Method and device for applying solder paste flux
A method of applying viscous media on a substrate is disclosed. In the method, the substrate is provided, which is arranged for mounting of electronic components thereon. Further, flux is provided on a deposit of solder paste, which deposit is arranged at a predetermined position on the substrate. The flux is provided by a non-contact dispensing process, such as jetting. By providing flux on the deposit prior to reflow, the risk of quality related issues, such as e.g. graping, advantageously is reduced.
1. A method of applying viscous media on a substrate, the method comprising:
arranging the substrate for mounting of electronic components thereon; and
selectively providing additional flux on at least one deposit among deposits of solder paste that comprise flux, the at least one deposit being arranged at a certain position on the substrate;
wherein the additional flux does not contain any metal particles and is provided by a non-contact dispensing process on top of the deposit in order to partly or fully cover the deposit prior to reflow;
wherein at least a part of the additional flux is provided on at least a part of an electronic component after the electronic component is attached to the deposit.
2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the deposits of solder paste are screen-printed.
3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the deposits of solder paste are non-contact dispensed.
4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising forming the deposits of solder paste by providing a predetermined amount of solder paste to a predetermined position on the substrate according to a printing job or program.
5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the selectively providing of additional flux is performed by adding a predetermined amount of flux to the certain position on the substrate, without adding additional flux to non-selected deposits of solder paste on the substrate.
6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the deposit of solder paste is formed by means of a first jetting head assembly and the additional flux is provided by means of a second non-contact dispensing head assembly, and wherein the first jetting head assembly and the second non-contact dispensing head assembly are different.
7. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the first jetting head assembly and the second non-contact dispensing head assembly each forms part of a single equipment device.
8. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the first jetting head assembly and the second non-contact dispensing head assembly each forms part of two separate and/or different equipment devices.
9. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising heating the substrate so as to reflow the solder paste of the deposit.
10. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
identifying a subset of the solder paste deposits containing low deposit volumes, below a certain threshold amount, and, accordingly, small amounts of flux; and
providing the additional flux on the identified subset of the solder paste deposits having low deposit volumes.
11. A method of applying viscous media on a substrate, the method comprising:
arranging the substrate for mounting of electronic components thereon; and
selectively providing additional flux on at least one deposit among deposits of solder paste that comprise flux, the at least one deposit being arranged at a certain position on the substrate;
wherein the additional flux does not contain any metal particles and is provided by a non-contact dispensing process on top of the deposit in order to partly or fully cover the deposit prior to reflow; and
wherein an amount of the additional flux provided on the deposit is based on a volume of said deposit.
12. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
inspecting the deposit prior to providing the additional flux;
estimating a volume of the deposit based on the inspection; and
in response to the estimated volume,
providing the additional flux on the deposit.
13. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the additional flux is provided based on the inspecting the deposit and in response to the estimated volume being below a threshold value.
14. The method according to claim 12 , further comprising providing the additional flux by adding a predetermined amount of flux to a predetermined position according to a printing job or program created in response to the inspecting of the deposit of solder paste prior to providing the additional flux.
15. The method according to claim 11 , further comprising attaching an electronic component to the deposit after providing the additional flux on said deposit.
16. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the deposits of solder paste are screen-printed.
17. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the deposits of solder paste are non-contact dispensed.
18. The method according to claim 11 , further comprising forming the deposits of solder paste by providing a predetermined amount of solder paste to a predetermined position on the substrate according to a printing job or program.
19. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the selectively providing of additional flux is performed by adding a predetermined amount of flux to the certain position on the substrate, without adding additional flux to non-selected deposits of solder paste on the substrate.
20. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the deposit of solder paste is formed by means of a first jetting head assembly and the additional flux is provided by means of a second non-contact dispensing head assembly, and wherein the first jetting head assembly and the second non-contact dispensing head assembly are different.
21. The method according to claim 20 , wherein the first jetting head assembly and the second non-contact dispensing head assembly each forms part of a single equipment device.
22. The method according to claim 20 , wherein the first jetting head assembly and the second non-contact dispensing head assembly each forms part of two separate and/or different equipment devices.