ETON automated placement machine: breakthrough and innovation of domestic SMT equipment

In today's digital age, electronic products have become deeply integrated into every aspect of our lives. As a core technology in modern electronics manufacturing, SMT (surface mount technology) is leading the entire industry forward. Shenzhen eton Automation Equipment Co., Ltd., a leader in China's chip placement machine industry, has launched the Honor series of smart chip placement machines through independent research and development and innovation, breaking the foreign monopoly and achieving a technological leap for domestic chip placement machines.

SMT Technology: A Revolutionary Advance in Electronics Manufacturing

Surface Mount Technology (SMT) is an electronics assembly technique that directly attaches electronic components to the surface of a printed circuit board (PCB). Compared to traditional through-hole assembly, SMT offers significant advantages: it enables high-density assembly of electronic components, meeting the demand for miniaturization and lightweighting of electronic products; significantly improves production efficiency, enabling fully automated production processes through equipment such as fully automatic placement machines; and enhances product reliability and stability.

The core equipment in an SMT production line is the pick and place machine, an automated device that picks electronic components from a feeder and precisely places them on a PCB. Modern placement machines typically utilize multi-axis linkage technology, enabling high-speed and high-precision component placement. They are also equipped with advanced vision alignment systems that use image recognition of components and PCB pads to adjust the placement head's position and angle in real time.

ETON Honor Series Chip Mounters: Technical Specifications and Innovative Features

Eton Automation's Honor Series Chip Mounters represent the pinnacle of domestic SMT pick and place equipment. Incorporating numerous innovative technologies, this series boasts impressive key technical specifications:

Placement Accuracy: Leveraging its proprietary quantum vision positioning system and multi-dimensional dynamic compensation algorithm, placement accuracy is maintained at an exceptionally high ±0.02mm.

Drive System: The X, Y, and Z axes are driven by proprietary high-end micron-level magnetic levitation motors, while the R-axis utilizes an innovative 1-control-1 independent rotation system, enabling independent control of the angle of each component.

Placement Speed: The nozzle spacing is specifically set at 16mm, allowing both 8mm and 12mm feeders to simultaneously pick up and place components, achieving an efficient placement speed of 98,000 CPH

Energy Efficiency Innovation: The innovative use of a single-phase 220V power supply reduces energy consumption by 40%, reaching as low as 1kW/hour. These technical parameters have not only reached the level of international first-line brands, but some key parameters and manufacturing processes have even achieved international leading levels, marking that China's intelligent manufacturing has bid farewell to its previous follower attitude and is striding towards a new era of leading the world.

Core Technical Advantages of ETON Chip Mounters

High-Speed, High-Precision Placement Head Design

The Eton Honor Series YT202S placement machine utilizes a high-speed, universal, integrated placement head, capable of handling a wide range of components, from ultra-small 0201 chips to large 40mm x 40mm components. Equipped with a new fixed flying recognition camera, the machine improves recognition performance, expanding the reach of high-speed placement to components up to 40mm x 40mm, and accurately identifying ball grid array (BGA) and CSP components.

The placement head features a single head with 10 nozzles, offering a lightweight, compact design that combines high speed and versatility. Each nozzle has independent detection capabilities, and a vacuum sensor system enhances machine stability and product reliability.

Flexible Production Support System

The Honor Series placement machine's feeder trolley design offers exceptional flexibility: the double-sided feeder trolley has 32 positions for 64 trays (the single-sided feeder has 16 positions for 32 trays). The feeder trolley and IC backpack (optional) can be freely switched according to product needs. One-touch trolley replacement minimizes changeover time. The machine supports the YT series' universal dual-head intelligent feeder, which optically corrects component feed position during pickup, ensuring stable, accurate, and high-speed feeding.

Intelligent Identification and Stable Production

The ETON SMT pick-and-place machine utilizes a newly developed, independently developed high-precision placement head, incorporating an ultra-high-speed head recognition camera and a bottom-mounted flying recognition camera to ensure placement accuracy. The machine features independent vacuum detection for the nozzles, further ensuring stable material removal.

The software incorporates AI intelligent learning and automatic optimization capabilities, supports offline programming, and significantly shortens line changeover cycles. These intelligent features enable the Eton SMT pick-and-place machine to adapt to the flexible production needs of high-mix, small-batch production.

Efficient transport track system

The ETON YT202S SMT pick-and-place machine features a dual-arm, dual-head design, with each head equipped with 10 nozzles, for a total of 20 nozzles. The equipment boasts flexible PCB processing capabilities. Its dual-track structure allows simultaneous placement of very large PCBs by two arms, enabling flexible production.

With its modular placement heads and diverse production modes, it allows for flexible line configuration to meet the needs of diverse production scenarios.

Application Areas of Eton Chip Mounters

Eton Honor Series chip mounters have been successfully applied in a variety of high-end manufacturing fields, including:

Military and Aerospace: Meeting the high-reliability and high-precision requirements of military and aerospace electronic products

Semiconductors: Supporting the precision placement of various semiconductor packages

New Energy: Applied in the production of automotive electronics and new energy FPCs

Consumer Electronics: Meeting the efficient production needs of consumer electronics such as smartphones and tablets

Home Appliances: Providing high-quality PCB assembly solutions for home appliances

Smart Lighting: Particularly suitable for production lines of LED lighting products

Eton has become a strategic partner of leading global companies such as BYD, Midea, Shenzhen MTC, Jingwang Electronics, AECC, and China Electronics.

Eton Automation's Strength and Development History

Shenzhen Eton Automation Equipment Co., Ltd., established in 2011, is a manufacturer and process solutions provider specializing in the R&D, production, sales, and service of high-speed SMT placement machines and SMT peripheral automation equipment.

In 2020, the company established a 52,000-square-meter industrial park in Jiangxi, forming a two-wing development structure with its Shenzhen headquarters and Jiangxi Industrial Park manufacturing base. The Jiangxi Industrial Park is equipped with advanced processing and production equipment, independently integrating the entire industrial chain. From rough machining to precision parts fabrication, all precision components are independently developed and produced, ensuring compliance with international environmental constraints. The company boasts a 99% self-manufactured placement machine production rate.

Eton Automation is a National High-Tech Enterprise, a Municipal Specialized and Innovative Enterprise, and a Municipally Recognized Brand. It holds over 200 patents, including over 20 invention patents, over 50 software copyrights, and several internationally pioneering invention patents, ensuring complete intellectual property rights.

The Rise and Significance of Domestic SMT Equipment

Eton Automation's development represents a breakthrough in China's independent innovation in high-end equipment. In the past, the high-end SMT pick and place machine market was dominated by foreign brands, forcing domestic electronics manufacturers to invest heavily in imported equipment, which was not only costly but also posed supply chain security risks.

Through independent research and development, Eton has mastered core SMT machine technologies, addressing bottlenecks and becoming a leading domestic SMT manufacturer. The company has built a comprehensive technological innovation system and established China's first independent SMT machine industry chain base, achieving complete in-house research and development, from rough machining to precision parts manufacturing, from vision systems to intelligent servo motors.

This not only reduces equipment costs for domestic electronics manufacturers but also enhances the autonomy and controllability of China's electronics industry chain, making a significant contribution to national security and industrial development.

Future Outlook: SMT Technology Development Trends

With the rapid development of emerging technologies such as 5G communications, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and big data, higher requirements are being placed on the performance and functionality of electronic products. This will drive SMT technology towards ever-higher precision, higher integration, and greater reliability. The advancement of Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing will drive the transformation of SMT processing towards digitalization and intelligence. By incorporating technologies such as the Industrial Internet, big data, and cloud computing, comprehensive digital management of the SMT production process will be achieved, encompassing production planning and scheduling, equipment monitoring and maintenance, and quality traceability and analysis.

Increasing environmental protection requirements will also drive SMT companies to continuously innovate in green manufacturing. Adopting lead-free soldering processes, promoting environmentally friendly materials, and optimizing production processes to reduce energy consumption and waste emissions will become key areas of future development for SMT companies.

Conclusion

Through over a decade of technological accumulation and innovative breakthroughs, Eton Automation Equipment Co., Ltd. has successfully developed an internationally advanced SMT pick and place machine, providing a high-quality, cost-effective domestic alternative to traditional SMT machines for China's electronics manufacturing industry.

The Honor series of placement machines, with their exceptional performance in high speed, precision, and stability, not only meet the needs of domestic electronics manufacturers but are also exported to over 50 countries and regions worldwide, becoming a highly regarded new symbol of "Made in China" in the international market.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing restructuring of the global electronics manufacturing industry chain, Eton Automation will continue to lead the development of China's SMT equipment manufacturing industry, providing solid technical support for the innovation and upgrading of global electronic products, and promoting China's transformation from a manufacturing powerhouse to a manufacturing powerhouse.