Automated Drilling Offset Mechanism for PCB Reference Bore Quality
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing automated machine tools for drilling reference bores in printed circuit boards face challenges in achieving high-quality drilling with minimal bur formation and precise alignment, particularly due to the difficulty in capturing the position and alignment of boards with covering layers, which often results in decreased precision and increased bur formation.
Innovation Solution
An automated machine tool with a mechanism for applying printed circuit boards at a defined offset on a workpiece carrier, using a covering layer that can be applied and detached without exchange, ensuring high-quality drilling by preventing bur formation and allowing precise capture of board positions using CCD cameras or X-ray devices, with the covering layer being incrementally moved for each drilling cycle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a covering layer is applied to the printed circuit board before drilling reference bores, then the quality of reference bores is improved and bur formation is prevented, but the precision of position and alignment capture is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the covering layer to the printed circuit board before drilling the reference bores, performing the protective action in advance. This preliminary application of the covering layer prevents bur formation during drilling while the board is later repositioned on the workpiece carrier at an offset, allowing subsequent processing without removing or replacing the covering layer.
2Manufacturing precision
If a covering layer is applied to the printed circuit board, then reference bore quality is improved, but the covering layer must be discarded after each processed board which increases loss of substance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a system where the covering layer is not discarded after each board but is instead retained and reused. The printed circuit boards are repositioned on the workpiece carrier at a defined offset relative to the covering layer, allowing multiple boards to be processed with the same covering layer, thereby recovering and reusing the covering material across multiple processing cycles.
3Productivity
If printed circuit boards are processed sequentially with the same covering layer, then productivity is improved, but the device complexity increases due to offset positioning mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a dynamic offset positioning mechanism that allows printed circuit boards to be repositioned on the workpiece carrier at defined offsets relative to the covering layer. This dynamic adjustment capability enables multiple boards to be processed sequentially using the same covering layer, improving productivity while the offset mechanism provides the necessary flexibility.
Data Source
AI summary
An automated machine tool with a workpiece carrier for receiving a printed circuit board, at least one drilling station for processing printed circuit boards, and a mechanism for sequentially applying individual printed circuit boards onto the workpiece carrier and for removing printed circuit boards from the workpiece carrier.