Support Tower Alignment for Singulated Substrate Printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for printing multiple circuit boards simultaneously face inefficiencies due to the need for multiple screens and complex alignment processes, especially when dealing with defective boards and small pitch arrays, which limit the use of support tower systems like MASS.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a support tower tooling system with differential height profiles allows for staggered alignment of workpieces, enabling them to be individually aligned and supported within a printing machine, using multiple support surfaces on each tower to accommodate various array configurations and pitches.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple boards are printed simultaneously on a single panel, then printing efficiency is improved, but defect management becomes complex and requires multiple screen set-ups
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the panel into multiple independently supportable boards, each capable of being aligned and printed separately. This segmentation allows defective boards to be identified and rejected individually without affecting other boards on the same panel, eliminating the need for multiple screen set-ups while maintaining high printing efficiency.
2Ease of manufacture
If individual boards are singulated before printing, then defect management is simplified, but alignment and support becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces an intermediary support structure with multiple support points that facilitates the alignment and support of singulated boards. This intermediary mechanism enables easy alignment of individual boards while maintaining the benefits of singulation for defect management.
3Productivity
If support tower spacing is reduced to handle closely spaced workpieces, then more workpieces can be printed, but the mechanical structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The invention resolves the spacing limitation by moving support surfaces vertically relative to each other, transitioning from a two-dimensional horizontal arrangement to a three-dimensional configuration. This allows support towers to handle closely spaced workpieces without reducing horizontal spacing, maintaining structural simplicity while increasing workpiece capacity.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
Tooling for supporting workpieces during a printing operation, comprises a support tower comprising a base and a head, the head being positioned vertically above the base in use, the head being relatively moveable with respect to the base in a horizontal plane in use, the head having first and second support surfaces located at an upper end thereof, each of the first and second support surfaces being adapted to support a respective workpiece thereon, wherein the first support surface is relatively moveable with respect to the second support surface in a vertical direction in use between a printing configuration in which the first and second support surfaces are substantially coplanar in the horizontal plane, and a pre-printing configuration in which the first and second support surfaces are spaced in the vertical direction.