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2007-09-25 Manufacturing News
Plastics Ability to Withstand
Lead Free Soldering
Spectrum Plastics fabricates LED open cavity packaging that withstands
lead free soldering using liquid crystal polymer from Ticona.
Injection molded LED packages for high-brightness lighting applications
must withstand temperatures above 260°C during lead free soldering
and be produced in fine detail with great precision. To gain these abilities
for the millions of LED open-cavity packages it produces each year, Spectrum
Plastics, Ansonia, Conn., USA, a business of Barnes Group Inc., turned
to the Vectra* S series liquid crystal polymers (LCP) from Ticona, the
engineering polymers business of Celanese Corporation.
The Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE:B) is an international aerospace and industrial
components manufacturing and distribution company.
The high-flow of Vectra S grades produces LED packages having complex
geometries and tight tolerances in packages with typical outline dimensions
of 2 to 7 mm square. These resins also withstand temperatures well above
300°C, undergo minimal dimensional change in molding and end use,
and have negligible outgassing so their volatiles do not fog lenses or
degrade contacts.
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Spectrum
LED open cavity packages on lead frames using Vectra LCP
from Ticona. Click
Here for High resolution image. photo: Spectrum |
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Spectrum Plastics injection molds LED open cavity packaging made of Vectra
LCP on strips of lead frames in a continuous process using its proprietary
reel-to-reel technology. LED producers then place dies that serve as the
light source in the cavities and perform other operations before stamping
the completed package out of the strip. Vectra LCP for use in sensor housings
and other electronics. (See Photo at Right)
“Polymer performance is critical for our high-brightness and ultra-high-brightness
LED cavities, which are often used in applications such as automotive
lighting, consumer electronics and mobile phone handsets and must perform
reliably for the life of the product,” says Rob Zimmerman, manager
new technology development at Spectrum Plastics.
“Vectra S resins give us a unique set of capabilities,” he
says. “Unlike most other materials, including other LCPs, they provide
a wide thermal margin during lead-free reflow soldering. They also give
us high yields at high volumes for they have a wide processing window,
rapid cycle time and create almost no flash.”
Spectrum Plastics fabricates LED packages in a continuous molding process
using its proprietary reel-to-reel technology, which overmolds open cavities
onto strips of lead frames in a multi-station line using multi-cavity
tools. The customer then populates the cavities with dies that serve as
the light source, wire bonds the unit, adds a lens (also molded by Spectrum),
and stamps the completed package out of the strip. Spectrum is the largest
U.S. reel-to-reel molder. As a global supplier of precision injection
molded thermoplastic parts, it provides design, tooling, prototyping and
full-scale production.
Spectrum molds the lenses from an optical grade of silicone rubber that
withstands reflow soldering. In a process it innovated, it overmolds lenses
on metal rings on a stainless steel strip. The ring supports the lens
when the customer assembles it to the LCP cavities. The use of lead frame
molding principles provides for a high-volume, automated process that
minimizes part handling and enhances quality.
* Vectra is a registered trademark of Ticona Engineering Polymers or its
affiliates.
Read a recent press release about - New engineering
plastics developed by BASF markedly reduce the risk that electronic
components will malfunction due to contact with moisture or oil.
Polymer
Engineering Jobs - Post Employment Opportunity!
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