Publication date: 19 August 2010
As the leading innovator of vapor phase technology since 1996, R&D Technical Services provides equipment for numerous markets including SMT reflow, lead-free reflow, curing, drying, mechanical attachment and plastic package testing. With its new division “Vapor Works,” R&D is responsible for the world’s first Vapor Phase Rework System.
Q. David, R&D Technical Services was started in 1996, but VP Ray Willet and you have been involved in vapor phase since the middle 80s. How has vapor phase evolved since you first started?
A. Vapor phase has evolved in almost every way imaginable. We’re talking about 25 years of change. Think of the cars being driven 25 years ago compared to the highly evolved machine that is today’s automobile. The equipment has benefitted from all of the changes in control technology and manufacturing processes, making it easier to use and more forgiving than ever. Vapor phase fluid management has improved ten-fold. Conveyor systems and product handling systems now are designed to allow the truly left-to-right flow required by high-volume manufacturers, and the advent of lead-free solder with its challenges has brought the strengths of vapor phase even more to the forefront. It has gone from a niche process, being used mainly in high-reliability and difficult architecture processes, to a well respected and superior process in the general market for all manner of products. Additionally, vapor phase has gone from nearly no press outside its niche to the front cover of industry magazines and has seen the creation of the first rework station using the strengths of vapor phase. It has been an exciting and satisfying journey to this point and I expect more of the same in the years to come.
Q. What are some common reflow issues that customers face and how can R&D Technical services help to solve them?
A. One of the biggest problems we see is the customer’s inability to bring uniform controlled heat transfer to their reflow process. This causes issues with solderability, non-wetting, opens, voiding, and over or under heating — the whole gamut. From what I see, products and components are becoming more challenging, not less. Conventional reflow processes are getting stretched thinner and thinner in their ability to handle these challenges, especially in lead-free reflow. By using the specific temperature vapor and condensation heat transfer method of vapor phase, these problems quite simply are eliminated. With all the advancements in vapor phase, why someone continues to suffer with reflow challenges on a traditional reflow oven is beyond me.
Q. Tell us about some of your custom equipment including your Controlled Temp Test Oven and Ultra-Sonic Workstation.
A. R&D Technical Services does a good amount of custom machine builds. These are very often one-up pieces in which we have been brought in to create machines to solve a particular problem for a customer. They seldom involve vapor phase and instead circle our other core strengths of heat management, control, flexibility and machine design. Often, they are a bit out of the ordinary and allow us to feed our need to create in areas outside of our everyday capabilities.
Q. This year at APEX, you introduced the newly enhanced V-Works 24 Vapor Phase Rework Station. Will you be making any additional updates to the system over the next year?
A. V-Works systems will continue to evolve as they find their place in the market. More and more people are seeing the benefits of bringing a more stable, capable mode of heat transfer in the form of vapor phase to their rework process. As always, the needs of these customers will determine the evolutionary path of vapor phase rework inside Vapor Works. Like vapor phase reflow, we currently tend to see the more difficult and problematic products in this first stage of its evolution. But also like vapor phase reflow, working with these difficult products first makes the strengths of the process clear. Vapor phase rework will continue to evolve and play a strong role in rework processes in the future.
Q. You recently redesigned your batch products to use less energy and fluid. How was this accomplished, and how will customers benefit from these changes?
A. By redesigning the vapor tank and control, we were able to use 24 percent less energy to accomplish perfect reflow. This same redesign allowed the batch systems to lower the fluid requirement by 60 percent. The obvious benefit to customers is a decreased cost of ownership without giving up any of the benefits of vapor phase.
Q. We understand that you are working on a radical new reflow section for your inline units that could reduce fluid usage drastically. How will this affect your product line?
A. Significantly. It will be another innovation in vapor phase technology for both the inline and batch line of products. This reflow section will be a radical departure from anything we or anyone else is doing in vapor phase. It will allow us to continue to use our saturated vapor technology with lower O2 levels, lower Delta Ts at peak temperatures and better uniformity during heat transfer than non-saturated vapor technology, while significantly reducing vapor usage. This, in-turn, lowers cost of ownership. Although it has been shown time and time again that vapor phase really does not cost more than convection reflow when you truly add all the data, if you couple this advancement with our recent energy use improvements, you can take the “cost” argument off of the table completely.
Q. Should we expect to see any other new innovations from R&D Technical Services during the remainder of 2010?
A. We have a few projects in the works but I suspect that from a design standpoint, V-Works rework stations and new reflow section designs will get the bulk of the attention over the next six months. Perhaps we will have something new to show at APEX 2011.
