SCHUNK Electronic Solutions launches the ILR-2200: A fully automated inline Depaneling machine that separates individual circuit boards from large entire PCBs (panel) using a milling module. The machine has a modular design, and it is the world’s first of its kind. “Electronics producers buy a cost-effective basic version and can retrofit the machine at any time with milling and gripping modules, a camera system or a second or third, printed circuit board handling that minimizes dead times,” explains Jochen Ehmer, Managing Partner of SCHUNK Electronic Solutions. “The machine grows with the needs of the companies. This flexibility makes companies ready for the Industry 4.0 era, in which production environments must become more agile.” The ILR-2200 will be available from mid-2018.

Short cycle times with a 0.02-millimetre positioning accuracy

Users of the ILR-2200 benefit from short cycle times. The panels reach the inside of the machine in less than two seconds via a linear motor passing switch. Here, a milling module separates the PCBs with an accuracy of +/- 0.1 millimetres. Due to linear motor axes and modern control technology, the modules reach a traverse speed of two meters per second for milling and ten meters per minute for sawing.

The separated circuit boards are laid onto a conveyor after separation using a gripper or into a shuttle system for further machining. The gripper works with a programmable angular position and achieves a positioning accuracy of +/- 0.02 millimetres. This corresponds to a third of the diameter of a human hair. This accuracy ensures that even fragile components are not damaged. As milling and sawing are simultaneously active in one Depaneling machine, it is unique on the market. “Through the eliminated set-up times and maintenance-free linear motor axes, the production flow rate increases,” says Ehmer.

Availability of over 98 percent

Users also benefit from fail safety and low energy costs. “The ILR-2200 Depaneling machine has a proven technical availability of over 98 percent,” says Ehmer. “And the power consumption of a two-shuttle version is only 800 watts – hardly more than the energy consumption of a microwave.”