CN115696905A - Two-dimensional robot system for feeding components to pick-and-place machines - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an automatic assembling machine for automatically assembling electronic components for component carriers. The automatic assembling machine comprises: a frame; at least one interface for attaching the first component supply to a predetermined location on the rack; a mounting head for taking the component from the first component supply device and placing the component at a predetermined placement position of the component carrier loaded into a mounting area of the automatic mounting machine; and the rail system is arranged on the rack and extends along the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. The rail system has a plurality of rail members along which a robot arm device for transferring and operating the second component feeding device in a horizontal direction and in a vertical direction moves. The invention relates to a mounting system with such a pick-and-place machine, a production line with such a pick-and-place machine for producing electronic components, and a production plant with two such production lines. And to a method for automatically mounting electronic components on a component carrier by means of an automatic mounting machine.

Description

Two-dimensional robot system for feeding components to pick-and-place machines

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to the field of electronic device manufacturing. In this case, the component carrier is provided with electronic components. The invention relates in particular to the provision of electronic components for pick-and-place machines which, in continuous operation, have to process a plurality of electronic components. The present invention relates to (a) an automatic assembling machine which can realize automatic replacement of a first component supplying device by a second component supplying device by means of a robot device. The invention also relates to (b) a mounting system with such a pick-and-place machine, (c) a production line with such a pick-and-place machine for producing electronic components, and (d) a production plant with at least two such production lines. The invention also relates to (e) a method for automatically mounting electronic components on a component carrier by means of such a pick-and-place machine.

Background

The assembly of printed circuit boards or component carriers with electronic components, in particular Surface Mount Device (SMD) components, is usually carried out with automatic assembly machines according to the so-called "pick-and-place" or "pick-and-place" principle. The components supplied by means of the component supply device are (i) picked up by a mounting head of the pick-and-place machine, (ii) transported to a mounting area in which the component carrier to be mounted is located, and (iii) subsequently placed on a predetermined component mounting location on the component carrier.

In order to ensure a high assembly efficiency, that is to say a high number of components to be processed within a predetermined period of time, these components are preferably mass-produced as strips, for example with so-called plastic blisters (Kunststoff-Blistern), or else as stable cardboard strips with grooves, and are fed to the assembly process by means of a suitable component feeder. The automatic assembly machine can be operated without stopping for a certain period of time by means of the belt.

However, when the last element is taken away at the end of the belt, the supply of elements is at a standstill. In order to nevertheless be able to continue the assembly process as uninterrupted as possible, the beginning of a new tape is connected in a known manner to the end of the previous and at least almost used tape. This connection is usually also always made manually in practice. Therefore, electronic device production requires (i) a pick-and-place machine with a large number of component feeders, (ii) a production line with a number of pick-and-place machines, or (iii) in a factory with a number of production lines, one or more operators always have the preparation to transfer the coil with the component tape rolled up to the relevant component feeder and to attach (by means of a splice connection) the start of a new component tape to the end of an almost used component tape. An alternative, however also very robust variant for feeding components consists in replacing the pre-configured component feeder with the already introduced component tape (until recently still used) component feeders.

In order to further reduce the operating effort, it is also known to arrange on the pick-and-place robots of the production line a track along which the robot arm can be moved in order to transport the pre-configured component feeders from the beginning or end of the production line to the pick-and-place robots, where the component feeders are automatically replaced by the pre-configured component feeders, and the replaced component feeders are transported back to the end of the production line. However, a disadvantage of this solution is that the robot arm on the production line side requires a relatively large space in position in order to be able to be used without risk of collision, for example with an operator, in use. This increases the space requirement of the production line, so that fewer pick-and-place machines or production lines can be arranged within a predetermined area of the factory. This applies in particular (a) to production lines with large pick-and-place machines in which components are fed from both sides, that is to say from the left and right of the production line, and (b) to production lines which are arranged in parallel beside one another and therefore require an increased clearance with the respectively adjacent production line. Obviously, the assembly efficiency that can be provided in a factory is reduced due to the increased space and area requirements.

The aim of the invention is to achieve a high assembly efficiency with a high degree of automation within a predefined "area supply".

Disclosure of Invention

This object is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a pick-and-place machine is described for automatically placing electronic components on component carriers. The automatic assembling machine has (a) a frame; (b) At least one interface for detachably securing the first component supply assembly to a predetermined location on the chassis; (c) A mounting head for removing components from the fixed first component supply and placing the removed components at predetermined mounting positions of the component carrier loaded into the mounting area of the automatic mounting machine; and (d) a rail system mounted on the frame and extending in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction. The rail system has a plurality of rail parts along which a robot arm device for transporting and operating the second component supply device in a horizontal direction and in a vertical direction can be moved.

The automatic placement machine is based on the recognition that a two-dimensional movement of the robot arm device on the frame of the automatic placement machine makes it possible to reach predetermined positions of the first component supply device in a simple manner and via different movement paths. By means of the described two-dimensional movement, the robot arm arrangement is able to reach the first component feeder quickly and flexibly from different starting positions. The same applies, of course, to the movement of the robot arm arrangement away from the predetermined position toward any desired parking position on the rail system or possibly also outside the rail system.

Furthermore, the two-dimensional mobility or movability of the robot arm device makes it possible to achieve particularly flexible material transfer of the components (in the case of a pre-configured component supply device). In this way, for example, in the case of two pick-and-place machines which are assigned to two different production lines running parallel to one another in a factory hall, collisions between the first robot arm device of the first pick-and-place machine and the second robot arm device of the second pick-and-place machine can be avoided despite the small spacing between the two production lines, in that at least one robot arm device is offset, in particular in the vertical direction, in particular in the direction of the other robot arm device. A similar situation applies to possible collisions of the robot arm device with operators or other equipment located (at least temporarily) between two adjacent pick-and-place machines.

According to the invention, the described rail system extends not only in the horizontal direction but also in the vertical direction. This does not necessarily mean that one part of the rail system must extend exactly (and only) vertically, while another part of the rail system must extend exactly horizontally. It is also possible to provide a track extending "obliquely" so that the robot arm device moves not only in the vertical direction but also in the horizontal direction when moving along such a track. In some embodiments, the distance that the arm device is to travel to a predetermined position may thereby be reduced. Furthermore, the obliquely running rails have the advantage that depending on the inclination angle of the relevant rail, an upward travel of the robot arm arrangement can be achieved more easily or with less effort.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the rail system has at least one first rail part extending at least partially in a vertical direction and at least one second rail part extending at least partially in a horizontal direction. This has the advantage that the rail system is constructed modularly in a simple manner and can be modified in construction by simple retrofitting if necessary.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the rail system has a first rail subsystem and a second rail subsystem in relation to a transport system for component carriers extending through the machine frame in the transport direction, wherein the first rail subsystem is arranged on a first side of the machine frame and the second rail subsystem is arranged on an opposite second side of the machine frame.

The rail system described with this embodiment, which is present or arranged on both sides, allows the component feeders to be replaced on both sides of the pick-and-place machine. This is advantageous in particular for larger or high-performance automatic placement machines, since a plurality of component feeders located at different predetermined positions can in principle be replaced in a simple and effective manner.

Depending on the available space supply, two or even more than two robot arm arrangements can also be used. In this case, the first robot arm device can be moved on at least one first rail part, and the second robot arm device can be moved on at least one second rail part.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the rail system has at least one third rail part, which connects the two rail subsystems to each other. This results in the advantage that both sides of the machine frame or of the automatic placement machine can be reached with only one robot arm device, and therefore such a robot arm device can be used to replace the component supply devices on both sides or at both sides of the automatic placement machine.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the at least one third rail part is arranged above a mounting zone of the pick-and-place machine, in which mounting zone the component carriers are mounted.

In this case, the mounting region is therefore the spatial region of the automatic mounting machine into which the component carriers to be mounted are moved (by means of the transport system) and, if appropriate, are temporarily fastened mechanically by means of the holding device. After at least partial assembly, the component carrier concerned is removed again from the assembly region (by means of a transport system) and fed to a further process, for example (a) a further assembly station in a further automatic assembly machine, (b) an automatic optical inspection and/or (c) a soldering oven for permanently fastening the assembled components.

Preferably, the at least one third rail element is located both above the assembly region and on the upper side of the machine frame. The at least one third rail element can be the highest position (in the vertical direction) of the pick-and-place machine. This has the advantage that the automatic placement machine can be realized or produced by relatively simple modifications from conventional automatic placement machines. In particular, no modifications are required in the (height) region of the automatic placement machine, which is usually used for moving the placement head.

It is noted that in other embodiments, the at least one third rail element may also be arranged below the assembly area. However, if necessary, the architecture of conventional pick-and-place machines needs to be adapted to a greater extent.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, at least one of the plurality of rail elements has an (lower) access ramp section (on-ramp section) which is configured such that the robot arm arrangement can access the rail system from the floor on which the automatic assembly machine is located.

The entry ramp section may have any suitable shape and/or configuration that allows for (autonomous) transfer from the ground to the track system. This is advantageous in particular if the robot arm device is constructed such that it can be moved autonomously from the ground onto the rail system. For this purpose, the robot arm devices may each have two "movement mechanisms", wherein the first movement mechanism allows the robot arm device to move over the ground (horizontally) and the second movement mechanism allows the robot arm device to move both horizontally and vertically along the rail system. The first movement mechanism may comprise a wheel or a tire, for example. The second movement mechanism may comprise a guide structure matching the shape of the rail piece, which guide structure is able to engage with the corresponding rail piece in such a way that no "drop off" of the robot arm arrangement occurs.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, at least one further rail element of the plurality of rail elements has at least one further (lower) entry ramp section, which entry ramp section is (likewise) designed such that the robot arm device can be moved from the ground onto the rail system or from the rail system to the ground.

Intuitively, there are a plurality of positions at which the arm arrangement can be transferred from the ground (autonomously) to or on the rail system. By suitably selecting one of the at least two entry ramp sections in dependence on the (predetermined) position of the respective component feeder to be replaced, it is always possible to select the entry ramp section which requires the shortest possible path of movement of the robot arm arrangement on the rail system. This can speed up the replacement of the component feeder.

In addition, in the case of two or more arm arrangements, the provision or presence of a plurality of entry ramp sections contributes to achieving that a collision between two arm arrangements is avoided in a simple manner. In order to avoid such a collision, it is in particular no longer necessary that at least one of the existing arm arrangements must "detour".

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the pick-and-place machine further has an energy supply device which is electrically connected to the rail system. Here, the rail system is configured such that the arm arrangement can be supplied with electrical power (for operating the arm arrangement).

By means of the supply of electrical energy via the rail system, the robot arm device can be supplied with the energy required for its operation in a simple and reliable manner. This includes the energy required for the movement on the rail system and the energy required for the robot arm arrangement to actuate (clamp) the component required for replacing the first element supply with the second element supply.

By the described energy supply, it is possible to use a robot arm system without or with only a very small electrical energy store, for example only for horizontal movement of the robot arm device along the ground.

The rail system may have suitable current guiding lines, on which the robot arm device may act, for example, via sliding contacts. In a manner known per se, the dedicated current supply lines can be used only for supplying electrical energy, and the (metal) rail parts can be used not only for mechanically coupling the robot arm arrangement but also for supplying electrical energy.

According to another aspect of the invention, an assembly system for automatically assembling electronic components for component carriers is described. The assembly system has a pick-and-place machine of the type described above and a robot arm device. Here, the robotic arm arrangement is configured to (a) move on the rail system in a horizontal direction and in a vertical direction, (b) convey the second component supply device to a predetermined position, (c) replace the second component supply device with the first component supply device, and (d) convey the first component supply device away from the predetermined position.

The assembly system described is based on the knowledge that, due to the two-dimensional mobility or movability of the robot arm device, the component supply device can be positioned or mounted on different paths and thus on the machine frame of the pick-and-place machine in a spatially flexible manner. In this way, it is possible in a simple and reliable manner, without manual intervention, to transport at least one component feeder in two different directions to a predetermined position and to replace it there with a currently operating component feeder which is fixed to the machine frame. It is thus reliably ensured that the components are supplied to the automatic placement machine or placement head almost continuously.

Preferably, the robot arm device may transport a component feeding device pre-configured with the respective components. In this way, in the case of components being packaged in a tape, the need to splice a new component tape to the end of the nearly used-up component tape in a laborious and error-prone manner is eliminated at a predetermined position. Furthermore, the penetration of new component tapes, known from other designs, into the component supply device which is fixed during tape replacement is eliminated.

The robot arm device can be any (commercially available) robot arm which can be moved along a two-dimensional or possibly three-dimensional structure of the rail system by suitable mechanical engagement with the rail system and preferably by means of at least one suitable drive mechanism of its own. For handling and transporting the first component feeder or the second component feeder, the robot device may have suitable holding or holding elements which are adapted to the component feeders in such a way that not only a reliable transport but also a reliable replacement of the component feeders can be ensured.

The robotic arm device may be, for example, a robotic arm sold by Bionichive Ltd. (website: https:// www.bionichive.com /), the specific details of which are described in U.S. Pat. No. 10,259,649B2. Therefore, such mechanical arms have hitherto been used (only) for picking and placing crates on pallets of a warehouse.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the robotic arm device has a container configured such that the first component supply device and/or the second component supply device can be at least partially received therein. Thereby, a reliable transport of the first component supply device towards the predetermined position and a reliable transport of the second component supply device away from the predetermined position can be achieved.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the container is configured to receive, in addition to the first component supply device and/or the second component supply device, a further first component supply device and/or a further second component supply device.

Intuitively, in this embodiment the robot arm device may transport at least two component feeders. Thus, after replacing a first component feeding device with a second component feeding device, another first component feeding device may be replaced with another second component feeding device without having to take the robot arm arrangement back to the magazine station over a relatively long path. Rather, the robot arm device can be moved directly from a predetermined position of a first component feeder to another predetermined position of another first component feeder (on the rail system).

According to another embodiment of the invention, the robot arm device has at least two rollers which make it possible to move it on the floor on which the automatic assembly machine is located. Such a configuration of the robot arm device may advantageously be used for autonomously taking "new" component feeders from a (central) warehouse and/or returning replaced component feeders to the warehouse. Such a magazine may also be a station in which the component feeders are assembled together with the respectively suitable components, preferably in the form of a packaging tape.

It is thus possible to transfer component supply devices between a (central) magazine and a respective predetermined position (i) without the need for special transport devices between such a magazine and the automatic assembly machine and (ii) without the respective component supply device being handed over by the transport robot to said robot device.

According to another embodiment of the invention the robot arm arrangement is configured to be supplied with electrical energy by the rail system.

As already mentioned, this supply of electrical energy can be achieved by a suitable design of the robot arm device (for example with electrical sliding contacts) and a rail system which is designed to be adapted thereto and is electrically coupled to a suitable energy supply device.

According to another aspect of the invention, a production line for producing electronic devices is described. The production line has (a) an assembly system of the type described above and (b) at least one automatic assembly machine of the type described above. The rail system of the mounting system and the rail system of the at least one pick-and-place machine are connected to form a superordinate rail system.

The mentioned at least one pick-and-place machine and the pick-and-place machines of the pick-and-place system are arranged one after the other in the aforementioned transport direction, so that the (to be mounted) component carriers can be transported in the transport direction (by means of the transport system) from one (arranged upstream) pick-and-place machine to another (arranged downstream) pick-and-place machine and (typically different) components can be mounted there in each case.

The described upper-level rail system advantageously allows component feeders associated with different pick-and-place machines to be replaced by a single robot device. This eliminates the need to make the robot arm device, for example, detour over the ground.

The upper level track system may be located at least partly on one or both sides of the production line with respect to the aforementioned conveying direction. A plurality of third rail elements may also be provided (above the different pick-and-place machines), which connect the left part of the higher-level rail system to the right part of the higher-level rail system with respect to the transport direction. Thereby, the robot arm device can be moved from side to side along the (transport direction of the) production line at different positions.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the production line also has a processor for further processing of the component carriers transported. The processing machine described can in principle be any type of machine which undertakes at least one of the tasks which are necessary or useful in the production of electronic components which are or are to be built on component carriers.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the handler is a machine selected from the group consisting of (i) a solder paste printer for selectively applying solder paste to component pads of a printed circuit board; (ii) A soldering machine for melting solder paste between a component pad of the printed circuit board and an electrical connection contact of a component placed on the printed circuit board; and (iii) a testing machine which detects the structural characteristics of the at least partially assembled component carrier product by means of a testing process.

The paste printer is typically located at the beginning of the production line. The soldering machine, for example a so-called reflow oven, is typically located at the end of the production line. The inspection machine can be located in a position within the production line, in which it is necessary or useful, for example, to carry out a quality analysis of a previously carried out process, in particular an assembly. Of course, the production line may also have more than one inspection machine.

In this context, the term "structural features of the product" is to be understood as meaning all structural or spatial physical features which are characteristic for a particular type of component carrier. In particular, it is possible to distinguish one type of component carrier from the other type of component carrier according to the structural characteristics of the product. These features may be, for example, the location, size and/or shape of the pads. Furthermore, a "structural feature of the product" can be, for example, a solder paste volume which is applied by means of solder paste printing or has been applied to (at least) one component connection surface or has been applied to a pad which is formed on the surface of the associated printed circuit board. Furthermore, the "structural features of the product" can be electronic components or the spatial position of electronic components in two or three dimensions, which are placed or have been placed on the printed circuit board by means of the placement machine.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the upper rail system extends spatially up to the processing machine or beyond the processing machine. Thereby, the robot arm device can be moved on a longer route along the production line. This enables a large degree of freedom in the spatial physical design of the rail system with regard to the positions at which the robot arm device is loaded with new component feeders or unloads replaced component feeders.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the production line also has a further rail system which is spatially separated from the higher-level rail system.

By the described spatial separation, the production line can be provided in a resource-saving manner with rail elements only where the robot arm arrangement should be used in a rational manner. This further rail system, which can be arranged or constructed on one or both sides of the production line, can also be a further superordinate rail system composed of at least two further rail systems.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the production line further has at least one input/output location configured to (i) enable transfer of the robot arm arrangement to and/or away from the superordinate rail system or (ii) enable transfer of the component tape towards and/or away from a component supply arrangement held by the robot arm arrangement.

For example, the ramp sections described above can be used for the transfer of the arm arrangement, which ramp sections then represent input/output positions that enable the transfer of the arm arrangement between the ground and the rail system. In other embodiments, the input/output position may be a predefined transfer position which allows the mounting of the robot arm device on the rail system to be carried out, for example, by an operator.

For transferring component tapes, the input/output position can be a predefined stop position for the robot arm arrangement on or in the rail system. This parking position can be selected such that the operator can displace the component tape in an ergonomically comfortable position.

The input/output positions are preferably arranged at the front or rear end of the rail system of the upper stage in the conveying direction. In this way, the transport or displacement distance of the robot arm arrangement outside the upper rail system can be advantageously reduced.

According to another aspect of the invention, a production facility for producing electronic devices is described. The production facility described has (a) a first production line of the type described above and (b) a second production line of the type described above.

The described production plant is based on the recognition that the space requirement for the production line can be relatively small by the two-dimensional movement of the robot arm device on the pick-and-place machine, which is realized by the rail system or the superordinate rail system. Thus, despite the described advantageous functionality of automatically replacing the component feeding device by the robot arm device, the production device can be constructed in a relatively small resting area.

The two production lines are preferably arranged or oriented parallel to each other. This means that the two transport directions of a respective one of the transport systems for the component carriers run parallel.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the robot arm device of the first line may also be moved along the rail system of the upper level of the second line. This means that in an advantageous manner one and the same robot arm device can be used before the component feeders are replaced on both production lines. Of course, the robot arm device of the second production line may also be moved in at least two dimensions along the upper level rail system of the first production line.

The movement from the rail system of the upper level of the second production line onto or at the rail system of the upper level of the first production line or vice versa can take place, for example, on the ground and with the use of the aforementioned entry ramp sections. Of course, it is also possible to manually "switch" the robot arm device from the upper level rail system of the second production line onto or at the upper level rail system of the first production line, or vice versa.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a method is described for automatically mounting electronic components for component carriers by means of a pick-and-place machine, in particular by means of the above-mentioned components or entities (a) a pick-and-place machine, (b) a mounting system, (c) a production line, and/or (d) a production facility. The method according to the invention comprises the following steps: transferring the second component supply device to a predetermined position on a rack of the pick-and-place machine by means of a robot arm device, wherein the robot arm device is moved in a horizontal direction and in a vertical direction on a plurality of rail elements of a rail system mounted on the rack; removing the first component supply device at a predetermined position; and detachably fixing the second component supply device at the predetermined position using an interface of the rack assigned to the predetermined position. Furthermore, the method according to the invention further comprises: removing the component from the fixed second component supply by means of the assembly head; the removed components are placed in a predetermined contact position on a component carrier inserted into the assembly region of the pick-and-place machine.

The method is also based on the knowledge that a two-dimensional or possibly three-dimensional movement of the robot arm device makes it possible to reach a predetermined position of the first component feeder in a simple manner and via different movement paths. By means of this movement, the robot arm device can quickly and flexibly reach the first component feeder from different starting positions and there replace the first component feeder with the second component feeder.

It is noted that embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to different inventive subject matter. In particular, some embodiments of the invention having apparatus claims and other embodiments of the invention having method claims are described. However, it will be immediately clear to a person skilled in the art upon reading this document that, unless explicitly stated otherwise, any combination of features belonging to different types of inventive subject matter is possible in addition to a combination of features belonging to one type of inventive subject matter.

Further advantages and features of the invention result from the following exemplary description of a currently preferred embodiment.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows a production line with a plurality of pick-and-place machines to which a rail system for a robot arm arrangement for automatically replacing component feeders is attached.

Fig. 2a and 2b show the transfer of a component supply device from the ground to a rail system mounted on a plurality of pick-and-place machines by means of a robot arm device.

Fig. 3 shows a production plant with two production lines, which are assigned a common robot arm device for the automatic replacement of component feeders on the pick-and-place robots of both production lines.

Description of reference numerals:

100 production line

102 input station

104 paste printer

106 solder paste tester/SPI machine

120 automatic assembly machine

122 rack

124 element supply device

132 Assembly inspection machine/AOI machine

134 welder/reflow oven

136 welding inspection machine/AOI machine

138 output station

140 floor

150 track system/higher order track system

152 first rail member

153 into ramp section

154 second orbital member

156 third orbital member

159 energy supply device

170 mechanical arm device

172 roller

T direction of conveyance

224a second component supply device

224b additional second component supply device

260 assembly system

270 mechanical arm device

274 container

300a first production line

300b second production line

380 production equipment

L first side

R second side.

Detailed Description

It should be noted that in the following detailed description, features or components of different embodiments which are identical or at least functionally identical to corresponding features or components of another embodiment have the same reference numerals or are provided with the same reference numerals as the corresponding features or components which are identical or at least functionally identical in the last two digits. To avoid unnecessary repetition, features or components that have been explained with the aid of the previously described embodiments will not be elaborated upon in the following.

It is furthermore to be noted that the embodiments described below are merely a limited selection of possible embodiment variants of the invention. It is particularly feasible to combine the features of the individual embodiments with one another in a suitable manner, so that a multiplicity of different embodiments can be considered obvious for a person skilled in the art with the aid of the embodiment variants explicitly shown here.

Fig. 1 shows a production line 100 for electronic devices. The production line 100 has different devices arranged along a transport route for printed circuit boards. In fig. 1, the conveying direction of the printed circuit board-conveying route is indicated by two arrows, which are respectively indicated by the letter "T".

The production line 100 has, in a known manner, along a transport direction T, an input station 102, by means of which prefabricated, but not yet printed, component carriers or printed circuit boards are fed to the production line 100. Downstream of the input station 102 is a solder paste printer 104, which selectively applies solder paste to specific locations of a corresponding printed circuit board by means of a known screen printing process. These locations are typically component connection pads or lands on the surface of the associated printed circuit board.

Downstream of the solder paste printer 104 is a solder paste inspection machine 106, which solder paste inspection machine 106 optically inspects whether the solder paste print is of sufficient quality so that further processing of the now printed circuit board is meaningful. Solder Paste Inspection machine 106 is also referred to as an SPI machine according to the english term "Solder Paste Inspection".

Along the transport direction T, a plurality of pick-and-place machines 120 are then arranged, with which a defined number of (different) components are placed in each case at component positions defined by a previously applied solder paste mass.

The automatic placement machine 120 is followed by a placement tester 132, by means of which it is checked whether the placement of the printed circuit boards by the automatic placement machine 120 is correct. According to the embodiment shown herein, the assembly inspection machine 132 optically inspects the assembled components in two dimensions (2D) and three dimensions (3D). The assembly Inspection machine 132 is a known "automated Optical Inspection" (AOI) machine.

Downstream of the AOI machine 132, a soldering machine 134 follows, which soldering machine 134 is designed in a known manner as a so-called reflow oven. In this reflow oven 134, the viscous solder paste is melted, so that after the solder paste has cooled down later, the components are firmly and electrically conductively brought into contact with the respective component connection surfaces.

According to the exemplary embodiment shown here, the reflow oven 134 is followed by a solder testing machine 136, by means of which it is checked whether the solder process carried out in the reflow oven 134 was (qualitatively) successful. Here, the weld inspection machine 136 is also a known AOI machine.

An output station 138 follows the AOI machine 136. At the output station, the processed electronics can be removed by an operator.

According to the exemplary embodiment shown here, the production line 100 comprises a total of eleven pick-and-place machines 120, which are furthermore divided into two groups of directly adjacent pick-and-place machines 120. It is however obvious that this number of pick-and-place machines 120 and groups, respectively, is only an arbitrarily chosen number. Depending on the particular application, the manufacturing line 100 may also have fewer or more than these pick-and-place machines 120 and/or groups.

The supply of components for the mounting process carried out in each pick-and-place machine 120 is carried out in a known manner by means of a component supply device 124, which is detachably mounted laterally on a suitable interface (not shown) of the frame 122 of the respective pick-and-place machine 120. According to the embodiment shown here, the components are fed in a known manner by means of a component tape. The strips have a plurality of recesses, each of which accommodates an electronic component. In fig. 1, a plurality of reel groups can be seen, into or onto which the component tape is wound and continuously unwound to feed the components.

Once the component tape is used up, or if a new type of component is to be supplied, a new component tape must be used. According to the exemplary embodiment shown here, this is achieved by not only replacing the component tape, but also by splicing a new component tape to an (used) old component tape. Instead, the prefabricated (second) component supply device 124 of the new component tape is replaced by the previously used first component supply device 124 together with the remaining sections of the old component tape that may remain.

As can be seen from fig. 1, this replacement of the component feeder 124 is not carried out manually by the operator, but automatically by means of the robot arm arrangement 170. In order to be able to move the robot arm arrangement 170 appropriately on the pick-and-place machine 120 in the direction of the individual component feeders 124 to be replaced, a rail system 150 is arranged on the pick-and-place machine 120, which has a plurality of rail parts which are fastened directly or indirectly to the respective machine frame 122 of the pick-and-place machine 120. Since the rail system 150 extends over a plurality of pick-and-place machines 120, this rail system is also referred to as superordinate rail system 150 in this document.

According to the exemplary embodiment shown here, a further rail system is additionally provided, which is mounted on the two pick-and-place machines 120 at a distance from the (first) rail system 150 in the conveying direction, said pick-and-place machines being arranged downstream of the pick-and-place machine 132. In fig. 1, the other track system is not marked with reference numerals for the sake of clarity. Qualitatively, the two rail systems have the same structural configuration and the same functionality.

The track system 150 includes a plurality of track members. The first rail member 152 extends in a vertical direction, and the second rail member 154 extends in a horizontal direction along the transfer direction T. The rail system 150 furthermore comprises two third rail parts 156, which extend horizontally and perpendicularly to the transport direction T and are each mounted on a frame component of the pick-and-place machine 120. The third rail element 156 connects the illustrated rail subsystem comprising the first rail element 152 and the second rail element 154 with a rail subsystem, not illustrated, which is located on the opposite rear side of the pick-and-place machine 120 in fig. 1.

The track system 150 also has two entry ramp sections 153, the entry ramp sections 153 connecting the first track member 152 to the floor 140, the entire production line 100 being placed on the floor 140. The entry ramp segment 153 and the various rail elements 152, 154, 156 are configured such that the robot arm arrangement 170 can be moved autonomously from the ground 140 onto the rail system 150 and here driven to various positions in order to replace the first component feed arrangement 124 with the second component feed arrangement 124 there. The integration of the first rail member 152 and the second rail member 154 enables two-dimensional movement of the robotic arm assembly 170 on the pick-and-place machine 120. The integration of the first rail member 152, the second rail member 154, and the third rail member 156 allows even three-dimensional movement of the robot arm device 170.

In order to be able to autonomously travel longer distances on the ground 140 in an (energy) efficient manner, the robot arm arrangement 170 has a plurality of rollers 172, at least two of which are driven by a motor, not shown, which is powered by a battery, also not shown.

In order to be able to move upwards on the rail system 150, in particular in the vertical direction, without draining off a large current from the battery, suitable current guiding lines (not shown in detail) are provided, on which the robot arm device 170 can pick up the current, for example by means of sliding contacts. According to the exemplary embodiment shown here, this current is fed from the energy supply 159 into the current supply line of the rail system 150.

Fig. 2a and 2b show the transfer of two component feeders by means of a robot arm arrangement 270. In order to reliably transfer the two component feeders, (the new) second component feeder 224a and the (new) further second component feeder 224b to the pick-and-place machine (and to replace them there with the (old) first component feeder, respectively), the robot arm device 270 has a container 274 in which the two component feeders 224a, 224b are accommodated together with the respectively associated (new) component tape.

In particular, fig. 2a shows the transfer of two component feeders 224a, 224b on the ground 140 to the rail system 150. Fig. 2b shows the horizontal transport of the two component feeders 224a, 224b along the second rail part 154.

It should be noted that in fig. 2a and 2b, the pick-and-place machine is not only denoted by reference numeral 120, but additionally also by reference numeral 260. These reference numbers are selected such that the robot assembly machine 120 is assigned a robot arm device 270. The correspondingly (arbitrarily) defined entirety formed by the robot assembly machine 120 and the robot arm device 270 is referred to in this document as the assembly system 260. Of course, the robot arm unit 270 may also be associated with any other automatic assembling machine 120.

Fig. 3 shows a production plant 380 having two production lines 300a and 300b, which are arranged side by side in a parallel orientation to each other on the floor 140 of the plant. The two production lines 300a and 300b have a common robot arm device 270 which makes it possible to automatically replace the component feeders in the pick-and-place machines of the two production lines. For the sake of clarity, the rail system according to the invention is not shown in fig. 3.

As can be seen in fig. 3, the robot arm device 270 "works" in a (middle) area of space located on the right side R of the production line 300a and on the left side L of the production line 300b, viewed in the conveying direction T. Therefore, on a short path, the "right-hand component feeder" of the first production line 300a and the "left-hand component feeder" of the second production line 300b may be replaced and replaced with new component feeders, respectively. While the other component feeders are moved by the aforementioned third rail (likewise not shown in fig. 3) onto the other side of the associated production line 300a or 300b, they can be replaced by the illustrated robot arm device 270. Alternatively or in combination, at least one further not shown robot arm arrangement may also be used, which "serves" the other side of the two production lines 300a, 300 b. Such further robot arm device may also "serve" another not shown production line, which is arranged in a parallel manner on the left side of the first production line 300a or on the right side of the second production line, so that a further (intermediate) area is created between two adjacent production lines.

It should be noted that the term "having" does not exclude other elements and the word "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. Furthermore, elements described in association with different embodiments may be combined. It should also be noted that reference signs in the claims shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

Claims (22)

1. A pick-and-place machine (120) for automatically placing electronic components on component carriers, the pick-and-place machine (120) having

A frame (122);

at least one interface for removably mounting the first component supply (124) at a predetermined location on the rack (122);

a mounting head for removing components from the attached first component supply (124) and placing the removed components on predetermined placement positions of component carriers loaded into a mounting area of the pick-and-place machine (120); and

a rail system (150) mounted on the rack (122) and extending in a horizontal direction and in a vertical direction; wherein

The rail system (150) has a plurality of rail parts (152, 154) along which a robot arm device (170, 270) for transporting and handling the second component supply device (224 a) in a horizontal direction and in a vertical direction can be moved.

2. Pick-and-place machine (120) according to claim 1, wherein

The rail system (150) comprises at least one first rail part (152) extending at least partially in a vertical direction and at least one second rail part (154) extending at least partially in a horizontal direction.

3. Pick-and-place machine (120) according to claim 1, wherein

With regard to a transport system for component carriers extending through the rack (122) along a transport direction (T), the rail system (150) has a first rail subsystem and a second rail subsystem, wherein the first rail subsystem is arranged at a first side of the rack (122) and the second rail subsystem is arranged at an opposite second side of the rack (122).

4. Pick-and-place machine (120) according to claim 3, wherein

The rail system (150) has at least one third rail part (156) which connects the two rail subsystems to one another.

5. Pick-and-place machine (120) according to claim 4, wherein

The at least one third rail (156) is arranged above a mounting region of the pick-and-place machine (120), in which region the component carrier is mounted.

6. Pick-and-place machine (120) according to claim 1, wherein

At least one of the plurality of rail elements (152) has an access ramp section (153) which is designed to enable the robot arm device to access the rail system (150) from a floor (140) on which the pick-and-place machine (120) is located.

7. Pick-and-place machine (120) according to claim 6, wherein

At least one other rail member of the plurality of rail members (152) has at least one other entry ramp segment (153), the entry ramp segment (153) being configured to enable the robotic arm device (170, 270) to move from the ground surface (140) onto the rail system (150).

8. The pick-and-place machine (120) according to claim 1, further comprising

An energy supply device (159) electrically coupled to the rail system (150), wherein

The rail system (150) is configured to provide electrical power to the robotic arm device (170, 270).

9. A mounting system (260) for automatically mounting electronic components on a component carrier, the mounting system (260) having

Pick-and-place machine (120) according to claim 1, and

a robot arm device (170, 270), wherein

The robotic arm device (170, 270) is configured,

(a) Moving in a horizontal direction and in a vertical direction on the rail system (150),

(b) -conveying the second component supply device (224 a) towards a predetermined position,

(c) Replacing the second component supply (224 a) with the first component supply (124), an

(d) -conveying the first component supply (124) away from the predetermined position.

10. The mounting system (260) of claim 9, wherein

The arm device (270) has a receptacle (274) which is configured such that the first component supply device (124) and/or the second component supply device (224 a) can be accommodated at least partially therein.

11. The mounting system (260) of claim 10, wherein

The container (274) is designed to accommodate a further first component supply device and/or a further second component supply device (224 b) in addition to the first component supply device (124) and/or the second component supply device (224 a).

12. The mounting system (260) of claim 9, wherein

The robot arm device (170) has at least two rollers (172) which can be moved on a floor (140) on which the pick-and-place machine (120) is located.

13. The mounting system (260) of claim 9, wherein

The robotic arm device (170, 270) is configured to be powered by the rail system (150).

14. A production line (100) for producing electronic devices, the production line (100) having a mounting system (260) according to claim 9, and

-at least one pick-and-place machine (120) according to claim 1; wherein

The rail system (150) of the mounting system (260) and the rail system (150) of the at least one pick-and-place machine (120) are connected to form a superordinate rail system (150).

15. The production line (100) according to the preceding claim 14, further having

A processing machine (106, 132, 134, 136) for further processing the conveyed component carriers.

16. The production line (100) according to claim 15, wherein

The processor is a machine selected from the group consisting of

(i) A solder paste printer (106) for selectively applying solder paste on component pads of the printed circuit board;

(ii) A soldering machine (134) for melting solder paste between a component pad of the printed circuit board and an electrical connection contact of a component placed on the printed circuit board; and

(iii) An inspection machine (132, 136) which detects structural features of the at least partially assembled component carrier product by means of an inspection process.

17. The production line (100) according to claim 14, wherein

The upper level rail system extends spatially up to or beyond the handler.

18. The production line (100) according to claim 14, further having

A further rail system, which is spatially separated from the higher-level rail system (150).

19. The production line (100) of claim 14, further comprising

At least one input/output location (153) configured to,

(i) Can be used to transfer the robot arm arrangement (170, 270) to and/or from the superordinate rail system, or

(ii) The transfer of the component tape towards and/or away from the component feeding device held by the robot arm device can be achieved.

20. A production apparatus (380) for producing electronic devices, the production apparatus having

The first production line (300 a) of claim 14; and

the second production line (300 b) of claim 14.

21. Production plant (380) according to the preceding claim 20, wherein

The robot arm device of the first production line is also movable along the upper stage rail system of the second production line.

22. Method for automatically mounting electronic components for component carriers by means of a pick-and-place machine (120), in particular (a) by means of a pick-and-place machine (120) according to claim 1, (b) by means of a mounting system (260) according to claim 9, (c) by means of a production line (100) according to claim 14 and/or (d) by means of a production facility (380) according to claim 20,

(A) Wherein the method comprises, by means of a robot arm arrangement (170, 270),

-transferring the second component feeding device (224 a) to a predetermined position on a rack (122) of the pick-and-place machine (120), wherein the robot arm device (170, 270) is moved in a horizontal direction and in a vertical direction on a plurality of rail elements (152, 154) of a rail system (150) mounted on the rack (122);

-removing the first component supply (124) at a predetermined position; and

-removably attaching the second component supply (224 a) in a predetermined position using an interface of the rack (122) assigned to the predetermined position;

(B) Wherein the method further comprises, with the aid of the assembly head,

removing components from a stationary second component supply (224 a); and

the removed components are placed at a predetermined placement position of a component carrier which is inserted into a mounting area of the pick-and-place machine (120).

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