Patent ID: 6618935
Filing Date: 2003-09-16
Classification: H05K,Y10T

Abstract:
A method for equipping substrates with components, the method comprising the steps of:providing at least two equipping locations, each including a plurality of components held in a delivery unit and an equipping head for taking the plurality of components from the delivery unit for placement onto a substrate; creating a theoretical model for operation of the equipping heads; determining an equipping program on the basis of the theoretical model; controlling each of the equipping heads with the equipping program, whereby the program allocates equipping locations and components to be placed on a substrate at the respective equipping locations; identifying an equipping time during an equipping process controlled by the equipping program; measuring an actual equipping time of the equipping heads; adapting the theoretical model on the basis of the measured actual equipping time; comparing the actual equipping time to a time stored in the equipping program and calculating a time difference between the stored time and the actual equipping time; comparing the calculated time difference to a time span stored in the equipping program; deriving an updated equipping program that allocates between the equipping locations and components to be placed at the respective equipping locations, wherein the updated equipping program is modified compared to the equipping program according to the time difference; and subsequently controlling the equipping process for further substrates according to the updated equipping program.