First Essemtec Paraquda system installed in Ireland

To expand its production capacity with an additional SMT manufacturing line, Aaron PCB approached Contax Production Automation, an Irish production equipment specialists, to source a solution for low to medium volume production with rapid changeover times. The selection criteria required that the pick-and-place system was capable of holding 80 x 8mm feeders with placement of approximately 10'000 components per hour, ranging from BGAs to 01005 components. Gerard Murray, Managing Director of Aaron PCB, said, “Selecting the Paraquda system was the right decision. Since using it and getting familiar with all the features we have found the machine is performing well, making it easy to set up jobs and especially set up new parts. We have increased the number of feeders we originally purchased and hope to add more as the type of job we are doing continues to grow, especially in high setup count areas. The Paraquda system has certainly increased our capability and provides the flexibility we need to suit our current and future business requirements.” Designed to fulfill the requirements of high-mix SMT production, the Paraquda’s placement head features four axes, each one with its own vertical and rotation drive system. The axes can be controlled individually to ensure "right first time" placement of any component from 01005 up to 80x70 mm including fine-pitch, BGA, CSP or flip chips. The Paraquda’s new dispensing option enables up to 100'000 glue or paste dots per hour (depending on valve and application) and features a needle height calibration station with a fully automatic needle cleaning system. Providing further feedback on the Paraquda installation, Gerard Murray said, “We have found the machine works extremely well on 0201 components and we have managed to secure several new orders due to this capability. Essemtec’s remote support from Switzerland has been excellent, where specialists can view what we are doing and suggest improvements. Our business continues to grow well and we feel this is helped by having such a modern machine which suits the needs of low to medium volume with quick changeovers while the machine is running.”