"I've often wondered why not use a cnc machine to cut a paste stencil?
Bascially, its just a couple mil thick piece of plastic sheeting that you
squeegee (sp?) the solder paste over. A stencil is pretty easy to use - I
watched a guy prep a board for reflow in about 5 minutes with one."
Yup, the machine could easily do that. That could be an alternate solution,
but an automated process is soooo much easier. While the machine is
distributing the paste, you can be loading the cartridges with parts. No
wasted time dismounting the board for pasting, and remounting for placing,
assuming I figure an adequate picker/placer.
I'd also much prefer to spend those 5 minutes doing something else while the
machine is pasting the board, even if it's watching the machine work with my
3 girls. The nice thing about a mechanical process is the repeated
precision, something my shaking hands, bad eyes and quick loss of
concentration are not helping with.
The doc has finally figured what's wrong with me; sleep apnea (you'll notice
I post at all times of day, 'cause I stay up 4 hours, sleep 2 hours, and so
on). I stop breathing on average 25 times per hour, that's something like
every 2 minutes or so. I never get a full night's rest and my coordination
and concentration are NOT improving as time goes by. That's why I want to
automate as much of the process as possible. Ideally, I'd like it so even
my wife could follow a checklist of operations and do the work when I'm
sleeping.
Robert
:)
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