Automated ball mounting process with solder ball testing

1. An automated ball mounting process in which solder balls are dispensed onto a substrate comprising:

testing at least some of the solder balls to determine whether the solder balls are lead free by heating the solder balls to be tested to a temperature between the eutectic temperature of lead-tin and the melting temperature of a lead free solder ball and determining that the solder balls are not lead free if they have melted; and

generating an error indication when said process requires lead free solder balls and when the test indicates that said solder balls are not lead free.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the testing at least some of the solder balls further comprises placing the solder balls to be tested on a heated plate that includes openings that are coupled to a vacuum system, and wherein a vacuum is applied to the openings to remove any melted solder balls.

3. The process of claim 2 wherein the determining whether the solder balls to be tested have melted further comprises:

generating an image of the plate; and

analyzing the image to determine whether solder balls are present.

4. The process of claim 2 wherein the testing at least some of the solder balls is performed automatically during the automated ball mounting process.

5. The process of claim 2 wherein the heating the solder balls to be tested further comprises heating the solder balls to be tested to a temperature between 180 degrees Centigrade and 210 degrees Centigrade.

6. The process of claim 2 further comprising:

stopping the automated ball mounting process when the process requires lead free solder balls and when the test indicates that the tested solder balls are not lead free.

7. The process of claim 6 wherein the heating the solder balls to be tested further comprises heating the solder balls to be tested to a temperature between 185 degrees Centigrade and 195 degrees Centigrade.

8. The process of claim 6 wherein the heating the solder balls to be tested further comprises heating the solder balls to be tested to a temperature between 180 degrees Centigrade and 200 degrees Centigrade.

9. An automated ball mounting process comprising:

receiving solder balls;

testing at least some of the solder balls to determine whether the solder balls are lead free by heating the solder balls to be tested to a temperature between the eutectic temperature of lead-tin and the melting temperature of a lead free solder ball and determining that the solder balls are not lead free if they have melted; and

generating an error indication when the process requires lead free solder balls and when the test indicates that the solder balls are not lead free; and

dispensing some of the solder balls onto a substrate when the process requires lead free solder balls and when the test indicates that the tested solder balls are lead free.

10. The automated ball mounting process of claim 9 further comprising:

stopping the automated ball mounted process when the process requires lead free solder balls and when the test indicates that the tested solder balls are not lead free.

11. The automated ball mounting process of claim 9 wherein the testing at least some of the solder balls further comprises:

moving the solder balls to be tested from a solder ball canister to a testing assembly;

generating a first image of the solder balls to be tested;

heating the solder balls to be tested to a temperature between the eutectic temperature of lead-tin and the melting temperature of a lead free solder ball;

waiting a predetermined time period;

generating a second image of the solder balls to be tested;

analyzing the second image to determine whether the solder balls to be tested have melted; and

removing solder balls to be tested that have not melted.

12. The automated ball mounting process of claim 11 wherein the testing assembly includes a plate having one or more openings and wherein the solder balls to be tested are placed on the plate proximate the openings, the process further comprising:

applying a vacuum to said openings so as to remove any of said solder balls to be tested that have melted.

13. The automated ball mounting process of claim 9 wherein the testing at least some of the solder balls is performed at start-up of the automated ball mounting process.

14. The automated ball mounting process of claim 13 wherein the receiving solder balls further comprises attaching a solder ball canister to an automated ball mounting system.

15. The automated ball mounting process of claim 14 wherein the testing at least some of the solder balls is performed each time that a new solder ball canister is attached.

16. The automated ball mounting process of claim 15 wherein the testing at least some of the solder balls is performed each time that solder balls are added to the solder ball canister.

17. A method for testing solder balls in an automated ball mounting process comprising:

moving solder balls to be tested from a solder ball canister to a testing assembly;

generating a first image of the solder balls to be tested;

heating the solder balls to be tested to a temperature between the eutectic temperature of lead-tin and the melting temperature of a lead free solder ball;

waiting a predetermined time period;

generating a second image of the solder balls to be tested;

analyzing the second image to determine whether the solder balls to be tested have melted; and

removing solder balls to be tested that have not melted.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising applying a vacuum so as to remove solder balls that have melted prior to the generating a second image of the solder balls to be tested.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the moving the solder balls to be tested from a solder ball canister to a testing assembly further comprises moving the solder balls to be tested to a plate having openings that extend therethrough, the vacuum applied to the openings to remove the solder balls that have melted from the plate.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the heating the solder balls to be tested further comprises heating the plate.