Home | Portfolio | Inspiration | Thoughts
Interaction Design | Usability | Product Design
Arrow
 
Robotic Ball Attach System
Nortel Networks Semiconductor
Manufacturing automation (1999)
Time: 4 month internship
Techniques: interface design, mechanical design, software development, system design
Tools: autoCAD, visio, ladder logic, BASIC
Team: engineering intern (my role), engineering mentor

Design Objective:
Redesign a robotic semiconductor assembly system that attaches 352 three-quarter-millimeter spherical lead balls to the surface of a microchip. The goal is to improve speed, reliability, and automation.

Design Solution:
Introduce an automated sprayer to coat the balls in flux and a new pick and place piston assembly to remove the need for secondary processing. Reprogram new ball pickup and release sequences to improve reliability.

0.75 mm diameter solder balls
Result:
Cycle time was reduced by 50% and the need for operator intervention was further reduced. The robot was also programmed to perform a separate activity that replaced the task of one operator.
Ball Grid Array chip PLC ladder logic
Robot arm with PLC devices on table Semiconductor manufacturing clean room