GTEC UK

We have many years of expertise in manufacturing high density PCB assemblies and surface mount products that use BGA and Leadless devices (BGA devices, QFN, DFN Devices). Our combined technical knowledge and class leading tools allow customers to a higher technology manufacturing capability at a cost effective price point.

We are a technically advanced manufacturer of complex technology PCB assemblies for high realiability products from prototype to production.

• Experienced in BGA & Leadless device assembly.
  
• Solder Jet Printing Technology.
• 100% Stencil Free company.
• Plasma Vapour Phase Reflow Process for high density PCBs.
  
• ERSAscope optical inspection & 3D X-ray inspection.
• Placement of BGA, QFN, DFN type devices, from 1 off upwards.
• Controlled removal/rework, if ever required.
• Re-balling of faulty or used devices.
• No stencil manufacturing, allows quick set-up & no tooling costs.

Typically the products we manufacture have multiple BGA and leading edge Leadless devices. (i.e. Micro BGA, DFN, QFN etc) These products are for the professional HD broadcast sector, network and data cards for telecoms sectors, transportation equipment and high performance embedded computers.

BGA capability. Placement & removal for fast turn prototypes.

We utilise the latest ERSA IR650 technology to remove and place BGA, Leadless, flip-chip and fine pitch devices for prototype and development boards. Our ERSA placement system allows us to work with large PCB sizes up to 460 mm x 560 mm, the advanced software capability allows us to build custom thermal data for repeatable placements.

This is a highly controlled and non-destructive process that uses IR reflow.

One of the key advantages is the ability to set up and begin the placement of complex BGA devices without the need for a costly stencil. Items that do require paste can be quickly passed along our solder jet paste line, as this requires no stencil tooling.

BGA & Leadless device inspection:

Typically we use ERSA optical inspection tools for real-time inspection of devices,

providing clear and concise confirmation of our process control.

X-TEK - 3D X-ray inspection

We also have 3D pan & tilt X-Ray, allowing for 3 dimensional inspection , i.e. finding collapsed spheres under BGA devices. Using a range of proven controlled processing techniques together with inspection Gemini to provide additional product guarantees on all PCB assemblies.

Solder Jet Paste Technology for stencil free printing

The MY500 (from MYDATA) was released at APEX 2008. Gemini Tec Ltd are the only UK based CEM to introduce 'Solder Jet Printing' for the application of solder paste across its entire manufacturing process. Using a revolutionary technology for solder paste application the MY 500 jets solder paste on the fly without touching the PCB at a rate of 1.8 million dots per hour - suited to high technology PCB assembly and device types.

It is widely accepted within the PCB assembly market that 80% of errors on PCB's are due to solder paste related defects. This stencil free process eliminates typical problems such as placement of the solder paste, missing paste and the correct volume of solder paste. Areas that lead to poor product quality products and lost of re-work.

The use of Solder Jet Printing (a stencil free process) has many distinct advantages over the use of traditional 'Stencils' in the manufacture of PCB assemblies. There is no longer a need to order, wait for, clean, store or handle stencils, drastically minimizing the cost, time and materials. Instead of waiting for a stencil to be made and shipped, Gemini simply tool direct from the CAD data to set up a new program. It also ends the need for harsh cleaning chemicals that are damaging to employees and the environment.

Technical Advantages of Solder Jet Printing

The use of our MY500 Solder Jet Paste application removes the technical constraints to successfully soldering package devices such as QFN, DFN, BGA and micro BGA devices.

This change in technology translates to high reliability solder joints, for every device on the board, regardless of the mix of parts.

• Downtime is minimised by removing the errors of un-soldered pins on complex SMT components.
• 100% repeatability when depositing solder paste onto PCB footprints.
• A process that is also checked optically (AOI) during the application of the paste.

This stencil free process can apply solder paste dots small enough to reflow the finest pitch mainstream component packages in use today. It is not uncommon for us to build boards with over 10 BGA and leadless devices per assembly. All these solder joint fulfills IPC SM-782A requirements.

Our MY500 allows the solder paste to be tailored to the exact requirements of each device on the PCB, ensuring the formation of a optimum solder joint. A process that is not achievable, when using conventional 'stencils'.

Solder Jet Printing with our MY500 does not require the ongoing investment into traditional 'Stencils'. It is a stencil free process.

• No conventional stencils that quickly become obsolete.
• No need to purchase stencils.
• No new stencils, when making PCB tacking changes.

The tooling can often be a major cost factor for prototype PCBs, with SMT devices on both sides. Thankfully with our stencil free process these costs can be saved, allowing a commercial advantage.

Due to the short time frame for setting up new products, we can continue to offer our rapid prototyping service for high mix technology products.

Download a technical white paper on Solder Jet Printing courtesy of MYDATA.