PCB prototyping – simple, flexible, fast!

Wertheim, 25.09.2019

After the first meeting at this year´s SMTconnect, LPKF Laser & Electronics AG and Ersa GmbH followed up with their first jointly organized technology seminar on 24 September in Wertheim. LPKF – almost 700 employees, turnover 102.1 million Euro in 2017 and based in Garbsen near Hanover – develops and provides laser manufacturing solutions, e.g. for use in electronics production. Ersa is the no.1 system supplier for electronics production. This is an excellent basis for an event on in-house PCB prototyping with the title “From the idea to a prototype – simple, fast and flexible”.

Bruno Blum, Key Account Manager Rapid PCB Prototyping at LPKF, gave an overview on the broad spectrum of PCB prototyping, which ranges from PCB structuring using lasers and circuit board plotters to through-hole plating and solder paste application. He explained the advantages of in-house solutions with LPKF hardware such as the ProtoMat D104 or S104 circuit board plotter. Above all, of course, there is the greater flexibility to produce a PCB prototype whenever required – whether digital or analog, one- or two-sided in FR3/FR4, multilayers consisting of up to eight layers, RF and microwave prototype or flexible circuits. Downstream processes such as solder resist, solder paste printing, semi-automatic pick & place and table-top reflow ovens were also discussed. This was followed by an entertaining lecture by Prof. Dr. Francesco P. Volpe (TH Aschaffenburg) on rapid prototyping based on the LPKF ProtoMat S64, which was used to realize a high-end headphone amplifier and a USB audio stick.

Ersa Area Sales Manager Manfred Wolff finally presented components, materials and soldering processes in prototyping – also in connection with an optimal use of Ersa equipment such as soldering irons, soldering and desoldering stations to create reliable solder joints. In the afternoon the group moved to the adjacent application center, where practical demonstrations were held using hardware previously introduced in the presentations. There was also great interest in the Ersa hybrid rework system product range, which enables successful rework from the smallest chip (01005) to the largest BGA right from the very first process. “The development of new products requires iteration steps in the shortest possible time. The participants of our tech seminar got to know new ways on how to move from the idea to the finished electronic product in a fast and cost-efficient way,” explains Jörg Nolte, Product Manager Soldering Tools, Rework and Inspection Systems with Ersa. Like his colleagues, he is open for a continuation of these technology seminars.