A component mounting system includes a plurality of component mounters, a characteristic inspection device, and a management device. Each of the component mounters transmits inspection area component information including identification information of the corresponding component mounter, information of a conveyed-in board, and identification information of an inspection-required component installed in an inspection area, to the management device. The characteristic inspection device determines whether or not the inspection-required component installed in the inspection area is an error component, and transmits the information on the determined inspection-required component to the management device as error information. The management device specifies the component mounter in which the inspection-required component determined to be an error component is installed in the inspection area as an error component mounter, based on the transmitted error information, and stops an operation of the identified component mounter.

A component placing device to place a component on a board, including: a shaft having a lower portion and an upper portion; a component holder that is attached to the lower portion of the shaft in a state of being vertically displaceable and has a suction hole for holding the component by a negative pressure; an elastic body that biases the component holder downward with respect to the shaft; a servo motor that raises and lowers the shaft; and a controller that sets a thrust limit value for limiting a thrust of the servo motor and limits the thrust of the servo motor to be equal to or lower than the thrust limit value when the component holder is lowered toward the board. The thrust limit value is set within a range in which a load is smaller than a force by which the elastic body biases the component holder.

This patent application relates to apparatus and methods for enhanced microelectronic device handling. Apparatus comprises a pick arm having a pick surface configured for receiving a microelectronic device thereon, drives for moving the pick arm and reorienting the pick surface in the X, Y and Z planes and about a horizontal rotational axis and a vertical rotational axis, and a sensor device carried by the pick arm and configured to detect at least one of at least one magnitude of force and at least one location of force applied between the pick surface and a structure contacted by the pick surface or a structure and a microelectronic device carried on the pick surface. Related methods are also disclosed.

A method comprises obtaining a plurality of 2-dimensional gray scale images of a portion of a printed circuit board assembly. Each 2-dimensional gray scale image corresponds to one of a plurality of parallel planes intersecting the portion of the printed circuit board assembly at respective different locations. The method further comprises converting the plurality of 2-dimensional gray scale images into a color image. Each of the plurality of 2-dimensional gray scale images corresponds to and is used as input for a respective color channel of the color image. The method further comprises analyzing the color image to detect variation in color that indicates a defect; and outputting an alert indicating the defect in response to detecting the variation in color.

A component mounting device moves a board height sensor horizontally to multiple measuring points and measures heights of the front surface of the board at the multiple measuring points. Subsequently, the component mounting device obtains a positional deviation in the horizontal direction of a target mounting position on the front surface of the board based on the heights of the front surface of the board so measured. In addition, the component mounting device obtains a positional deviation in a vertical direction of the target mounting position based on a measured height in the vertical direction of the front surface of the board. Then, the component mounting device corrects the target mounting position based on the positional deviation in the horizontal direction and the positional deviation in the vertical direction that are so obtained and mounts a component in the target mounting position so corrected.

Systems, apparatus, methods, and techniques of assembly of discrete modules of a control panel are disclosed. The modules can be independently wired, tested, and installed into a control panel. Module definitions are defined specifying components to perform the electrical function, a mechanical arrangement of the components, electrical connections, and logical interactions of the module. A bill of materials can be generated based on a designation of a set of modules for a control panel and the module definitions. Modularly assembled control panels are disclosed. An assembly frame is described herein for temporarily mounting components of a module for independent assembly of a control module and for eventual removal and installation into a control panel frame. The assembly frame may include a faceplate frame and side frames and temporary mounting features.

To manufacture a device by picking and placing semiconductor devices from a carrier substrate to a target substrate using touch down sensors, a pick-up head including touch down sensors and the semiconductor devices on the carrier substrate are moved relative to each other to contact the carrier substrate with the touch down sensors. Signals from each touch down sensor indicating a degree of deformation of each touch down sensor caused by the contact with the carrier substrate are used to determine an orientation of the pick-up head by processing the signals, and adjust the orientation of the pick-up head based on the determined orientation to attach the semiconductor devices onto the pick-up head. In some embodiments, the touch down sensors are piezoelectric benders.

A manufacturing system according to the present disclosure includes one or more manufacturing apparatuses, a carrier, and a control system. Each of the one or more manufacturing apparatuses performs predetermined work on a board. The carrier carries a burden. The control system controls carrying work by the carrier. The burden includes a plurality of functional modules. Each of the plurality of functional modules provides a predetermined function for the one or more manufacturing apparatuses. The carrier includes a coupling portion to be coupled to any of the plurality of functional modules. The control system has at least one functional module, selected from the plurality of functional modules and coupled to the coupling portion, carried by the carrier.

The present invention provides a component mounting machine -comprising a picking tool for picking electronic components from a source of electronic components and placing them onto a workpiece, a verification unit for measuring an electrical property of an electronic component picked and held by the picking tool. The verification unit comprises a board, a plurality of test electrodes arranged on a surface of said board and a system for measuring an output signal from the test electrodes upon contact between a picked electronic component and at least two of said test electrodes. Further, at least one test electrode arranged on a flexible portion of the board that is configured to flex upon engagement between a picked electronic component and said at least two test electrodes.

A method for detecting errors or malfunctions in electrical or electronic components of circuits, wherein each of the circuits is located on a circuit board and wherein a plurality of circuit boards border one another on a circuit board panel, includes populating each of the circuit boards of the circuit board panel with electrical or electronic components corresponding to the circuits; for each of the analog, electrical or electronic components used for the construction of the circuits, placing a corresponding test component in an edge region of the circuit board panel; providing the analog, electrical or electronic test components placed in the edge region of the circuit board panel with test points; and checking for the correct function value and/or the correct poling of the analog, electrical or electronic test components provided with test points and located in the edge region of the circuit board panel.