Illinois Tool Works Inc.

Kenneth J King

William A Losiewicz

James J Lynch

Patsy Anthony Mattero

Bruce C Seaton

Matthew F Schumacher

Dennis G Doyle

Joseph A Perault

John George Klauser

Blake T Monjar

Thomas C Prentice

Michael E Donelan

Zhuoyun Li

A cover of a stencil printer is hingedly mounted to a frame, and movable between a closed and open positions. The cover includes an elongate opening formed therein and a movable door configured to selectively close the elongate opening. The elongate opening is sized to enable the stencil and/or a tooling tray to pass through. A controller is configured to control movement of the movable door between a closed position and an open position. A sensor assembly is proximate the elongate opening. The sensor assembly is coupled to the controller and configured to detect an object within the elongate opening when moving the movable door to the closed position. The sensor is configured to generate a signal to the controller when detecting an object within the elongate opening. The controller, upon receiving the signal from the sensor, is configured to move the movable door to the open position.

Stencil printer cover having movable door with closing feature

A stencil printer includes a frame, a stencil, a support assembly, and a print head, and a print head assembly supported by the print head gantry in such a manner that the print head assembly is configured to traverse the stencil during print strokes. The support assembly supports the electronic substrate in a print position beneath the stencil. The print head assembly includes a print head a squeegee blade assembly configured to roll solder paste along the stencil. The stencil printer further includes a cover coupled to the frame to enclose operating components of the stencil printer, including the stencil, the support assembly, the print head gantry and the print head assembly. The cover includes an elongate opening formed therein and a movable door configured to selectively close the elongate opening. The elongate opening is sized to enable the stencil and/or a tooling tray to pass through.

Stencil printer cover

A system is provided to align a movable cart to an assembly apparatus. The assembly apparatus has at least one item of a plurality of items for replacement within the assembly apparatus. The assembly apparatus includes a docking station. The movable cart is configured to receive a used item and/or provide a new item to the assembly apparatus. The movable cart includes an interface configured to dock within the docking station of the assembly apparatus. The system includes a sensor associated with one of the assembly apparatus and the movable cart and a laser associated with the other of the assembly apparatus and the movable cart. The sensor and the laser are configured to align the movable cart with the assembly apparatus after an initial docking of the movable cart within the docking station of the assembly apparatus.

System and method for aligning a movable cart to an assembly apparatus

A stencil printer is configured to print an assembly material on an electronic substrate. The stencil printer includes a frame, a stencil coupled to the frame, a support assembly coupled to the frame, and a print head gantry coupled to the frame. The print head gantry includes an elongate beam that rides along rails provided on the frame and a print head assembly supported by the print head gantry in such a manner that the print head assembly is configured to traverse the stencil during print strokes. The print head assembly includes a print head having a squeegee blade assembly configured to roll solder paste along the stencil. The stencil printer further includes a solder paste bead recovery system configured to remove a bead of solder paste from a top surface of the stencil and to deposit the bead of solder paste onto a new replacement stencil.

Solder paste bead recovery system and method

A movable cart includes a housing configured to move along a horizontal surface and a plurality of shelves supported by the housing Each shelf of the plurality of shelves is configured to move between a retracted in which the shelf is positioned within the housing and an extended position in which the shelf extends from the housing. The movable cart further includes a sensing system configured to determine whether each shelf of the plurality of shelves is in the retracted position and a type of item supported by the shelf. Other aspects of the movable cart are further disclosed.

Systems and methods for improving reliability of replacing items in a stencil printer

A paste dispensing transfer system of a stencil printer is configured to print an assembly material on an electronic substrate. The transfer system includes a paste cartridge mechanism coupled to a print head assembly of the stencil printer, and a rotary indexing mechanism coupled to a frame of the stencil printer. The paste dispensing transfer system is configured to transfer a used paste cartridge from the print head assembly to the rotary indexing mechanism supported by the frame and to transfer a new paste cartridge from the rotary indexing mechanism to the print head assembly.

Paste dispensing transfer system and method for a stencil printer

A stencil printer includes a stencil, a material applicator to apply material on the stencil, and a stencil wiper assembly to selectively wipe the stencil. The stencil wiper assembly includes has a quick-change material module having a supply roller to receive a roll of material, a take-up roller to receive used material, a drive to move the material across the stencil from the supply roller to the take-up roller, and a controllable tension device configured to vary a tension of the material when driving the material from the supply roller to the take-up roller.

Stencil printer having controllable tension device for a stencil wiper assembly and method of controlling tension

A stencil printer includes an electronic substrate support configured to support an electronic substrate and move the electronic substrate between a lowered position and a raised position. The stencil printer further includes a stencil shuttle assembly configured to support a stencil and to move the stencil between a first position in which the stencil is positioned toward a front of the stencil printer and a second position in which the stencil is positioned toward a back of the stencil printer. The stencil printer further includes a print head configured to engage the stencil to dispense a material onto the substrate during a print stroke. The stencil printer further includes a drive assembly configured to move the print head to perform the print stroke and configured to selectively move the stencil shuttle frame between the first and second positions.

Stencil printer having stencil shuttle assembly

A stencil printer for printing viscous material on an electronic substrate includes a stencil having apertures formed therein, and a print head positioned over the stencil and configured to deposit viscous material within the apertures of the stencil. The print head includes a housing defining an elongate chamber, a source port defining a passage having an inlet positioned to allow viscous material to flow into the elongate chamber, a pair of blades defining a slot that provides an outlet from which viscous material can flow out of the elongate chamber, an elongate plunger movable in the elongate chamber to reduce a volume of viscous material within the elongate chamber, and at least one sensor to detect pressure of the viscous material within the elongate chamber.

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East Freetown, MA, United States of America

Kenneth J King