物流管理---工业界的“自动售卖机”Industrial Vending Machine In Electronics Assembly

Posted by Anny Zhang on Tuesday, July 17, 2012

最近有一个客户向我们展示了他们公司新采用的“自动售卖机”库存管理系统（industrial vending machine）,真是大开眼界。在此和大家分享一下。 请看下面的图片。

这个自动售卖机和我们平时看见卖零食的机器表面上没什么大区别，最多是可以在机器旁边衍生多些大格子储存更多的货品。客户的采购员自豪的向我们介绍了采用这套系统后带来的好处（当然，所有好处都是围绕降低成本和容易系统管理）

  • 免费机器，一年6%的rebate
  • 拿到物品开始算钱: 员工凭自己的门卡在机器上取到需要的货品后，供应商才开始计算物品单价。月结。换言之，在机器上的所有物品，只要客户没有从机器中取出，供应商都不收客户钱。
  • 网络监控管理：
    • 采购人员可以在机器上设置好，对所有物品的取出，谁取出，每次、每天取出多少，都可以通过机器变好程序，设置好。这样管理，知道谁拿了什么，减少浪费。一个很简单的例子：几种擦拭机器的不同牌子的纸，表面上看都一模一样，其实有一种是5分钱一张，有一种是1.5元一张。 1.5元一张的确实特别好用，某些特殊机器就是要用这种贵纸才能擦干净。采购员买了两种都放在车间。但是车间人员不知道差别，大家都随便取用，有时候用贵的纸什么都擦，甚至擦鼻子：-） 现在有了vending machine, 就可以控制只有擦贵机器的人才可以限量取到贵的纸。
    • 采购人员可以在网上实时监控，知道每种货品每个时间段的用量，谁用了、用了多少，机器中还剩下多少等。以前，很多公司的采购人员只能通过预算购买下一次的货品，但是他们对现存货品剩下量的多少，没有实时资讯，所以造成了很多取货现象。
    • 通过网络在线订货购买

看到介绍后我们都很感慨，觉得做这个vending machine的公司十分有创新性。而且那么优惠的条件（免费机器，“0”库存，年底的rebate）, 这些都是等于把现金都压在了客户那里。这个公司一定要有雄厚的实力和足够多和大的客户，才能利用规模相应(economic scales),不然毛利这么低，怎么赚钱……

我们还谈到了焊接产品(soldering materials)。目前，客户准备把焊锡棒（solder bars）和锡线 (solder wires)放在vending machine中管理，但是焊锡膏、焊锡球、助焊剂等（solder paste, solder spheres, wave fluxs）不能放, 因为solder paste 要特别的冷冻储存条件；spheres不易过多的人工操作，让小球们在瓶子里碰撞；wave flux的容器比较大，难放入vending machine……

Cheers！

Image Source

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Thermocompression Bonding for Microbump Flip-Chip Soldering

Posted by Dr. Andy Mackie on Sunday, June 26, 2011

For reasons that I will discuss in a post later this year, a common factor that is emerging in the area of copper-pillar microbump 2.5D and 3D joining, is the adoption of thermocompression (TC) bonding for flip-chip flux/microbump soldering. TC bonding is now being predominantly adopted instead of reflow. Some of you may have the same response as I got at iMAPS 2011 from one well-known expert in packaging technology. He looked askance at me when I mentioned TC bonding for flip-chip and retorted: “That’s for bonding wafers, not soldering flip-chips!”. Even good old Wikipedia (at time of writing) seems to have the same problem – basically that the industry usage of the term has moved into the packaging arena.

I spent a little time talking to people in the industry, and on Google, putting together a buyer’s guide for those of you looking at who-is-doing-what in TC bonding. This is just a prototype guide and necessarily incomplete – if I have missed your company out then I apologize, and will add it in: just give me all the details!

Equipment Type Company Name URL Bonding tools What else they make
Die-bonders ASM (PT) http://www.asmpacific.com/asmpt
/index.htm		 Die bonders, flip-chip bonders Various others
Die-bonders BESi http://besi.com/  Die and flip-chip bonders (Datacon) Meco (plating systems), Fico (molding / trimming), ESEC
Die-bonders FineTech http://www.finetech.de/  Die bonders, flip-chip bonders (offline) SMT/BGA rework, Laser bar-bonder, VCSEL, Photodiodes, Chip-on-glass, RFID
Die-bonders Hybond http://www.hybond.com/  Eutectic die bonders (offline/manual) Wirebonders / Peg and bar lead diode bonders
Die-bonders Newport http://www.newport.com/ Die bonders Optical and alignment instrumentation, spectrometers
Die-bonders Palomar http://palomartechnologies.com/  Die bonders Ballbonders, stud bumpers, manual die bonders
Die-bonders Panasonic http://www.panasonicfa.com/?id=MD-P200  Die bonders Wirebonders etc etc
Die-bonders SET http://www.set-sas.fr/en/  Die bonders, flip-chip bonders Large device bonders and nano-imprint
Die-bonders Shibaura http://www.shibaura.co.jp/e/products/  Die bonders, flip-chip bonders FEOL products (etching, stripping, coating, jetting) and BEOL
Die-bonders Toray http://www.toray-eng.com/sitemap/index.html#semicon  Die bonders, flip-chip bonders [Semi]Inspection, exposure, encapsulation. COG / COF / FOG bonders
Die-bonders Westbond http://westbond.com/machines.htm  Die bonders (offline/manual) Wirebonders
         
Wafer bonders EV Group http://www.evgroup.com/en  Wafer bonders Lithography tools
Wafer bonders Suss Microtech http://www.suss.com/  Wafer bonders Mask aligners, nanoimprinters, photomasks, lithography tools

Thanks to Brian Schmaltz of Namics kk for one extra addition to the list. 

Cheers! Andy


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Solder Metal Prices Skyrocket, Especially Silver

Posted by Dr. Ron Lasky on Saturday, April 16, 2011
LMW Silver Price

Folks,

Many people have been infatuated by the price of gold in recent months, but the price of silver has also skyrocketed. In 2000 silver was about $3.00 per troy oz. In the eight years that followed, its price grew to $15/oz. Today it is trading at over $41/oz! This price is almost an all time high, except for the time when the Hunt brothers tried to corner the silver market in 1980. The aberration of their efforts jolted the silver price to just short of $50/oz, but it settled down to $11 or so after the Hunts came under margin call and other pressures.

Unfortunately, the dramatic price increase today, does not appear to be an aberration. Although we may hope that it will soon drop to more historic levels, we may not have reason to expect that it will.

Although not as dramatic, tin and copper have experienced significant prices increases as well. The price of tin has doubled in the last year to $15/pound and copper has increased from about $3/lb to $4.50.  These metals are obviously key ingredients in critical electronic materials such as solder pastes, solder bar, and solder preforms.

In addition, oil, which is used for most organic electronic materials such as PWB resins, flip chip underfill, and epoxy fluxes, has increased to $110/bbl - approaching its all time high of $145/bbl.

All of these price increases have a significant impact on the electronic materials supply chain. Although we are used to price decreases in the cost of our mobile phones and PCs, at this point in time, the price of the materials that go into these devices will be increasing.

As one materials supply chain executive commented at APEX, “It’s not like we can be clever and somehow work around the price increase of silver and these other materials, we have to pass it on to our customer, or go out of business.”

Cheers,

Dr. Ron
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选择性焊接 Selective Soldering

Posted by Anny Zhang on Wednesday, March 30, 2011

最近越来越多的客户提到了选择性焊接Selective Soldering. 我之前对此了解比较少，所以特意问了同事们学习了一下，发现选择性焊接有以下几点：

---和波峰焊焊接(wave soldering)比较相似，通常在SMT贴片回流后。

---和波峰焊焊接的不同点在于，selective soldering不需要整个板子都经过solder wave; 而是有一个固定的nozzle，对需要焊接的那一小部分进行”wave” soldering

---选择性焊接(Selective soldering)是整个板子不用经过第二次温度剧增(thermal excursion)，不单单保护了板子 (reduce CTE mismatch)，而且保护了已经焊接在板子上的对温度变化敏感的原件。

---选择性焊接(Selective soldering) 和波峰焊焊接相比，一般使用较少量的波峰焊助焊剂(wave flux)和锡棒(solder bar)；但是有些选择性焊接的设备需要往pot里放实心锡线(solid solder wires)而不是锡棒。

Cheers!

 

Pic & Video:Youtube

 

PS： 谢谢同事Eric Bastow的分享。虽然用wave flux and solder bar少了点，影响了revenue; 但是实心锡线是比廉价的solder bar利润高出很多的产品，所以还好啦：-）

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給客戶帶來價值(Add Value To Your Customers)

Posted by Anny Zhang on Thursday, September 2, 2010

最近小忙，少讀書了，也少和大家分享了；不過工作之餘，翻看了一下《A Seat at The Table》一書，覺得裏面有些道理也蠻有啓發的。比如説此書中一直圍繞這個主題來展開了論述“Today, the only thing your customer cares about is value.”

就這個觀點，再對照一下Indium公司的兩個主要系列產品：

²       電路板組裝焊接材料(Solder Materials):  這裡也要分產品而論。對於技術含量較高，工藝使用要求較多的焊錫膏(Solder Paste)材料，重視成品可靠性的客戶們會更多的關注產品帶來的“價值”。 如果只圖便宜的材料，但是用起來“錯漏百出”的，最後還是事倍功半：返工，復修，廢棄率高（特別是浪費貴的不能翻修的板子），產出率低，總體成本也自然高了。 對技術含量較低，工藝已經“模式化”的產品，像錫棒(Solder Bar)，錫綫(Solder Wire),  性价比會更關鍵……在目前日益高漲的金屬原材料市場中，Indium公司考慮到客戶們的成本壓力，也推出了性能可以和SAC305錫棒媲美的有成本優勢的Sn995錫棒。

 

²       半導體封裝材料(Semiconductor Materials):  整個半導體行業應該算是一個高成本，高投資，高回報（運營得好的話）的三高行業。半導體封裝材料也像是其中的經絡血脈吧，連接各個部分，讓整體最後順暢無阻的工作。半導體各個部分的材料都不便宜，設備更是不菲；對材料性能的表現要求和驗證都很嚴格，畢竟都投資那麽多，不能“功虧一簣”嘛。所以客戶們一般會十分重視產品的價值。 Indium 公司目前提供的半導體材料有：Wafer Flux, Wafer Paste, Micro Spheres, Flip-Chip Flux, Substrate Paste, Ball Attach Flux, Die-Attach Paste/Wire, PoP Fluxes, etc. 

 

Indium公司還為大家提供散熱界面材料(Thermal Interface Materials)，工程焊料(Engineering Solders)，薄膜光付太陽能板製造材料&太陽能板組裝焊接材料(PV Solar Materials)，和銦金屬及其化合物等。 這些材料使用在比較領先的應用中，新興行業，或是細分市場中，客戶們都十分重視產品和服務能給自己帶來的價值。


Cheers!  




Pic: Indium Corporation


PS: 前些日子看了中央4台的《第三屆漢語橋在華留學生漢語比賽》，感慨不已！除了感嘆這些留學生們對“那麽難”的漢語的精湛掌握，對中國文化和歷史的了解，甚至對中國的熱愛；更感慨的是，這些活動也説明了祖國的強大！現在越來越多的留學生們來中國學習，想進一步了解中國，和中國人民交流；中國話也在慢慢傳播到全世界！以前中國學子們苦讀英語，考TOFEL, 雅思，GRE什麽的；現在金髮碧眼的學生們也在場上比拼誰更了解我們的“四書五經”了，哈哈！

 

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INTERVIEW: Klaus Roehmer: PINK Vacuum Reflow

Posted by Dr. Andy Mackie on Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Figure 1: 15% Voiding with air reflow

Figure 1: 15% Voiding with air reflow

Figure 2: ~0% Voiding after vacuum reflow

Figure 2: ~0% Voiding after vacuum reflow

Figure 3: Multiple voids

Figure 3: Multiple voids

While at the Semicon West 2009 show in July, I had a chance to sit down with Herr Klaus Roemer of Pink GmbH. PINK is most famous in the die-attach and power module manufacturing world for their reflow ovens with vacuum, but are also known in the medical and aerospace industries for manufacturing extremely high precision, one-off, vacuum equipment for applications as diverse as particle-accelerators for ion bombardment, and large-volume chambers for helium leak-detection. I asked him some questions about Pink vacuum soldering technology.

ACM: Why do people use vacuum soldering?
 
Klaus:
Shrinking package sizes and higher power density in electronic devices necessitate void-free soldering. Voids reduce the electrical and thermal conductivity and cause hot spots, which are very critical especially in the case of power electronics. The pressure in voids is usually around 1bar (ambient pressure). A vacuum of < 5 mbar (4 Torr) in the soldering chamber causes a differential pressure between the voids in the liquid solder and outside the solder connection, resulting in a force that effectively "pulls out" the voids against the resistance of the solder viscosity. Figures 1 and 2 show the dramatic difference in voiding on a direct-bonded copper baseplate for an IGBT module.
 
ACM: Don't other manufacturers also produce vacuum soldering equipment?
 
Klaus: Yes, we have some very capable competitors, but they usually can only solder with high temperature and preforms only, and not with solder paste. PINK has a unique patented technology which offers the following significant advantages:
 
·         Void-free soldering in inline systems for mass production or batch type ovens
·         Soldering with solder paste (highly efficient flux management system) and / or soldering with preforms
·         Flux free soldering possible, by using formic acid or forming gas
·         Temperature profiles in accordance with IPC / JEDEC or customers specifications, with a short process time of typically 6 minutes only
·         Adjustable and controlled temperature gradients
·         Process temperatures up to 400°C
·         Consistent process control and traceability
 
ACM: How does PINK manage the fast heat transfer required for precisely controlled heating and cooling?
 
Klaus: In each heating zone within the oven, a large block with a high thermal mass is heated to a constant temperature, and is then raised to touch the platen on which the substrate is resting. The number and the time period of "touches" of the thermal mass against the platen dictate its temperature and heating gradient, allowing a very precise profile control, using a PID-controller feedback-loop. Cooling is done the same way, with a vice versa heat flow. An efficient flux- management system in the "VADU" by PINK allows 24/7 production. Liquid flux residues can easily be removed by just opening taps in the flux collection reservoirs. Burning of flux residues is prevented by using a spike reflow  temperature which is only about 20°C higher than the soldering temperature.
 
Our Youtube video shows this process very well. You can see the "bubbling and boiling" of the reflowed solder paste, as flux volatiles expand under the die, and outgas.
Voids are typically found to be less than 1%, often zero and although many customers always ask for always "zero voids" this is difficult to achieve, due to variations in the substrate and die finishes.
 
ACM: Klaus, das war sehr interessant! Danke für die Informationen.
 
---
 
Andy Mackie comment:
 
Don't forget that each time that a void appears under a die, it increases the current density (A / cm2) as an inverse function of the void cross-sectional area. In a situation where there is a lot of voiding, this can lead to thermal runaway. For example (figure 3) in the case of a junction between several voids, the thin films of solder between the voids may heat up to higher temperatures, as the voids will not conduct heat. This becomes a vicious cycle, where the hotter film of solder has a lower resistance, so carries more current, so gets heated up more, and so on, and in some instances the die may actually be "blown" off the direct bonded copper substrate by the pressure in the expanding void, combined with the weak or even molten solder.

Cheers! Andy

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Viscometry 101 (Ball Attach Flux - Cone & Plate or T-bar?)

Posted by Jim Hisert on Monday, June 23, 2008
Photo courtesy of www.chemistryexplained.com

Photo courtesy of www.chemistryexplained.com

As you may have seen on product data sheets or specifications, each flux is tested per industry standards for different parameters.  One characteristic that is important to customers is viscosity.  There are various ways to measure the viscosity of a tacky-type flux, the most common being the J-STD T-bar method.  This testing uses a rotating spindle to feed-back the force needed to shear thought the flux.  For a more application-realistic measurement, we also use the cone and plate method to test viscosity.  This test method employs a rotating disc that works in a similar manner to T-bar feed-back, but tests a film of material between the base cup and the disc.  I expect future test method standards to target the cone and plate method, once the industry catches up.  

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Beam it down from space

Posted by Indium Author on Saturday, May 31, 2008
Solar PV in Space

Solar PV in Space

Have you recently thought about any creative ways to harness solar power?

Tandem Cells, Portable Power, Concentrators, Solar Trackers, Internal Refelecters, Back Contact etc. are all concepts of past. While the solar panels continue to spread and cover the rooftops, radio towers and land there are others working on raising the bar even further. "A single kilometer-wide band of geosynchronous Earth orbit experiences enough solar flux in one year to nearly equal the amount of energy contained within all known recoverable conventional oil reserves on Earth today." Sounds like a quote from a scifi novel but may soon be a reality in near future.

Below is an article from CNN that talks about an interesting concept which may very well come true one day.

Cnn.com - How to harvest solar power?


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