Ramaer install PAL

Citation

(2008), "Ramaer install PAL", Circuit World, Vol. 34 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/cw.2008.21734aab.002

Ramaer install PAL

Ramaer install PAL

Times change, and the prudent companies change with them. Those who are familiar with the company which is now the largest PCB manufacturer in The Netherlands will know what steps they have taken, but there are many who are maybe less well informed. Ramaer has provenance, has resilience, has fortitude, and has some sound technical management, which has enabled it to capitalise on some prudent capital investment over recent years. As a result it is now extremely well-placed to respond to the demands of a radically changed market, and here is a company that delivers excellence within pre-determined timeframes and to predetermined quality standards.

No stranger to adversity, Ramaer not only successfully overcame a disastrous fire nine years ago, an event which would have seen lesser companies going to the wall, but they also regained their full independence in 2001, 40 years after their foundation. It is often said that one person's disaster is another person's challenge, and here true Dutch resilience triumphed.

Ramaer took standards for PCB manufacture to a new high some eight years ago, when it sagaciously opted for semi-automated status for their plant in Helmond. That may well have been back in the halcyon days of strong European production, but a visitor cannot help but be impressed by the foresight that saw the installation equipment then that has great relevance now. Certainly they have not relaxed, they have, for example bought in ink-jet notation equipment; they offer a compleat range of surface finishes; they have invested extensively in AOI; have complimented their drilling capacity with no less than four single-spindle high-speed Pluritec machines and have outsourced test, all with fine results. Further, investment encompasses a replacement of curtain coating of LPISM with an air-spray system, and they are looking a new X-ray inspection line.

Figure 1 The PAL line at Ramaer

What they have recently installed, and one may observe it filling the main production hall, is a new Process Automation Limited (PAL) desmear/ low build/strike/semi-panel line (Figure 1). Here, is the result of a demand from a company with some very specific requirements. Horizontal plating lines are all very well, but the operating and maintenance costs are extremely high, and they are inflexible for small batch work, so Ramaer wanted a new, conventional, vertical plating line. About 60 percent of the Ramaer customer base is outside The Netherlands, with German and the UK as their main markets. The move to high-end had led to their customers specifying many different materials, such that no less than 32 variations of copper-clad laminate may be held in stock. They needed a flexible line that would comfortably handle small lot sizes, in two standard panel sizes, where there would be some 70 batches per day,. Their average order is for 15 panels and with a production lead time of ten-five days when demand insists, flexibility is key. The boards at Ramaer are all very high-layer count, and they had found so many disadvantages with direct metallisation that they had moved back to chemical copper, which they find provides the most consistent quality and yield for the small holes, the high aspect ratio, and the different materials being plated.

The PAL line at Ramaer is designed to produce 1,650 panels per 22h day, and includes the PAL “SST” Random load software, the “ORS” rinse water minimisation system, and is also provisioned for ultrasonic agitation, which will utilise PAL's entrapped air release system. The line at Ramaer has a fully automated and conveyorised load/unload, with camera recognition, and fully automated shielding for inconsistent plating windows.

To assist them with the complexity of small batch loading, and inconsistent flight bar load utilisation PAL have incorporated a specially designed additional shielding, into their already world renowned, patented, system whereby excellent distribution can be automatically obtained with varying flight bar loading (non-full plating windows) without the need for dummy plating as would be normal practice to allow even plating.

For further information, please visit the web site: www.palhk.com