-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- smt007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueBox Build
One trend is to add box build and final assembly to your product offering. In this issue, we explore the opportunities and risks of adding system assembly to your service portfolio.
IPC APEX EXPO 2024 Pre-show
This month’s issue devotes its pages to a comprehensive preview of the IPC APEX EXPO 2024 event. Whether your role is technical or business, if you're new-to-the-industry or seasoned veteran, you'll find value throughout this program.
Boost Your Sales
Every part of your business can be evaluated as a process, including your sales funnel. Optimizing your selling process requires a coordinated effort between marketing and sales. In this issue, industry experts in marketing and sales offer their best advice on how to boost your sales efforts.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - smt007 Magazine
Why Medtech Manufacturers Should Automate Fluid Dispensing Operations
January 12, 2016 | Kelvin Fernandez, Nordson EFDEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Researching, designing, developing, and manufacturing medical devices is an exact science. Consequently, fluids used to manufacture medical devices must be dispensed according to scientific principles—especially as devices shrink, parts are closer together, and substrates become more fragile and more prone to contamination. To address these challenges, medtech manufacturers are increasingly turning to the use of robotic dispensing technologies.
Used for bonding, gasketing, filling, lubricating, and sealing, the fluids used in medical device applications range from thick to thin. They can be two-part combinations, viscosity changing, or light curable. In addition, they can be dispensed in single or batch processes or in volume manufacturing operations using fully automated in-line systems. Whether they are used for R&D or prototyping purposes or in low-volume or high-volume production, fluids can be dispensed most precisely, reliably, and repeatedly using automated dispensing systems, enabling manufacturers to save materials, time, labor, and resources.
However, the transition from manual to automated fluid dispensing is more involved than simply deciding to automate. Determining what to automate is key. Thus, manufacturers considering the shift to automated dispensing should look closely at their entire process to ascertain whether automating a part of it will help them to improve safety, performance, product quality, reliability, or productivity.
Contact vs. Non-contact Dispensing
Two methods are commonly employed to dispense process fluids: contact dispensing, in which fluids are dispensed using a dispensing tip, and non-contact dispensing, in which fluids are commonly jetted. A manufacturer should choose one or the other depending on the viscosity and consistency of the fluid and the application requirements.
While contact dispensing produces much smaller deposit sizes than non-contact dispensing, the dispensing tip must be placed close enough to the part so that the fluid can make contact with the tip and part at the same time. In automated dispensing processes, this method is more time-consuming than the non-contact method because the tip must be lowered onto the dispensing area and retracted before it is moved to the next dispensing point.
In contrast, non-contact dispensing accelerates the process because the jetting action does not require automation to lower and raise the tip along the z-axis. Thus, the cycling of the jetting valve—which is usually piezoelectric—is performed at much faster speeds and higher cycle rates than tip dispensing can achieve, allowing for greater cycle time savings.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the January 2016 issue of SMT Magazine.
Suggested Items
Mycronic to Showcase More Versatile, High-productivity Assembly Solutions at IPC APEX EXPO 2024
03/27/2024 | MycronicMycronic, the leading Sweden-based electronics assembly solutions provider, will continue to respond to growing customer demand for high-flexibility, high-productivity solutions for zero-defect PCB assembly at IPC APEX EXPO 2024 in Anaheim, CA on April 9 - 11.
Essemtec Exhibiting at IPC APEX Expo at Booth 2409
03/12/2024 | EssemtecEssemtec presents its agile dispensing platform on the TARANTULA machine. The machine can be equipped with five different valves, for a comprehensive range of dispensing applications such as Solder Paste and SMT Glue, LED Encapsulation, Silver Epoxy, Dam, and Underfill.
PVA to Showcase Advanced Conformal Coating and Dispensing Solutions at productronica China 2024
02/27/2024 | PVAPVA, a global supplier of automated dispensing and coating equipment, is excited to announce its participation in productronica China 2024, one of the leading trade fairs for electronics development and production, scheduled to take place from March 20-22, 2024, at the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC).
Hernon Manufacturing Redefines Pipe Thread Sealant Dispensing with Autobond® Line
02/27/2024 | Hernon Manufacturing, Inc.Hernon is pleased to offer its Autobond® line of dispensers, specifically designed for the precise application of sealants. The Autobond® line of dispensers, developed by Hernon's equipment division, is engineered to deliver metered amounts of sealant directly to male fittings, ensuring accurate and efficient application while minimizing product waste.
PVA Discusses PathMaster X Programming Software at SMTA Dallas Expo & Tech Forum
02/23/2024 | PVAPVA, a global supplier of automated dispensing and coating equipment, is excited to announce its participation in the upcoming SMTA Dallas Expo & Tech Forum, taking place Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at the Plano Event Center in Plano, Texas.