Elprint invests 300,000 euro in HAL equipment

Elprint AS has invested around 0.3€ million in a Hot Air Leveling System from German company Pentagal-Chemie GmbH. The PENTA AUTOMATIC is the only vertical automatic Hot Air Leveling System in the world. Advantages over a horizontal HAL System are the low consumption of flux, (at 50g/m2, around a third of that used by horizontal systems), the non-disposal of oils, minimal maintenance, a smaller space requirement and a lower overall cost of ownership. Elprint faces an increased demand for PCBs with a Lead Free HAL surface in all its markets. In recognition of such customer needs Elprint will be able to offer this surface treatment to all customers by the end of July 2006. As a knock-on effect capacity at the factory will also increase. The PENTA AUTOMATIC consists of an upstream flux-module, the HAL process itself and a downstream cooling line. The whole process is fully-automated, as boards are routed into the system according to bar code information. Steady high quality of the tinned panels is guaranteed by permanent internal control and MS-databank-documentation of all the operating parameters. This permits parameter-documentation for each single panel and facilitates the preparation of a quality report within the scope of DIN ISO 9000 ff certification. The PENTA AUTOMATIC is network-compatible, can be controlled by a control-station and has been ergonomically designed for ease of use. “The HAL system from Penta is a perfect match for our strategy of securing and widening our product portfolio. Our customers have requested this service from us for some time now and we will have it ready and operational by the end of the summer. In searching for a supplementary surface treatment processes to our existing immersion tin, a high level of automation was required. Here the PENTA AUTOMATIC gave us all the answers we were looking for,” says Helge Nilsen, CEO Elprint AS.