Technical Solutions for RF PCB assemblies using world class solder jet printing technology.

Multilevel PCBs are here to stay...Jet printing provides the ideal method to deliver solder paste into a PCB board cavity.

One growing area of need is multilevel boards. To reduce the total height of the final assembly, it’s common to place the higher components in cavities on the PCB. Because jet printing makes use of a laser height sensor, height variations of up to a few millimeters can be handled with ease.

Gemini Tec provide its manufacturing services to a leading UK company, that specialise in the design and manufacture of solid state, high-power microwave and RF amplifiers. With a requirement to build high reliability products for global deployment, solder jet printing provides the technical solution.

With our state-of-the-art MYCRONIC solder jet printers, Gemini Tec are able to successfully build and assemble specific and niche multi level PCBS.

The solder jet printing process can deliver a controlled and accurate amount of solder paste at multi-level positions (also known as cavities) across the RF PCB (printed circuit board) a technique not possible using traditional stencil techniques.




Achieving consistency across the pasted area at 0.2mm intervals to obtain 100% contact between the SMT device (located within the PCB cavity) and the PCB substrate for full connectivity is paramount to electronic performance.




This process is completed with a single pass through the solder jet printing system, removing the need to apply additional paste process techniques, which ultimately lead to variations on the finished PCB assembly.

The manufacturing process includes a highly accurate and controlled reflow process to ensure conformance.
All the devices/PCBs are subsequently inspected using 3D X-ray to confirm the metallic bond is correct.

The PCB assembly is currently in manufacture at over 500 systems per year, with a lower process cost than traditional solder paste techniques. The repeatability of the solder jet process ensures yields of 100%, allowing the full optimisation of the high value material costs.
 
We offer a range of solutions and services to manufacture surface mount and complex SMT assemblies, working closely with our customers at trusted supplier status.

If you require a technical solution, contact us today to find out more about how we can help your company.


Gemini Tec Ltd

1 The Brook Trading Estate

Deadbrook Lane

Aldershot

Hampshire

GU12 4XU

United Kingdom

+44 (0) 1252 333 444

www.geminitec.co.uk

The latest Mycronic technology for 2015 and beyond.

Gemini Tec have now fully integrated a new SMT production line, adding of two MY200 placement machines, along with the UKs first MY600 jet printer, more reflow capability comes with a BTU 7-zone reflow oven and complimented with fully automated board loading, handling and transportation.

2014 has seen a major rise in new customer orders at Gemini Tec, leading us to expand our SMT capability and capacity. At the centre of our SMT operation we have now fully commissioned two further Mycronic SMT placement machines, along with more solder jet printing technology, providing a substantial increase in capacity.

New SMT Synergy line for high mix and complex PCB assembly:

Our latest Synergy line includes two large format SMT placement machines, able to accept over 350 part types in one set up, perfect for high mix products with quick changeover. With such large feeder capacity we can produce demanding high mix product types. The Synergy advantage means we can use two SMT machines simultaneously or even individually. Offline planning software calculates the optimum method to build any given assembly, driving the department efficiency high, at all times.

World renown reflow with a new BTU Pyramax oven, with 7 zones has been added, offering fully automatic line assembly for our customers surface mount products and PCBs.


New solder jet printing capability. 

The USP of our service is based around solder jet printing and again Gemini are the first UK CEM to invest in the latest model of solder jet printers from Mycronic, the MY600.

The latest printer provides perfect solder paste application,  to the same exacting standards as our current MY500 jet printer and with a huge boost to paste write speeds, of upto 50%. This major speed gain allows us to produce boards faster and meet lower price points, when batch sizes increase.


More Agilis feeders.
Additional investment of over 100K has been made in more Mycronic Agilis feeders. Using Agilis feeders allows us to rationalise material consumption, providing valuable savings to customers. Agilis feeders allow us to enjoy super fast set up times, for every order produced and ensures short changeover times. This capability is imperative in maintaining the UKs fastest delivery service for technology boards.

Additional line automation.
In keeping with our ongoing strategy for efficiency, we have also added a full range of Nutek and Mycronic board loading equipment. From automatic conveyors to feed the PCBs through the entire SMT process, along in-line inspection and into oven reflow, before being automatically unloaded, ready for the next production operation.

Can we help you?
As we enter 2015 and beyond, Gemini Tec now have more capacity to engage with new customers. If you are involved in sub-contract manufacture of SMT and complex SMT hardware, we can provide a new level of technical advantages with solder jet printing capability. 

With a long established reputation, Gemini provide a friendly and professional level of service that can be tailored to meet a wide range of unique requirements.

All the products we build are made ethically in the UK, with care and attention. Gemini do not offer a low cost overseas manufacturing option, instead deciding to retain complete control of product quality, delivery and sensitive IP in the UK.

Our entire CEM operation is located at our superbly equipped and ESD controlled facility in Hampshire. If you would like to know more about the services we can provide to you and establish a potential business fit, please contact Adam Harsant in the first instance.

Gemini Tec Ltd

1 The Brook Trading Estate

Deadbrook Lane

Aldershot

Hampshire

GU12 4XU

United Kingdom

+44 (0) 1252 333 444

www.geminitec.co.uk

Surface mount machine upgrades - first phase now complete...

Fully automated SMT line, including solder jet printing at Gemini Tec Ltd

The first phase of our SMT  upgrade has been completed this week. 2014 will see a major investment program to increase capacity and efficiency within the SMT production area.

With many new customer wins and increasing volumes of SMT assemblies from our loyal customer base, August sees the completion of the first phase. We have now installed our MY500 solder jet printer in-line with our MYCRONIC MY100 Synergy line, and added extra speed functionality to the placement lines, added additional Agilis feeders.

Blank boards are loaded via our Nutek loaders, along a conveyor into the MY500 solder jet printer. The solder jet printer places small dots of paste to make up the exact volume required, without the need to use a stencil. The process is quick, accurate and checked with on board cameras.

The solder jet printing really helps eliminate the problems with traditional screen printers, such as over paste, leading to shorts or blocked stencil aperture's which left open circuits. If you type 'solder paste defects' into goggle, you'll discover a high number of examples of this common problem.

Using stencils created us alot of solder paste defects, resulting in excessive SMT re-work. The effect of too many solder defects added a significant cost to the PCB assembly process - that ultimately needs to be recovered, setting aside the production delays and onward impact to customer's. Thankfully we are able to use solder jet printing to avoid such problems.

The boards are then run along more conveyors into the first SMT machine, where a selection of component parts are placed with 8 fast placement heads. Clever software works out which components should be loaded. to each machine in the Synergy line to balance the run time, thus by using 2 SMT machines simultaneously, we can half the placement time per board.When we are running NPI and prototype boards, we are able to use each machine as a stand alone placement machine, each building a different customer order.. very clever.

Both machines have electrical verification on-board, this has proved to be very useful when parts are supplied incorrectly, or if the wrong component value is ever presented to the machine, this avoids putting incorrect resistors and capacitors on to the board.

Once all the parts are machine placed, the boards then travel to a inspection conveyor, at this point we are able to add on any SMT parts. This is useful when building 1 or 2 offs, as we do not need to buy reels, tapes or take on large MOQ's etc.

The conveyor takes the PCBs directly into the oven. Our MYCRONIC Synergy 100 line uses a BTU VIP98, with 7 reflow zones. 7 zones allows us to create an accurate thermal profile, for any PCB, regardless of the types of components on board. We spend time engineering a profile for each board, using our knowledge and slim-kic technology.

The boards are automatically unloaded back onto a Nutek de-stacker, and can wait until cooled. The boards are then transferred into our AOI department for 100% inspection. Including 3D X-ray and ERSA camera inspection. This allows us to confirm our process is correct and detect any issues that may need further investigation. Our combination of solder jet printing, placement and reflow ensure the minimal amount of errors.

The process of how we get blank boards to fully populated assemblies is highly important for a contract manufacture to provide customers with high yield products and quick deliveries.We invested in MYRONIC technology, for its speed of set up and accuracy. The solder jet printing technology in amongst the best technologies available in the world.

We have been asked many times, 'why doesn't everyone have solder jet printing?'

The answer to this question has many points. Initially the investment deters traditional CEM's, who make higher volume or less product mix with more simple types of PCB assemblies. Gemini can produce complex boards, in low to medium volume.

Before the days of solder jet printing Gemini would order over 700 stencil's a year (due the the mix of assembly orders) so this made a substantial cost contribution, which has also been passed back to our customer's.

Managing the stencil process from procurements to storage and cleaning, added hidden costs. The quality problems that had risen from stencil printing often led to high amounts of re-work and un-happy customers! Gemini aim for a lean approach to its CEM business which helps optimise its costs to customer's.

Gemini Tec are among a range of leading suppliers in Europe, who have invested into solder jet printing to avoid traditional solder defects and gain many technical advantages, Companies who have also invested include Thales, Halin BV, Netherlands, Appel-Elektronik GmbH, Germany and Page (Belgium) to name a few.

UK & European customers can all benefit from rapid prototype to small and medium volume production with solder jet printing, which provides higher quality products at optimised prices points.

Next month we install the UK's first MY600 solder jet printer and new MY200 SX Synergy line, so more news to follow.

If you wish to know more about us, click our website or get in touch with us by phone.

http://www.geminitec.co.uk

Gemini Tec Ltd

1 The Brook Trading Estate

Deadbrook Lane

Aldershot

Hampshire

GU12 4XU

Tel: +44 (0) 1252 333 444

The first UK CEM to invest in MYDATA's new range of high volume solder jet printers.

The first UK CEM to invest in MYCRONIC's new range of high volume solder jet printers.

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A second solder jet printer has now been ordered for our surface mount facility in Aldershot Hampshire, with installation in August 14.

MY600 High Speed Jet Printer arriving August 14

....way back in 2008 Gemini Tec were the first UK based CEM to invest into solder jet printing technology, and now we are the first UK CEM to introduce the latest edition of printers, the MY600. 

MYCRONIC's MY600 is the next generation of solder jet printers and has been designed to suit higher volume surface mount assembly applications.
This next-generation Jet Printer now enables Gemini to achieve optimal solder joints with a 50% increase in throughput, against our current jet printer.  The introduction of this high-performance platform will allow new production capacity for customers who are struggling to mount difficult components using classic screen printers.

With the increasing demand for higher volume applications from its customer base, the MY600 overcomes many of the speed limitations, and still provides optimal assembly for flexible substrates, board cavities, package-on-package, QFNs and new components with small process windows.

The use of  solder jet printing has transformed the experiences for all our customers and allowed us to achieve new levels of rapid PCB assembly.  The new MY600 will be used to support higher volume orders and contracts on the same basis.

The new MY600 solder jet printer will operate with its own MYCRONIC 'Synergy' SMT line, comprising of two high speed SMT placement machines, a BTU convection reflow oven and Nutek fully automatic board handling systems.

Company Director Adam Harsant, comments on the latest solder jet printing news.

"This latest investment is an exciting new chapter in the development of our business, we are expanding our entire SMT operation on the back of the demand for high quality and UK manufactured hardware"

"Our customers appreciate the value this technology has provided and we are investing to ensure that we have sufficient capacity for the increase in demand. And with a continued shift from sourcing in 'perceived' low cost centres back towards the UK, we recognise the opportunity to now support higher volume orders with all the advantages that solder jet printing technology provides"

If you would like to know more about how this technology has helped our customers, or discuss a technical demonstration at our facility, please get in touch..

http://www.geminitec.co.uk

Gemini Tec Ltd

1 The Brook Trading Estate

Deadbrook Lane

Aldershot

Hampshire

GU12 4XU

Tel: +44 (0) 1252 333 444

Embedding the World Cup with goal-line technology

For years, international football association FIFA have heavily resisted technology's influence in soccer, almost comically arguing that bad refereeing decisions are all part of the excitement of the game. FIFA president Sepp Blatter has described goal-line technology as "only 95 percent accurate", though even that level of accuracy – when compared to a human eye, often tens of metres away – is surely a vast improvement?

For technologists, even if this disputable 95 percent figure was to be believed, bridging that 5 percent gap was never a sizeable task. Though in 2008 following that statement, the FIFA president put the implementation of such technology on ice – permanently.

Predictably, subsequently further controversial decisions ensued, though in relatively low-key matches not on the international stage, and in March 2010 an election was held between eight of the founding bodies of soccer – voting 6-2 in favor of permanently ditching the technology, the two dissenters being England and Scotland.

In June that year at the 2010 FIFA World Cup the tide was about to turn, when hundreds of millions of fans across 241 separate countries saw England's Frank Lampard score a goal – the ball clearly over a metre across the line – against Germany, which was disallowed due to human error by the referee. Scoring or missing was a turning point in the 2-1 game, which ended as a 4-1 loss for England. The entire country, quickly followed by immense global support (perhaps bar Germany!), put huge pressure on FIFA, and shortly after Blatter announced that the goal-line technology consideration would be re-opened.

The tech contenders

In 2011 FIFA began internal trials with 10 companies' goal-line technology systems, and by 2012 they whittled this down to two potential candidates: Goal Ref, utilizing a passive "chip-in-ball" and a magnetic field to detect its whereabouts; and Hawk-Eye, utilizing a series of high-resolution cameras and triangulation algorithms.

Both have a very high, though interestingly unpublished, accuracy percentage, but neither could claim 100 percent accuracy as both are fallible to some degree.

A technology based on electromagnetic fields, which is being used at the 2014 World Cup, would be susceptible to interference, though unlikely in the environment; an unscrupulous party could theoretically interfere with its accuracy.

The high-speed-camera-based system, you could argue, is less vulnerable to outside interference, though is reliant on installation accuracy and calibration, having rigorously proven the calculations used to derive the decision.

Additionally, in the 2014 World Cup referees are wearing smartwatches as part of a GoalControl-4D system to alert them to goal-line technology cameras detecting goals. So far in the competition goal-line technology has already caused a share of confusion and controversy in the match between France and Honduras. This wasn't a case of the technology malfunctioning, but the public weren't prepared that the GoalControl system would also show instances where a goal was not scored before the instance where a goal was scored if the ball almost crossed the line multiple times.

Both systems also can't consider the change in shape of a ball when it bounces, for example. The Hawk-Eye system, prior to soccer, has long been employed in snooker (similar to billiards), cricket, and tennis. Bounce distortion in soccer, given we're concerned with it passing a line, not falling short of it, isn't relevant – in tennis however this can be contentious; during the 2008 Wimbledon final, a ball that appeared out was cited as "in" by Hawk-Eye by a single millimeter.

Interestingly, despite no percentage claims of accuracy of the technology, a 3.6 mm error margin is advertised by Hawk-Eye. Whilst this seems minute, it's easy to see why the technology claiming it's "in" by 1 mm becomes disputable. Cricket saw a similar point of contention in 2012, where a Leg Before Wicket (LBW) foul was called despite it visually appearing the ball would have sailed over the stumps, which would negate the call.

Soccer has attempted to address the shortfalls of the technology – well, more the opportunity for it to be disputed – by moving away from the "video replay" style of the other implementations completely with the use of a 3D reproduction of the controversial incident.

Whilst this has the advantage of giving an "undisputable" decision, people are naturally wary of any visual that disagrees with what they "saw" with their own eyes – though optical illusions and magic tricks should easily counter how fallible the human eye is to misinterpretation.

Future uses

The sporting world is truly opening up to the embedded computing industry and is more accepting of new technologies than ever before. Last month I discussed the increasing sports medicine usage of embedded; now I'm sure I've got you thinking about how embedded technology could improve your own favorite sport. Perhaps lasers displaying shot distances and speeds on the pitch, intelligent sporting equipment visually flagging illegal usage – the possibilities are endless!

For more information, contact Rory at rdear@opensystemsmedia.com.

As seen in New Electronics

We are a UK based manufacture with the capability to help customers seeking time critical PCB layout and rapid PCB assembly services.

We are a respected supplier of technology manufacturing for PCB related hardware and have positioned our service help customers design PCBs with Altium layout tools and obtain entry to our rapid delivery PCB assembly facility.

We have been helping customers for over 37 years and conduct a wide range of PCB designs in Altium, including DDR3. applications. We have highly experienced layout engineers and understand the requirements of both the PCB manufacture and PCB assembly. Our experience allows customers to de-risk from both technical and time delays for challenging projects.

Our knowledge base ensures we implement the optimum PCB layout techniques and best practices. We work closely with our customers through the various stages of placement and routing to ensure all the requirements of the design are fully understood and implemented. Including full consideration for signal integrity (SI) and mechanical constraints with the generation of 3D models.

We offer the UK's fastest possible delivery for complex PCB hardware. With over 45 full time staff we have the resources to manufacture over 600 new products a year. Gemini currently manufactures over 90,000 PCB assemblies a year, ranging from rapid delivery prototypes to batch production orders of 10K.

We have made our reputation by providing complex SMT boards, on time critical orders. Our MYDATA surface mount lines can be set up quickly to build small orders from 1 to 50 units, with full capability for BGA and PoP (Package-on-Package) device technology. Even our skilled IPC technicians can hand solder devices at 0201 package sizes!

What makes us different ?
Our rapid SMT service offers unparalleled lead times due to the use of  'Solder Jet Printing' in our surface mount assembly department. The production of orders can commence immediately without the need to wait for stencils. As we no longer use stencils, we can remove the risk and delays, remove the cost of tooling and removes a number of known technical constraints associated with the use of traditional stencils.

What is 'Solder Jet Printing'?   
The application of the solder paste directly onto the PCB, during the surface mount assembly process.

This is completed entirely without the need to use any paste stencils, instead direct from a jet printing head.

See more here, including a video: http://www.geminitec.co.uk/advanced-smt-technology/solder-jet-printing

How does it work?
The printer shoots millions of small solder paste dots on the fly, at split-second speeds while moving above the blank PCB board. Just like an ink jet printer, it is completely non-contact technology. We can easily apply solder paste onto complex and challenging boards with high precision and repeatability. Thi smakes it suited to high technology boards using devices packages such as, BGA & PoP (package-on-package) devices.

Placing paste with such precision means we never have to compromise on the quality of the solder volume or position, unlike traditional stencils. Its even checked with on board AOI, in seconds. By removing the variables and constraints of stencils, we can ensure PCB assemblies are built to exacting standards. We no longer need to engineer, order, wait, set up and perfect the stencil process, giving rise to numerous advantages. The obvious cost savings mean we no longer need to charge customers for stencils.

Can we help your company?
In addition to our Altium PCB layout service and rapid PCB assembly service, Gemini Tec supports its customers with a full contract manufacturing service, inclusive of material procurement, product test and validation, through to a complete box build service.

Gemini Tec's facility has a wide range of manufacturing tools to build complex PCB products. In addition to our leading edge MYDATA printing and SMT placement technology, we use the very latest in multi camera AOI inspection tools, Ersascope cameras, real time X-Ray and even X- J-tag tools for product conformance.

Book a visit to our superbly equipped and ultra clean ESD facility. A visit to Gemini Tec will allow the full appreciation of the technology and resources in place to build your products and confirm our ability to support your outsourcing needs.

Call our friendly team on +44 (0) 1252 333 444, or mail us with any questions at sales@geminitec.co.uk

Advanced PCB assembly with automated handling for fast production orders

State of the art SMT production facility

Experts in fast delivery of surface mount PCB products - Gemini Tec show how quickly PCBs are moved across its SMT lines...from pasted board to oven reflow..


Surface mount PCB assembly process with PCB handling and changeover. Check it out - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vLUyORa2Jc

Technical Solutions for RF PCB assemblies with solder jet printing technology

Have a look at this news article about ‘Technical Solutions for RF PCB assemblies with solder jet printing technology’: http://www.geminitec.co.uk/news-events-press-articles-a-more/144-smt-assembly-case-study

It features, information the solder jet printing technology we use to help with:

PCB assembly with PCBs with cavities
SMT assemblies with PoP components
Surface mount assemblies with BGA components