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Top 10 SMT Assembly Brand Machines

Smart Factory Solution is fast becoming a trend in the electronics

manufacturing industry. This is relevant because of the need to cut down

on costs, improve the speed of production and do away with some of the

challenges that restrict improved efficiency of production.

Surface Mount Technology (SMT) machines play an important role in the

provision of responsive manufacturing solutions.

This guide explains the concept of Surface Mount Technology (SMT), the

different types or brands of SMT machines, and the companies or brands

that manufacture these machines.

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Table of Contents

What is Surface Mount Technology?

Surface Mount Technology, also called SMT, is a type of electrical

component production that involves the mounting of the electrical

components directly on the surface of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB).

The relevance of SMT has gone a long way to replace the former electronic

component production format – Through-Hole Technology.

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One of the many advantages of manufacturing with Surface Mount

Technology (SMT) is that it makes it easier for production to be scaled in

real-time. In addition to the speed that comes with it, SMT also helps to

cut down on the cost of electronics production because fewer hands are

needed.

The electronic devices that are manufactured by using Surface Mount

Technology (SMT) are called Surface Mount Devices (SMDs).

What does Surface Mount Machine do?

Surface Mount Machines are also called Pick-and-place machines or SMT

Component Placement Systems.

These machines are robotic machines used for placing Surface Mount

Devices (SMDs) onto Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs).

These machines are commonly used because of the high precisions,

several use cases/applications, and the variety of electronic

components that can be used on them.

Types of SMT Assembly Machines

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smd machines

A bulk of the increased success rate of using Surface Mount Technology

(SMT) machines depends on the inputs of the different machines used in

the process.

We are not talking about one machine. Up to six (6) machines are used to

facilitate the placement of electronic components on the circuit boards.

Below are some of the popular pick-and-place machines and the work

they do in terms of Surface Mount Technology (SMT).

1. Pick-and-Place Machines

This is the first type of SMT Assembly machine. Pick-and-place

machines are used to pick up and place or position the Surface Mount

Device (SMD) electronic components onto the Printed Circuit Board (PCB).

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The placement is immediately followed by the soldering of those SMD

components to make them stick to the circuit board.

Lots of factors are considered before deciding on the model of

Pick-and-place machines to buy. These machines are categorized into

different types.

These include:

Manual Pick-and-place Machines

These are the most common type of Pick-and-place machines. As the

name suggests, the process of picking and placing the Surface Mount

Device (SMD) on the PCB is done manually.

Worthy of mention is that manual pick-and-place machines are often used

for modular PCB production needs. The manual machines can also be

used when there is a need to customize the components for high-speed,

unattended operations.

Using the manual pick-and-place machines is an ideal way to derive

improved yield, reduce fatigue on the part of the operator, and cut down

on placement errors.

Although the accuracy of the placement is not always assured because of

the potential limitations faced by the operator.

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That notwithstanding, the manual pick-and-place machine does a great

job of bolstering the incremental production of hand-held volumes.

Semi-Automatic Pick-and-place Machine

The semi-automatic pick-and-place machines were originally designed to

be the interface between the manual and the automatic pick-and-place

machines.

These semi-automatic pick-and-place machines did an excellent job of

providing a vision-assisted computer interface that makes it easier for the

operator to see the direction of the component. This way, the operator will

make accurate placement of the ultra-fine pitch components.

The only difference is that the Semi-automatic pick-and-place machine still

works with manual placements. So, the operator has to manually position

the components for low-volume applications.

Automatic Pick-and-place Machines

Automatic SMT machines replaced the semi-automatic models. The

automatic model was improved to make the transition of the leap from

manual to fully automated SMT machines.

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Among many other things, automatic SMT machines are fully equipped

with pick and place centering methods, as well as improved machine

capabilities, in the areas of repeatability and accuracy.

2. SMT Curing Oven

This is also called the Surface Mount Technology (SMT) Baking Oven. The

SMT Curing Oven is an oven used for the baking of solder paste and

adhesive curing.

The volume of production also determines the possibility of combining the

trio of solder paste baking, adhesive curing, and solder reflow.

3. Solder Paste Screen Printer

This is the third type of SMT assembly machine. The Solder Paste Screen

Printer is a machine used for screen printing the solder paste onto the

circuit board (PCB).

This is often done before the Surface Mount Device (SMD) components

will be placed atop the Printed Circuit Board (PCB).

4. Reflow Soldering Machine

The Reflow Soldering Machine accounts for about 25% of the total cost of

a Surface Mount Technology (SMT) device.

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This SMT machine is primarily used for enabling solder reflow from the

Surface Mount Device (SMD) to the circuit board. This is done after the

reflow soldering is done with solder paste.

5. Solvent Cleaning Equipment

The soldering process is not always neat. There are chances of flux and

excess solder remaining after the entire process.

That is why you need to use the Solvent Cleaning Equipment. This SMT

Machine is used to clean and remove the excess flux and solder from the

Printed Circuit Board (PCB) after soldering.

6. Inspection Equipment

The Repair and Inspection Equipment is another type of Surface Mount

Technology (SMT) machine that is required in the SMT assembly process.

The PCB Inspection Equipment is an SMT Machine used for inspecting the

Printed Circuit Board (PCB). The inspection is done to inspect the circuit

board to check for potential defects.

The machine does not only find out the defects or faults in the circuit

board. It is also used to repair or fix those defects.

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Soldering Iron and Hot Air SMD Rework Station are two of the most used

types of PCB Inspection Equipment that are used for the detection and

repair of this defect.

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The Best SMT Assembly Machine Manufacturers

We are now going to review some of the best brands and companies that

manufacture different kinds of Surface Mount Technology (SMT)

machines.

Mycronic is the first SMT assembly manufacturer on the list. This is one of

the best SMT assembly manufacturers that focus on the production,

distribution, and management of sophisticated pick-and-place machines.

1. Mycronic

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The MY300 is the most outstanding of the SMT machines manufactured by

Mycronic. With this pick-and-place machine, operators are confident of

populating more boards with less floor space.

Features of Mycronic SMT Machine

These are some of the features of the Surface Mount Technology (SMT)

manufactured and distributed by Mycronic:

Strong Software Suite

The pick-and-place machine is built with a powerful software suite that is

both versatile and user-friendly.

The relevance of this SMT machine software is that it makes it simpler for

machine operators, planners, stock managers, and engineers to have

access to update information about SMT machine uses.

Precise Material Handling

You do not necessarily need to overwork yourself by working with

complex material handling.

Instead, you want to use the precise material handling feature of the

Mycronic SMT machine to avoid the bottlenecks that come with the

complex handling of SMT materials.

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This way, you will leverage the versatile pick-and-place solution offered by

Mycronic SMT machines to produce as many circuit boards as you want in

a day.

2. JUKI Automation Systems

JUKI is one of the leading manufacturers of Surface Mount Technology

(SMT) machines. The company has been in the business for many years.

Thus, it is in a better position to offer the desired SMT machine solutions.

Let us go into details of what JUKI has to offer, as far as Surface Mount

Technology (SMT) machines are concerned.

The Company Builds a Large Portfolio of Placement Machines

JUKI is reputed for the large portfolio of pick-and-place machines it

manufactures. The company manufactures SMT machines for small,

mid-sized, and large companies.

Performance

The performance of the SMT machines is not in doubt because JUKI places

a premium on the development of high-quality and high-performance

pick-and-place machines.

Placement Capabilities

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The JUKI SMT machines are also designed in a way that the machines will

make accurate placement of the components on top of the Printed Circuit

Board (PCB).

3. DDM Novastar

DDM Novastar is one of the leading manufacturers of pick-and-place

equipment designed for use in both manual and automated SMT systems.

So far, the company has been able to manufacture about 26,000 SMTs, of

which the customers are satisfied with their purchase.

DDM Novastar also designs the pick-and-place equipment to work in

low-to-medium SMT machine applications.

This is in addition to the reliability, ease of operation, quick set-up, and

affordable costs of the pick-and-place machines.

Below are some of the reasons why engineers and machine operators

prefer to use SMT machines manufactured by DDM Novastar:

Different Types of SMT Machines

One of the reasons why SMT machine operators like DDM Novastar is

because the company offers a wide range of pick-and-place machines.

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These machines include manual types and automated types. For the

manual models, we have many designs, such as:

 MPP-11 Manual Desktop Pick and Place Machine

 MPP-21 Pick and Place System

The automatic SMT machines manufactured by DDM Novastar include:

 LE40 Pick and Place Machine

 The Low-Cost NovaPlace Pick and Place Machine

 LS60 Pick and Place Machine

 LS40V Pick and Place Machine with Vision

 LE-40V Pick and Place Equipment with Vision

Turnkey SMT Assembly Systems

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DDM Novastar is also one of the manufacturers of pieces of SMT assembly

equipment required for the manufacturing of a complete Printed Circuit

Board (PCB) solution.

The company offers its complete SMT assembly systems to be used

for high-volume PCB assembly, cost-effective prototyping, and pilot

manufacturing.

The DDM Novastar turnkey SMT solutions are also used for manual SMT

prototyping, medium volume throughput, automatic prototyping, and

low-volume throughput.

Unique Programming Software

DDM Novastar also adds something important to the full-scale SMT

assembly services it offers.

The company offers unique programming software. The name of the

software is SMTrue Run Optimize Software.

The software is used for making offline programming of automatic SMT

machines. This way, it will easier to derive increased efficiency and

throughput from the machine.

Different Levels of Automation

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Another unique feature of the DDM Novastar pick-and-place machines is

the different levels that are used to automate the workings of the

machine.

These levels of automation have to do with the different production stages

and capabilities of the DDM Novastar SMT machines.

The minimum number of components that can be assembled per hour is

50. That is if you are using the Manual (hand) SMT machine.

It can be as high as 30,000 Components per Hour (CPH) if you are using

the Fully Automatic (High-Speed) Free-Standing or Modular SMT machine.

Affordable Pick-and-place Machines

DDM Novastar also manufactures pick-and-place machines that

wouldn’t dip a hole in your pocket.

The price of the SMT machines starts from $300-$400 for the Manual

(Hand) and can be as high as $100,000 for the fully automatic variant.

4. Yamaha Motor

Yamaha is another company that specializes in the production of Surface

Mount Technology (SMT) machines.

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The company focuses on the production of pick-and-place machines that

will offer the operators smart manufacturing solutions.

So, if you are looking to realize smart manufacturing with pick-and-place

machines, Yamaha Motor is the manufacturer you should be talking to.

Here are some of the reasons why Yamaha Motor s one of the best SMT

Assembly machine manufacturers:

A Full Lineup of SMT Machines

One of the advantages that set Yamaha Motor many miles ahead of the

competition is the wide range of SMT products the manufacturer offers.

This SMT machine lineup ranges from SMD Storage System, Surface

Mounter, Inspection System, Management Software, Solder-Paste

Printer, Flip Chip Bonder & Hybrid Placer, and Dispenser.

Competitive Pricing

Yamaha Motor also beats the other SMT machine manufacturers to the

competition by offering competitive prices.

No matter your budget, rest assured that there is a pick-and-place

machine that matches your needs.

5. Europlacer

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If there is any SMT machine manufacturer that worth the onion, it has to

be Europlacer. The company has consistently shown up over the last

couple of years to manufacture, distribute and manage several

pick-and-place machines.

These SMT machine services are no unconnected to the dedication of the

manufacturer to design and distribute some of the best high-mix

pick-and-place Surface Mount Technology (SMT) machines.

This is in addition to the fact that Europlacer manufactures these

machines to fit into your business needs. You needn’t forfeit one feature

for the other because Europlacer took care to ensure that the SMT

machines are designed to adapt to your business needs without any need

to sacrifice quality or output.

The SMT machines produced by Europlacer pack many features, including:

 Automation

 Smart nozzles

 High accuracy

 Fixed camera

 Upgradeability

 Electrical testing

 High speed

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 Service and maintenance

6. Neoden SMT

Neoden SMT is a reliable Surface Mount Technology (SMT) machine

manufacturer. The company specializes in the production and

management of a full automatic SMT line.

That is not all!

The manufacturer also manufactures a high-speed Printed Circuit Board

(PCB) assembly line. This is designed to satisfy any batch of PCB assembly.

The company also manufactures different SMT machines that are

designed to give the machine operators multiple options to choose from

as far as Surface Mount Technology (SMT) is concerned.

7. Panasonic

Panasonic is one of the advocates for Smart Factory Solutions. They have

since followed it up with the production of Surface Mount Technology

(SMT) machines that offer best-in-class solutions to the users.

The SMT machines distributed by Panasonic are also versatile. You can get

machines for both entry-level and more complex requirements.

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In addition, you can use these SMT machines for any volume and any mix

of your Smart Manufacturing needs.

8. Hanwha Precision Machinery

Last but not least on our list of Surface Mount Technology (SMT) machine

manufacturers is Hanwha Precision Machinery.

The company manufactured the first chip mounter in 1989. Since then, the

manufacturer has delved into many other relevant manufacturing

processes, including integrated software

solutions, semiconductor equipment production, Surface Mount

Technology (SMT) mounters, industrial automation equipment, and

insertion & equipment automation equipment.

The company also offers excellent customer service that is targeted at

delivering more value, greater efficiency, and versatility.

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How to Choose the Best SMT Machine

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Choosing a pick-and-place machine can be tricky, especially when you

don’t know what to look for. That is why you need to learn about some of

the important features you must look for in any SMT machine.

These factors worth considering are:

1. Placement Speed

The speed at which the pick-and-place machine works is very important.

You want to consider this first before any other thing because it is one of

the important features that make the SMT machine work as it should.

Also, you need to understand that the placement speed has to do with the

speed or rate at which the SMT machine picks up the SMT

components inspects the components before placing the components on

the Printed Circuit Board (PCB).

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The other important factor you want to consider about the placement

speed is the standard rating of IPC 9850. This is the standard used by

many SMT manufacturers to rate the speed of the pick-and-place

machines. Besides, the IPC 9850 speed or rating standard has to do with

the general guidelines for the circuit board arrays and the part mix.

The rule of thumb is for you to devalue any figure that the manufacturer

may have given. The devaluation is important because the speed quoted

by the manufacturers is usually lowered by 30% or 40%.

Therefore, you will get an accurate value or figure of the potential rate or

speed of the SMT machine if you make some divisions. The best way to

divide is by devaluing or reducing the placement rate of the machine’s rate

by 30%. This way, you will have a clear speed value that the SMT machine

can deliver.

2. Accuracy & Repeatability

The other important factor you want to consider is the accuracy and the

repeatability of the pick-and-place machine.

This is important, considering that the accuracy of the machine plays an

important role in the picking, inspection, and placement of the

components on the Printed Circuit Board (PCB).

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Worthy of mention is that the quality of the SMT machine is very

important when looking for accuracy and repeatability in the

pick-and-place machine.

The best SMT machine with the best accuracy is the one that has an

accuracy of 0.0001” and a fine pitch lead of 12mil.

This should be done repeatedly for maximum outputs.

We wouldn’t fail to mention that the pick-and-place machine you want to

buy should be the one that has programming software, as well as a

computer. These two will go a long way to take care of the continued

repetition of the component placements.

3. Size of the Parts

Have you taken the time to consider the size of the parts you want to

place on the pick-and-place machine?

The size of the parts matters a lot because you need to find a Surface

Mount Technology (SMT) machine that matches the size of the parts you

want to use to pick, inspect and place on the circuit board.

The general rule is to buy a pick-and-place machine (P&P) that can pick

components with the sizes:

 0402
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 0201

 01005

If the SMT machine cannot pick those, it means that you may need to

make special arrangements. This is common if the size of the SMT

components is below or less than 0402.

In that case, you will need to get a nozzle or an additional feeder to

streamline the design of such a component.

Wrapping Up

Surface Mount Technology (SMT) machines or pick-and-place machines

are very necessary for the production of Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs).

These machines make the job of mounting the components on the circuit

board faster and easier. And you will save more money and spend less

time.

Thus, consider the important factors we just shared in this article so you

can find the best SMT assembly machine to buy for your PCB

design needs.

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