Thermal Treatment Tray Units for Expansion-Matched Component Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing thermal treatment methods for electronic components face issues with large temperature differences causing warping and imprecise positioning due to differing thermal expansions, leading to potential short circuits and malfunctions.
Innovation Solution
A batch tray system with separate tray units connected by a connecting element that matches the thermal expansion of the components, ensuring precise positioning and uniform thermal expansion to prevent warping during heating and cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional batch trays are used for thermal treatment, then components can be processed simultaneously for economic production, but large temperature differences cause different thermal expansions leading to warping and imprecise positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The batch tray is divided into multiple independent tray units, each capable of accommodating a group of components. This segmentation allows each tray unit to expand and contract independently during thermal treatment, preventing warping while maintaining the ability to process multiple component groups simultaneously for economic production.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting members are designed with specific material properties and geometric configurations (such as L-shaped or T-shaped structures) that enable them to compensate for thermal expansion differences. By changing the physical parameters of the connecting members, the system maintains precise component positioning even when temperature varies during thermal treatment.
2Stability of the object's composition
If components are fixed on the batch tray for thermal treatment, then positioning is maintained during processing, but thermal expansion differences cause unintended play and relative offset of components
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the batch tray system have different properties: tray units are designed to be thermally expandable to accommodate local thermal effects, while connecting members are designed with compensation capabilities to maintain local positioning precision. This local quality differentiation allows the system to simultaneously achieve stability and precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting members are specifically designed to utilize thermal expansion principles, with materials and geometries selected to match the thermal expansion characteristics of the components. This allows the connecting members to expand and contract in sync with the components they hold, preventing relative offset and maintaining alignment precision during temperature changes.
3Reliability
If the batch tray is heated for thermal treatment, then components are joined through melting or diffusion, but the batch tray deforms causing groups of components to be mispositioned relative to the pushing machine
Solution Approach 1:
The batch tray system transitions from a rigid static structure to a dynamic adaptive structure during thermal treatment. The connecting members dynamically adjust their dimensions through controlled thermal expansion, allowing the system to adapt to temperature changes while maintaining the relative positioning of component groups accurate enough for machine pushing operations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables high-quality, economically viable production with maintained narrow tolerances by compensating for thermal expansion, preventing warping and ensuring accurate component alignment.
Implementation Method 1
a material of the connecting element and/or the trays being selected in such a manner that the connecting element and/or the tray exhibits thermal expansion in at least one linear direction when thermally treated, said thermal expansion essentially corresponding to a thermal expansion of the first component and/or the second component in the linear direction
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a device and a method for thermally treating components, in particular electronic components or the like, the device comprising a batch tray (10) and at least two groups of components placed on the batch tray, the groups of components each comprising at least a first component and a second component connected or to be connected to the first component, the batch tray having at least two tray units (11) each accommodating a group of components. The tray units each have a tray (12) and a connecting member (13) for connecting the trays to each other, the connecting member being formed by at least one connecting element (14), a material of the connecting element and/or the trays being selected in such a manner that the connecting element and/or the tray exhibits thermal expansion in at least one linear direction when thermally treated, said thermal expansion essentially corresponding to a thermal expansion of the first component and/or the second component in the linear direction.