusa.org">www.aciusa.org</a> - - (610)362-1200</td> <td><div align="right"><a href="http://www.onr.navy.mil/Science-Technology/Directorates/Transition/Manufacturing-ManTech.aspx"><img src="http://www.empf.org/empfasis/archive/images/mantech.gif" width="144" height="42" border="0"></a></div></td> </tr> </table> <div align="right"> <!-- Start of StatCounter Code --> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> var sc_project=350643; var sc_partition=1; </script> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" src="http://www.statcounter.com/counter/counter.js"></script> <noscript> <a href="http://www.statcounter.com/free_hit_counter.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://c2.statcounter.com/counter.php?sc_project=350643&amp;amp;java=0" alt="hit counter" border="0"></a> </noscript> <a href="http://www.empf.org/sitemap.htm"><em>[site map] </em></a> <!-- End of StatCounter Code --> <!-- Start of StatCounter Code --> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> var sc_project=1902214; var sc_invisible=1; var sc_partition=17; var sc_security="759b802c"; </script> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" src="http://www.statcounter.com/counter/counter.js"></script><noscript><a href="http://www.statcounter.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://c18.statcounter.com/counter.php?sc_project=1902214&java=0&security=759b802c&invisible=1" alt="website statistics" border="0"></a> </noscript> <!-- End of StatCounter Code --> </div> </body> <!-- InstanceEnd --></html>