Universal Instruments Corporation

John A Kukowski

Michael D Snyder

Stanley W Janisiewicz

Henry J Soth

William H Gay

A multi-spindle pick and place head is moveable in X and Y in order to pick up a group of components simultaneously, one component per spindle, at a pick station and to transport them to a placement station at which the components are placed simultaneously on corresponding placement sites of a printed circuit board. Each spindle or the whole head is moveable in Z, as required. Each component may be 'SCOT' processed (e.g., squared, centered, oriented and/or tested) while on the spindle and during transport to the placement site. In another embodiment, two multi-spindle heads may operate in parallel, along with a separate 'SCOT' station intermediate of the pick and place stations, such that one head transports a group of components from the pick station to the 'SCOT' station for processing and the other head transports at least part of that group of processed components from the 'SCOT' station to the placement station. In both of these embodiments, each spindle may be further translatable in X and Y, relative to the head of the multi-spindle head, in order to compensate for discrepancies between 'nominal' and 'actual' patterns of pick and/or placement sites. Vision systems common to the industry may be located at the pick station, place station, 'SCOT' station, and/or on the moveable head, as required.

Multi-spindle pick and place method and apparatus

Under direction of a machine controller, conveyor mounted clips sequentially present electrical components to an unload station while holding the components by their leads, and the components are centered relative to a loader assembly by lateral displacement of the clip relative to a loader axis. Thereafter, a loader assembly clamps the leads of the component and transfers the component to a load station and into engagement with the jaws of an insertion head. The loader assembly is then actuated to drive the leads of the component into the jaws of the insertion head for subsequent insertion of the leads into holes of a printed circuit board. The component, gripped in the jaws of the insert head, is oriented about an insert axis, according to a controller and prior to insertion. Having inserted a component into a circuit board, the tooling assembly of the insertion head is designed to withdraw from the inserted component with a minimal amount of clearance needed between the inserted component and a previously inserted component.

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Johnson City, NY, United States of America

John A Kukowski