EPUCRET at the Productronica for the first time
A dynamic branch of industry will be presenting itself mid-November to an audience from all over the world at the Productronica. For the first time, EPUCRET Mineralgusstechnik will be mingling amongst the innovation drivers. At the joint stand with the RAMPF Group, Stand 220 in Hall 4, the company will be showing machine frames for the whole value-added chain in electronic production.
Mineral casting attenuates vibrations particularly well.
Mineral casting frame for a wire bonder as a system solution. The machine still only has to be assembled.
Mineral casting base for a flip-chip bonder.
Machine bed made of mineral casting for a die bonder as a system solution completely without machining in high final precision.
EPUCRET Mineralgusstechnik’s first appearance at the Productronica 2007 in Munich will be under the motto “Discover the future“. As a member of the RAMPF Group, the mineral casting manufacturer believes you have to put yourself in the customer’s position and find new and better solutions. This is a particular challenge in electronics manufacturing. The market is demanding faster, more precise and, in particular, more costeffective machines. Due to its technical advantage, mineral casting has become accepted in electronic and micro-production as the basis for future-oriented machines and instruments.
Best vibration damping properties, environmentally friendly production and recycling, as well as a high integration potential are all plus points when using mineral casting in machine frames for semi-conductor manufacture. EPUCRET will be showing the min-eral casting bed of a wire bonder at the Productronica. The high dynamics of the sol-dering process (far more than 20 soldering points per second) require a base which attenuates vibration and is highly functional at the same time.
Selected minerals, a low-level of epoxy resin binder as well as diverse additives form the basis of the high-tech material.
Upon mixing, a casting mass is produced which is filled into a precision mould. Once the material has hardened, the mineral casting frame is removed from the mould. De-pending upon the customer’s requirements, the work of EPUCRET’s experts then con-tinues. The goal of General Manager Dr. Utz-Volker Jackisch is to save the user time and money. Highly integrative components made of mineral casting are produced by the production team using high-precision casting forms at production temperatures of max. 45 °C. In this way, a mineral casting blank is produced which already offers vari-ous functions, such as:
Media inlet/outlets by casting the piping systems in place (hydraulic, pneu-matic, compressed air, lubricating and electrical lines),
Electrical and electronic components and systems; sensors, actuators, earth connections; shielding,
X-ray absorbing effect.
Precise assembly and mounting surfaces can be attached to the mineral casting blank using the casting technology without machining and to provide a basis for system solution.
The dynamic behaviour of machines is becoming increasingly more important. In par-ticular, it affects precision working. Faster positioning times, shorter soldering, assem-bling and test cycles, as well as high accelerations amplify mechanical resonance and thus lead to more intense excitation of the machine structure. The required accuracy literally starts to fluctuate. In order to prevent this, there are a number of adjusting screws. Besides the geometrical arrangement of the machine components, their compliance, location of joints and mass distribution will considerably influence the dynamic rigidity of the vibration damping characteristics of the material. The development work of EPUCRET rests on this recognition. For more than 30 years, the company has been intensively occupied with the properties of mineral casting material. The result: The material offers more than just an alternative to steel, granite or aluminium in many fields. The polymer cement possesses up to ten times better vibration damping characteristics than metals. Considerably smaller amplitudes and strongly reduced natural frequencies demonstrably improve positioning accuracy and the possible number of cycles.
The method of producing mineral casting is energy saving – without any external supply of heat - 30% less primary energy is consumed than with cast metal. The ease of depositing waste on building rubble dumpsites and its reuse as recycling building material also emphasizes its sustainability.
EPUCRET at the Productronica 2007