Eurocircuits invests in direct imaging for its Aachen facility

The company has planned – and is planning – some serious investments at the German production facility. In addition to a scoring machine (LHMT), laser stencil (LPKF), curing oven (Beltron), and second Silk Screen printer (Orbotech), the focus was on a spray coater (All4PCB) and a MDI direct imager (Schmoll). In using the spray coater and direct imager Eurocircuits aims to establish the necessary conditions for consistent direct imaging in all areas of production. This way the company is also aiming at putting the processing capabilities of the European production facilities on an equal level. Dirk Stans, shareholder and marketing director of Eurocircuits, explains the technological interdependency this way: “Although solder mask of course doesn’t necessarily have to be exposed by a direct imager, it is advisable for minimizing tolerances—along with the imaging of inner and outer layers. It also increases the economic viability of the investment. For years, direct imaging focused attention on the photoresist. More recently, the laminar has been adapted to the lower energy density of LEDs and diodes. With high-energy LEDs, attention is turned to the solder resist. Today there is a great deal of development in the area of solder mask, decreasing the exposure time. At the same time, achieving uniform exposure results requires an increasingly homogenous and high-quality solder mask coating. So the rigorous use of a direct imager for solder resist also demands an investment in new coating technology.”