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Manufacturers of electronics, at home audio equipment to automotive keyless entry systems, are increasingly seeking a trusted, economical way of uniquely identifying and tracking items through the production period, sales distribution and after-sale guarantee evidence. An autonomous, computerized tracking system requires that the permanent, machine-readable code be reproduced to an interior printed circuit board to uniquely identify each item. The signal must store information in the little space available o-n real-estate conscious printed circuit boards, mustn't affect circuit performance, and must be tough enough to survive manufacturing processes including trend solder and table cleaning. The 2D matrix rule offers a means to store alphanumeric character strings in tiny aspects of the printed circuit board. Laser noticing technology provides a way for permanently using 2D matrix rules to the majority of board substrates. The high-accuracy and high-resolution of beam-steered laser marking systems offers the means to produce well defined, large consistency limitations regardless of code size. Laser marking also provides the individual having a computer-controlled marking process for easy implementation into automated solution monitoring systems. ECC 200 2D Matrix Codes Two-dimensional symbologies encode information in the form of a checkerboard pattern of on/off cells. Specific benefits of Data Matrix limitations over mainstream 1D barcodes include Encode data digitally, in place of the analog development of information in traditional barcodes. Could accommodate low-contrast printing directly on parts without requiring a label Offer very high information density - the greatest among other popular 2-d requirements, meaning you are able to place a great deal of information in a very small area. They're scalable, meaning you can produce them and study them in several quantities of magnification - only tied to the decision of the printing and imaging techniques. Due to the high data density inherent to Data Matrix codes, they also offer built-in error-correction practices which allow fully recovering the meaning encoded in a Data Matrix symbol even when the tag is broken and missing up to 2009-2010 of the symbol. They're read by video cameras as opposed to a scanned laser used for reading traditional barcodes, meaning they may be read in just about any orientation. ECC 200 Data Matrix is the most popular 2-D symbology with extensive used in automotive, aerospace, technology, semiconductor, medical devices and other production unit-level traceability applications. Information Matrix requirements are typically not replacing old-fashioned linear barcodes, but are getting used where conventional barcodes were too big, did not provide adequate storage capacity, or were unreadable. Knowledge Matrix Signal Framework The 2D matrix codes appear as a 'checkerboard' with the individual squares (cells) in both on on (white) or off (black) state. This majestic a guide to pcb assembly article directory has oodles of novel suggestions for the inner workings of it. The code contains four distinct factors. The Finder 'R' Pat-tern consists of a solid line of cells along the left edge and base of the code that orients the reader to the format of the 2D code. The Clock Track is a sequence of on/off cells along the top and right edge of the rule that designates the row/column count to the reader. The Data Region is the pattern of black and white cells within the L pattern and the time paths that have the alphanumeric content of the signal. The Quiet Zone around the code should be free of any characteristics which may be visible to the audience. The quiet area ought to be at least two rows/columns large for rules constructed of square cells. The quiet zone ought to be at the very least four rows/columns wide for codes constructed of rounded cells (dots). ECC 200 Data Matrix limitations can keep up to 3,116 numeric, 2,335 alpha-numeric characters or 1,555 bytes of binary data in a 144 column by 144 row variety. More reasonable mark dimensions for printed circuit boards may still have a significant level of data. Laser Marking Process The laser marking system consists of the beam-shaping optics, the laser source, and the system. The laser is just a light amplifier building a bright, collimated beam of light in a specific wavelength. For FR4 and solder mask programs, many people choose the air-cooled CO2 laser operating at the 10,640nm far-infrared wavelength. This laser provides many performance and cost advantages, and produces excellent observing results. The laser is projected through two beam-deflecting mirrors mounted to high-speed, high-accuracy galvanometers. Dig up new resources on our affiliated essay - Click here electronics manufacturing. As the mirrors are rotated under direction of the system computer, the laser beam scans across the target marking surface-to 'attract' the desired marking picture. Following the laser is deflected from the beam-steering mirrors, it's focused to the smallest area possible by flat-field focusing optics. The flat-field focusing construction can be a multi-element optical device made to keep the focal plane of the focused laser beam on a relatively flat plane through the entire marking area. The focused laser light dramatically advances the power density and related marking power. The purpose of the laser optical train would be to focus the laser beam to a small spot and to scan the laser beam within the target surface with high speed and accuracy. With the CO2 laser setting, the focused spot diameter and connected marking line width is approximately 0.0035' to 0.004.' Man-readable text characters can be as small as 0.040' and 2-d matrix limitations can be made of specific features as small as one 0.004' dot. PCB Marking The heat generated by the laser beam thermally changes the outer lining of the table to produce a different, readable mark, to mark printed circuit boards. The method doesn't need labels, stencils, punches or another additional hardware or usable. For printed circuit board applications, many different variations of the approach can be used for different board/coating materials and background conditions. Solder mask or other Conformal Coatings on Boards - The laser beam can change the surface of the coating, giving a lighter diverse appearance to it, or can com-pletely eliminate the coating to expose the underlying substrate or copper ground plane. Un-coated FR4 - The laser beam alters the structure of the outer lining of the FR4 producing a near white appearance. Silk-screened Printer Stop - For people who already silkscreen component identification or other fixed info on the boards, a silk-screened white printer stop could be a back ground to the 2D matrix signal to-optimize readability. This system is very useful when o The background color of the table is comparable to the color of the laser mark. o Underlying circuitry would hide the image to code readers. o The board material is not suitable for laser marking, including ceramic substrates. 2-d Matrix Signal Affirmation Evidence of the content and legibility of the 2D matrix limitations is definitely an crucial step in the general quality plan. After marking of each circuit, the reader confirms the integrity of the mark before indexing the laser marking check out the following marking location. The reader retrieves the alpha-numeric text string from your 2D code and compares it with the text string that has been to be marked. The reader also examines the legibility of the code based on many different parameters including foreground/background distinction, mathematical accuracy (skew, squareness, etc.) and the dimensional accuracy of both marked and unmarked cells. The 2-d matrix requirements are then labeled as passed (green), informed (yellow) or unsuccessful (red). For over all manufacturing efficiency, the laser system can be set to examine only a select few 2-d requirements on a panel, then to immediately switch to confirming every code if the code legibility drops below a specific level. Today's viewers do a fantastic job reading lower contrast 2-d codes. The proof reader can be configured to assess the codes based on the performance of the older downstream readers to make sure consistent performance through the entire assembly process, if the laser marking system is installed on an assembly line with older 2-d matrix readers downstream from the laser gun. Marking Performance The normal printed circuit board gun is a fully-automated, SMEMA-compliant, through-conveyor laser marking system. The overall productivity of the laser gun is comprised of several steps which make up the pattern. The measures necessary to mark one multi-array section are 1. Transfer and positioning of the panel inside the marking area. Small Blue Arrow contains supplementary info about where to deal with this viewpoint. 2. Fiducial area detection (optional) 3. Marking of the first enterprise inside the variety 4. Evidence of the notable 2D matrix code (optional) 5. Activity of the laser marking head-to the next circuit in the variety. 6. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the residual tracks in the variety. 7. Transportation of the panel from the laser marking system (associated with taking another panel in) Cost of Operation Cost of operation is a lot less than 1.00 hourly. Common utilities requirements are 110VAC, 1-phase, 12A. A compressed air supply is needed for the pneumatics. Complete tools charges at maximum laser power (the laser should actually run at less then 80-90 rated power) are 0.12 each hour. The main usable item could be the CO2 laser tube that really must be changed every 3 to 5 years at a price of typically 1,000.00 to 1,500.00. Assuming a 40-hour workweek and tube life of 3 years, the tube replacement cost would equate to 0.18 per hour for a complete operating cost of 0.30 per hour under worst-case conditions. Actual operating costs is likely to be lower due to less than maximum electrical consumption and longer tube life. For common pcb laser marking applications, the cost for marking is significantly less than 0.0003 per enterprise. This disturbing pcb assembly article article has endless provocative aids for why to engage in it. Summary The electronics industry has been searching for an expense and technically effective method of using machine-readable codes to printed circuit boards since the 1980's. Early attempts included laser marking linear barcodes to the board side, a daunting challenge for audience place, and marking linear barcodes alongside enterprise traces, also a challenge for bar-code readers. Bar-code information was limited to some figures as a result of limited area and the barcodes character-per-inch capacity. The development of the 2D matrix signal combined with resolution, permanence and rate of beam-steered laser marking technology now gives companies a cost-effective, reliable, versatile and proven means to uniquely identify every item through after-sale, distribution and production..