SMT Assembly Work Process

During SMT assembly manufacturing process, fabrication typically contains several highly automated processes, here we briefly discuss some of them for your reference.

Printed circuit board material contains solder pads without holes where solder paste is applied to the pads by a screen-printing-like process. You can control the solder placement by using the exact stencil template for single PCB being fabricated to apply the material only where needed.

Automated component pick-and-place machine then accurately positions the desired SMDs and other components on the board, typically on reels or tapes, or on static-free media with components like integrated circuits.

The circuit board then continues the soldering operation, heating pads to the point where the applied solder paste melts and bonds the components to the circuit board.

When board’s both sides are used for the component, the placement/soldering process is repeated for the reverse side.

When heat-sensitive components are mounted on the PCB, they can be installed manually or by a process that does not damage the components after they have been soldered automatically.

Then clean the board to remove excess flux or solder residue that may cause short circuits of the components due to the extremely tight placement tolerances.

Finished, clean, and dry products can then undergo final quality check, including missing components, alignment problems, or soldering problems that may produce potential problems.

SMT board inspection can also be automatically implemented. The device preserves the correct visual image of the circuit board structure and compares the produced circuit board with the reference image. The machine operator can then be alerted to take action or to conduct a more detailed manual inspection.

Finally, check the board, then test any required circuit and function inspection.