DUAL TRACK STENCILING SYSTEM WITH SOLDER GATHERING HEAD

摘要

A dual track stencil system (30) includes a first set of rails (22, 24) and a second set of rails (26, 28), each of the rails being independently controlled for allowing independent movement of circuit boards through the stencil system for processing. The stencil system includes a working area (37), at which the circuit boards are stenciled. A stencil, having two patterns, each aligned with a respective working area of each track is suspended above the dual track system. In one embodiment, a solder dispensing unit including a squeegee arm (35) is suspended above the stencil, parallel to and centered between the two tracks. During operation, a circuit board enters the working area, is raised to engage with the stencil, and the squeegee arm (35) traverses that portion of the stencil pattern currently engaging the board, thereby dispensing solder through the pattern and stenciling the board. The stencil system operates to process two boards on one track before advancing to the second track for processing another pair of boards. In another embodiment, the solder dispensing unit includes a squeegee arm (35) with a solder gathering head (32). During operation using the squeegee arm (35) with the solder gathering head (32), two circuit boards are fed to the working area, and both of the circuit boards are serially processed, with excess solder being removed from the board after the processing of each of the boards.