“The Scorpion brings a breath of fresh air”

Citation

(2013), "“The Scorpion brings a breath of fresh air”", Soldering & Surface Mount Technology, Vol. 25 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ssmt.2013.21925daa.017

“The Scorpion brings a breath of fresh air”

Article Type: Conferences and exhibitions From: Soldering & Surface Mount Technology, Volume 25, Issue 4

Dr Frank Bose

Interview with Dr Frank Bose, Managing Director and Business Development Manager, Essemtec, just before the opening of SEMICON West in San Francisco.

By Adrian Kuehnis, Azular GmbH.

Essemtec is the leading Swiss manufacturer of production equipment for electronics manufacturing. At SEMICON West in San Francisco, the company will premiere a jetting and dispensing machine for the semiconductor industry at Booth No. 5567. Adrian Kuehnis spoke with Dr Frank Bose about his expectations and about the special features of the Scorpion.

Adrian Kuehnis: why is Essemtec, as a manufacturer of electronics production machines, exhibiting at SEMICON West?

Dr Frank Bose: with the Scorpion, Essemtec has developed a machine platform that combines all conditions for extremely fast and accurate dispensing – parameters that are in great demand for the semiconductor area (Figure 2). We are able to dispense up to 100,000 dots per hour. In that case, the Scorpion is equipped with the ultra-fast jet valve. In addition to the jet valve, further valves such as the Archimedean screw valve, the time-pressure valve or the piezo flow valve can be used on the machine at the same time. Up to four different dispensing valves can be installed simultaneously. In combination with these valves, Essemtec provides a highly flexible solution with a wide variety of applications that can be implemented, such as underfilling, dam and fill, glob, or the dispensing of bonding paste. Furthermore, Essemtec’s development engineers have taken care to keep the maintenance requirements and maintenance intervals as low as possible.

What potential do you see for Essemtec in the semiconductor industry?

In the field of semiconductor packaging, the number of applications is steadily increasing, which is due to continuous miniaturization. Customers are looking for machines with high productivity, simple programming and the ability to jet a variety of materials. Especially in the field of 2.5D and 3D packaging, the Scorpion is the perfect choice. All the specialists will meet at SEMICON West, so it is ideal for showcasing our Scorpion jetting and dispensing system.

Dispensing machines are nothing new at a SEMICON West are they?

No, they are not; however, the Scorpion brings a breath of fresh air to this field. The machine is based on the Paraquda pick-and-place platform and, therefore, is extremely accurate and precise. These features are very much in demand in today’s applications because the miniaturization has continued to progress in all areas. It must be ensured that all the parameters and process steps remain easy to handle. Here we offer something completely new to the market. The Scorpion is equipped with the completely new machine software eDis. The software is constructed very graphically and shows all functions and activities of the machine in real time while offering users numerous ways to easily set up new jobs or improve existing production. These added values have already convinced many companies in the electronics industry and I think that these features are demanded in the semiconductor field more than ever.

How easy is it to use the software?

The software is touch screen-based – similar to a modern tablet’s operation – but eDis is even more. For example, it includes a fluid database with more than 200 media. That will save a lot of time for the process engineer.

To what extent can this machine reduce the expenses of materials being used?

Our customers are partially using very expensive special adhesives. Each wasted μl costs money. The media must always fill out the inner space of the valve completely. This is wasted material. Our jet valve has a very small fluid box with a volume of only 70 μl. The cartridge is connected directly to that. Therefore, nothing is lost and cleaning also is easier. The valve is small, lightweight and can jet very quickly. Valve maintenance can be done partially by the customer, saving additional money. The eDis software also helps to save material since the operator performs fewer tests to optimize the process.

How fast can I work with the combination Scorpion-jet valve and what other options do I have with this platform?

We achieve frequencies of 800 Hz. Others must work hard to achieve only a quarter of that performance. But the Scorpion is also fast because of its robust machine base. It weights over 1.5 tons and features special damping and a fast, modern XYZ drive system. Furthermore, the dispensing option can be used on the Paraquda pick-and-place machine; this combines two process steps in one machine. As you can see, the entire machine concept is very sophisticated and can be individually tailored to customer requirements.

Are you saying that the Scorpion is a machine for flexible production?

Definitely. On one hand it can be highly flexible and can be equipped with many extras to perform multiple actions. But, on the other hand, users can configure it specifically for a single task, which it will do fast and at low cost. Thus, the effort for qualification processes can be reduced and users can start quickly with series production.

What do you expect from the exhibition in San Francisco?

I am confident that developers and producers will be astonished when they learn what they can do with a Scorpion and how reliably it works. We shall not forget that this platform is already installed at more than 100 customers worldwide and more than 800 jet valves have been sold. My target for SEMICON West is to find large manufacturers from new markets who will test the Scorpion in their production for a few weeks – because this is where it best proves its potential. To learn more about our Scorpion high-speed jetter, visit us in Booth No. 5567 at the SEMICON West exhibition in San Francisco.