Company S, which manufactures various types of inspection equipment, has begun developing a new model of circuit board inspection equipment that checks for continuity and short circuits in circuit boards. Mr. N, the manager of the company's development department, had this to say about the new inspection equipment:
"Until now, we used a stepping motor for the width-changing axis of the transfer conveyor, and an air cylinder to raise and lower the stage that holds the board in the inspection section. We were thinking of changing this raising and lowering mechanism to a motor in the new model as well.
"The pneumatic system requires the installation of dedicated equipment to supply air to the factory, which requires time and effort to design the piping and compressors, and the cost is not insignificant. Our customers also wanted to reduce the cost of capital investment. For these reasons, we decided that we needed to switch our inspection equipment to the electric system, which offers greater benefits." (Mr. N)
In order to realize the airless system, the development department of S company started to select the optimal stepping motor. However, Mr. N and other members of the development department ran into a problem.
"We considered replacing the mechanism that raises and lowers the stage that holds the substrate with a stepping motor to eliminate the need for air. However, if we attached a ball screw to the stepping motor, we would have had to attach accessories such as a pulley and coupling, which would have increased the L dimension and resulted in a larger mechanism. Since saving space was also a priority, we had to find an alternative solution," said N.
Mr. N and others in the development department at Company S continued to gather information.
While Mr. N, who had some issues, was attending an exhibition, he visited SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's booth and consulted with the person in charge about his issues.
After listening to Mr. N's issues, the SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. representative suggested the linear drive stepping motor "SANMOTION F5 ( 5-phase )."
"This model has a built-in ball screw in the stepping motor, which eliminates the need for accessories such as a ball screw, pulley or coupling, and significantly reduces the L dimension. Compared to the mechanism we were initially considering, we were able to reduce the space required to incorporate the motor. The torque was sufficient, and because the stepping motor comes to a complete stop, we were able to improve the positioning accuracy of the lift stage compared to air. Above all, SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. had a proven track record in other departments of our company, so the evaluation process for deciding to adopt them went smoothly." (Mr. N)
Company S soon decided to adopt SANMOTION F5 ( 5-phase ), incorporating it into their new model of circuit board inspection equipment and successfully completing the development.
"As expected, we were able to miniaturize the mechanism and improve positioning accuracy, which has improved cycle time by 1.2 to 1.5 times compared to the pneumatic model. Customers have commented that it has eliminated the need to consider piping design for pneumatic equipment, reduced restrictions on installation locations, and improved productivity. We look forward to asking SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. for various help in the future." (Mr. N)
For more information about stepping motors, please see "What is a stepping motor? An explanation of its structure, types, usage (drive system and control method), advantages and features."
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