My first weeks thoughts and suggestions

[Chris]

Overall after my first week I’m getting really good results, but I have some small suggestions

I think the “C” shape metal working should be removed… why ? Basically when dealing with very small pads, I have to use a small magnifier to make sure the probe is exactly in the right place, however that “C” shape around the nozzle really gets in the way… If it wasn’t for me likely invalidating my warranty, I am really tempted just hacksaw these off…

I also think there should be variations on the probe such as a square tip… the problem I see with the round-tip, it is very difficult to actually get it in the centre of small pads… If the probe was square, it would actually give a flat edge to look towards square pads…

I think it would also be good if it had profiles in the software for paste settings… Example when I am printing TQFN pads, is better to have a slower profile ( at least as I have found so far). Faster profiles could be used which really need less accuracy on larger pads.

The PCB clamps, I think it would have been better if the edges of the recess parts were actually square and not rounded like they are now… As it basically results in the corner of the PCB pushing up to a round corner on the clamps. I think the thumbscrews would be easier to handle if they were fractionally larger diameter as well.

I’m still getting the hang of all the settings aswell, but the print speed seems to be dependent mostly on the “kick” setting…The problem with this is the paste starts using out of the nozzle before it gets onto the PCB which creates a initial blobby mess… So I am assuming the kick setting happens at the home position, I think it may be better to have the kick setting applied just before it actually prints on the PCB itself…

My current settings are this…

I’m not really sure what the “soft start ratio” is doing ? reading it literally, I understand that it should increase the flow of paste while actually printing the line ? In any case, the best results are the settings above, but 1.00 is right on the upper maximum allowed in the software… May be useful to increase that limit if possible…

[jazozaya]

Hi @Chris,

Thank you for providing us with your feedback. I’m glad you are getting good results. I can speak to some of the issues you are seeing.

I think the “C” shape metal working should be removed… why ? Basically when dealing with very small pads, I have to use a small magnifier to make sure the probe is exactly in the right place, however that “C” shape around the nozzle really gets in the way… If it wasn’t for me likely invalidating my warranty, I am really tempted just hacksaw these off…

I can understand the frustration with the ‘C’ shape around the nozzle, this was a design choice made to protect the nozzle from accidentally bumping it when installing or removing substrates. When the product first launched we only had metal nozzles and they are very fragile so it was important to protect them.

I’m still getting the hang of all the settings aswell, but the print speed seems to be dependent mostly on the “kick” setting…The problem with this is the paste starts using out of the nozzle before it gets onto the PCB which creates a initial blobby mess… So I am assuming the kick setting happens at the home position, I think it may be better to have the kick setting applied just before it actually prints on the PCB itself…

If paste is coming out of the nozzle before it starts printing then the plunger position is likely too far forward and needs to be retracted, I recommend watching our E-Value Guide. You should click the minus button a few times and make sure the kick setting is the default value or higher. Reducing the kick value from the default setting will lead to a lot of oozing during travel motions.

For a detailed description of our print settings, you can check out this page: Settings Overview

The soft start ratio dictates what portion of the ‘kick’ will be applied during descent (pure Z motion) and what portion will be applied during horizontal travel (XY motion). Here are some examples assuming a kick of 0.3 mm:

• A soft start ratio of 0.5, then 0.15 mm of kick (50% of 0.3) will be applied during descent and 0.15mm will be applied as soon as the dispenser starts moving horizontally.

• A soft start ratio of 0 means the entire kick will be applied during descent. This is not recommended as you will have large blobs of paste / ink at the start of your traces and pads.

• A soft start ratio of 1 means the entire kick will be applied during horizontal travel. Not recommended as you will likely have gaps (open circuits) at the start of your traces and pads.

The soft stop ratio is the same concept, a value of 1 means all of the ‘suck’ (a reverse kick) is applied during horizontal motion.

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A couple of comments on your print settings. Your feedrate of 70 seems extremely slow, you shouldn’t have to do that to get good quality prints, I recommend you revert all settings to default and watch our calibration video. The only setting that you may have to tweak a little is the print height, you may want to set it to 0.12 mm or lower (as you have already done)

For solder paste, it is also super important that you purge the cartridge to get rid of dried up paste before you start dispensing.

Regards,

[AlanDewey]

When I first started using the machine, I also hated the “C shape” metal. Now I don’t even notice it.

I usually use plastic nozzles for dispensing paste. They work quite well. They are so cheap, I do not bother cleaning them, I just toss them. Of course I use metal nozzles for boards that have very fine pitch parts.

Metal nozzles get put back in the little shipping container with a bit of acetone so paste does not dry up in there.