Abstract:
A method and apparatus are disclosed for releasing solder spheres during the locating and/or placing of a pattern of conductive preforms  32  on a respective pattern of electronic pads  14  on a receiving substrate  12  for such uses as a Ball Grid Array component  24 . The release mechanisms are of either compliant mechanical  11,  vibratory  90,  air pressure  100  or  120 , or sound pressure waves  140 . Additionally, a method and apparatus is disclosed for the electrical inspection for presence or absence of the complete pattern of conductive preforms.

Description:
This ia a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/789,883 filed Jan. 28, 1997. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates in general to the field of conductive preform placement systems for surface mount technology, and in particular to a method and apparatus for the release and optional inspection of a pattern of conductive preforms from a locating mechanism onto electronic pads that are on a receiving substrate such as for a ball grid array (BGA) applicator. The general concept of a release mechanism for a conductive preform placement and/or locating apparatus is taught in the parent patent application. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Conventional methods for manufacturing surface mount components, or for manufacturing circuit supporting substrates for surface mount components, typically include methods for placing conductive preforms, e.g., solder balls, solder spheres, and preformed solder bumps, on electronic pads arranged in a predetermined placement pattern that is sometimes called a ball grid array (BGA). 
     A known method for placing conductive preforms on electronic pads on a substrate utilizes a locating plate placed over the electronic pads on the substrate to guide the conductive preforms to drop through a pattern of openings within the locating plate onto the electronic pads. The electronic pads having been pre-deposited with solder paste, the conductive preforms then adhere to the electronic pads via the solder paste. It is also recognized in the art that flux, conductive epoxy, or other tacky mediums may be used to temporarily secure the conductive preforms to the electronic pads prior to permanent attachment. During a reflow operation, the conductive preforms fuse to the electronic pads on the substrate. 
     The first known method of releasing the conductive preforms from the locating plate is using the tackiness of the tacky medium to pull the conductive preforms from the openings in the locating plate during separation of the locating plate and the substrate. This method does not ensure the conductive preforms are dislodged from the locating plate. 
     A second known method utilizes a hot-air knife to reflow the conductive preforms while using the locating plate to maintain alignment of the conductive preforms to the electronic pads of the substrate. This method additionally suffers from a hot-air knife, reflow heating step that unevenly distributes heat over the solder balls in the stencil plate. Further, the heating step applied while the conductive preforms are in the locating plate may cause the conductive preforms to melt and adhere to the locating plate. Further, the conductive preforms may change shape to geometrically couple themselves to the locating plate and cause manufacturing defects with missing solder spheres or long term reliability risks with lifted pads. Furthermore, a heating-knife motion control mechanism can be expensive. 
     A third known method for placing solder balls on electronic pads on a substrate utilizes tubes to hold the solder balls over the electronic pads. Each tube applies a vacuum force to hold a solder ball to the end of the tube. After locating the tubes holding the solder balls over the electronic pads, the solder balls are placed on the electronic pads by removing the vacuum force from the tubes and vertically vibrating the tubes to release the solder balls onto the electronic pads. This is actually moving the tube, not applying an externally sourced vibrational energy to the tube. 
     The apparatus for this third method tends to be complicated and can be expensive to produce and maintain. Since the conductive preforms are placed sequentially, the process is not conducive to cycle time. It also may not be suitable for micro-BGA placement where the pitch of the pads is very fine and requires tight tolerances in locating the solder spheres. The vibrations are used to break any static energy which would hold the solder sphere to the tube, but does not apply forces to positively separate the conductive preforms from the tube. 
     A fourth known method for placing conductive preforms on electronic pads on a substrate is taught in the original application which utilizes a vacuum system coupled to conductive preform locating apparatus sometimes referred to as a placement head. The placement head consists of a vacuum block and a locating plate, where the locating plate includes a pattern of openings. Each opening provides a vacuum force to lift a conductive preform into each opening. After locating the pattern of openings holding the conductive preforms proximate the pattern of electronic pads, the conductive preforms are placed on the electronic pads by removing the vacuum force from the tubes and using a tacky media to release the solder balls onto the electronic pads. A fifth known method for placing conductive preforms onto electronic pads uses preforms, where the preforms temporarily hold a pattern of conductive preforms within a removable holder. The use of preforms is not conducive to high volume production of these devices. Additionally, the current removable holder is of water soluble material and requires exposure to water for removal. It is not conducive to subject the said components to moisture, as this yields manufacturing defects and long term reliability risks. The entrapped moisture expands during the reflow process and the expansion of moisture trapped between the Integrated Circuit (IC) and the die attach pad causes them to separate. 
     It is known that tacky medium such as flux paste is used to remove the conductive preforms from the locating apparatus and temporarily couple the conductive preforms proximate the electronic pads. Since the forces tend to separate the conductive preform from the electronic pad, the conductive preform is generally suspended within the tacky medium. When the tacky medium is heated, as required by the securing process, the conductive preforms are known to float off the electronic pads and sometimes fuse with adjacent conductive preforms creating a defect. The use of Ball Grid Array technology is increasing as the advantages of the interconnect process are recognized. Two primary methods are used to assemble the components: 1) placing the spheres through a locating plate and 2) picking up the conductive preforms using vacuum, and generally placing them within a locating plate then transferring them to the component. A recognized problem in the high volume manufacturing process of these components is the assurance of the completeness of the pattern of conductive preforms. It is known that the completeness of the pattern is dependent upon ensuring a conductive preform is positioned within each of the locating mechanisms and subsequently transferred to the respective electronic pad. The current inspection systems utilize vision which is costly and time consuming. It is also known that the conductive preforms tend to float off the electronic pads when simply placed upon the tacky media during the curing process. The preferred separation process would include a means to position the conductive preforms against the electronic pads, where the conductive preform would not float off the electronic pad during heating. 
     What is desirable is a mechanism to ensure completeness of a pattern of conductive preforms, the separation between the conductive preform locating apparatus (locating plate, etc.) and the conductive preforms, depositing the conductive preforms onto a tacky media, and preferably locating the conductive preform proximate the electronic pad. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One aspect of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for placing and/or locating a pattern of conductive preforms onto a corresponding pattern of electronic pads. The apparatus comprises a conductive preform locating mechanism which includes a means of creating a pattern of conductive preforms from a unorganized volume of conductive preforms. It can be recognized that one skilled in the art may apply the invention to any of the above mentioned or other methods for the location and/or placement of conductive preforms recognizing the spirit and intent of the present invention. 
     Another aspect of the present invention includes a means to position an individual conductive preform in a respective locating mechanism within the conductive preform locating apparatus. The sum of the locating mechanisms create a pattern of locating mechanisms within the conductive preform locating apparatus to mimic the pattern of electronic pads on the receiving substrate. 
     Another aspect of the present invention is the ability to separate the pattern of conductive preforms from the pattern of locating mechanisms within the conductive preform locating apparatus by placing a releasing mechanism proximate the pattern of locating mechanisms and either directly or indirectly providing a releasing force to the conductive preforms. The releasing force may be of mechanical means (as described in the original patent application), a compliant mechanical means, vibrational energy, bulk air pressure, directed air pressure, directed sound pressure waves, etc. 
     Another aspect of the mechanical release embodiments of the present invention is the ability to utilize the release mechanism as a means to use electronic circuitry to inspect for completeness of the pattern of conductive preforms. 
     Another aspect of the present invention is the ability to include this invention in a manual, semi-automated, or automated machine. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a conductive preform locating apparatus illustrating the pattern of respective locating locations proximate the pattern of electronic pads on a receiving substrate. 
     FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view illustrating a first method of positioning the conductive preforms within a conductive preform locating apparatus. 
     FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view illustrating a second method of positioning the conductive preforms within a conductive preform locating apparatus. 
     FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of a mechanical release mechanism, including an optional compliant mechanism and optional conductive preform presence inspection system. 
     FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of a vibrational release mechanism. 
     FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of an air pressure release mechanism. 
     FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of a directed air pressure release mechanism. 
     FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of a sound pressure wave release mechanism. 
     FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating locating, placing, and releasing conductive preforms onto electronic pads of a receiving substrate using a top loading conductive preform locating device. 
     FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating the method of locating, placing, and releasing conductive preforms onto electronic pads of a receiving substrate using a bottom loading conductive preform device. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     It should be noted that several figures (FIGS.  4 , 5 , 6 ,and  7 ) illustrate the release mechanism distant from the conductive preform locating member  10  for ease of identification within the figure. The release mechanism described within each figure would normally be contacting or nearly contacting the conductive preform locating apparatus  10 . 
     FIG. 1 illustrates an isometric view of a conductive preform locating apparatus  10  to illustrate the respective patterns between the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  and the receiving substrate  12 . The conductive preform locating apparatus  10  provides a means for creating a pattern of individual conductive preforms (conductive preforms are not illustrated in FIG. 1 for clarity) from a quantity of unorganized conductive preforms and placing the said pattern of individual conductive preforms onto a pattern of electronic pads  14  on a receiving substrate  12 . The pattern of individual conductive preforms is created by a pattern of locating mechanisms  16  within the conductive preform locating apparatus  10 . The pattern of locating mechanisms  16  may be created in any of numerous methods including those mentioned in the background or others developed by those skilled in the art, such as chemically etched or laser etched openings within a foil, series of tubes, machined plates or blocks, laminated foils, etc. FIG. 1 illustrates one known method utilizing etched individual openings  18  within a locating foil member  20 . The locating foil member  20  is generally coupled to a foil supporting member  22 . The present invention describes various methods and apparatuses to separate or release the conductive preforms from the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  and the utilization of other locating devices may not deviate the spirit or intent of the present invention. It can also be recognized that the said invention may be applied to a manual, semi-automated, or automated conductive preform locating apparatus  10  which achieve the same results, without deviating from the spirit or intent of the invention. 
     Referring to FIG. 2, is a cross sectional view of a representative conductive preform locating apparatus  10  where the volume of unorganized conductive preforms  34  are positioned within the individual locating mechanisms  18  from the top side  28 . The top side  28  is defined as the side of the locating foil member  20  opposing the side which contacts the receiving substrate  12 . Normally, when the conductive preforms  30  are positioned into the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  from the top side  28 , a tacky media  26  is first applied to the pattern of electronic pads  14 , then the pattern of locating mechanisms  16  within the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  is located proximate the pattern of electronic pads  14  on the receiving substrate  12 , then the conductive preforms  30  are positioned within the locating mechanisms  16 . A volume of unorganized conductive preforms  34  is passed across the pattern of locating mechanisms  16  using a conductive preform loading mechanism  36 , such as a squeegee (illustrated), tilting, vibrations, airflow, or any other mechanism that can be recognized by one skilled in the art. The method of loading the conductive preforms should not be considered as a means to deviate from the spirit or intent of the invention. As the unorganized conductive preforms  34  pass across the pattern of locating mechanisms  16 , an individual conductive preform  30  is positioned to each respective individual locating mechanism  18 . When each of the individual locating mechanisms  18  has a respective individual conductive preform  30  positioned, the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  created the desired pattern of conductive preforms  32 . 
     It should be recognized that FIG. 2 illustrates a foil with apertures representing the locating foil member  20  and the individual locating mechanisms  18  respectively. The locating foil member may be manufactured by various methods such as chemically etching, laser etching, machining, plating, casting, etc. and of various materials such as stainless steel, brass, copper, nickel, phenalic, plastic, etc and should not be considered a limitation for the present invention. The smaller the difference between the diameter of the individual conductive preforms  30  and the diameter of the individual locating mechanism  18 , the more accurate the placement. It can also be recognized that the smaller difference may require more force to ensure separation of the conductive preform  30  and the individual locating mechanism  18 . The pattern of conductive preforms  32  are transferred to the pattern of electronic pads  14 , where the pattern of conductive preforms  32  are temporarily coupled to the pattern of electronic pads  14  by a tacky media  26 . The present invention teaches various methods to ensure transfer of the pattern of conductive preforms  32  to the pattern of electronic pads  14 . 
     Referring to FIG. 3, is a cross sectional view of a representative conductive preform locating apparatus  10  where the volume of unorganized conductive preforms  34  is positioned within the individual locating mechanisms  18  from the bottom side  38 . The bottom side  38  is defined as the side of the locating foil member  20  which contacts the receiving substrate  12 . Normally, when the conductive preforms  30  are positioned from the bottom side  38 , the pattern of locating mechanisms  16  within the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  is located proximate the pattern of electronic pads  14  on the receiving substrate  12  after having the individual conductive preforms  30  positioned within the individual locating mechanisms  18 . The conductive preform locating apparatus  10  is generally placed proximate a volume of unorganized conductive preforms  34  within a reservoir  52 . A primary vacuum force  46  is generally the mechanism used to position the individual conductive preforms  30  to each of the respective individual locating mechanisms  18  to create a pattern of conductive preforms  32 . The primary vacuum force  46  is applied through a primary vacuum port  44  into a vacuum chamber  40  and distributed in a manner to apply a vacuum loading force  50  to each respective individual locating mechanisms  18  through individual vacuum ports  48 . The vacuum chamber  40  is created by placing a vacuum chamber housing  42  over the pattern of locating mechanisms  16  and sealing the assembly except for the primary vacuum port  44  (which is coupled to the source of the primary vacuum force  46 ) and the pattern of locating mechanisms  16 . The vacuum loading force  50  positions a individual conductive preform  30  within a respective individual locating mechanism  18 , where the individual conductive preform  30  is captured within the individual locating mechanism  18  and against a backing member  54 . The conductive preform locating apparatus  10  is then located proximate the pattern of electronic pads  14  where the pattern of conductive preforms  32  are to be deposited. 
     Referring to FIG. 4, is a cross sectional view of a representative conductive preform locating apparatus  10  including one embodiment of the present invention, where the pattern of conductive preforms  32  is separated from the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  by a pattern of mechanical release members  60 . The sum of the individual release members  62  compose a pattern of mechanical release members  60  similar to the pattern of locating mechanisms  16 , such that there is an individual mechanical release member  62  for each respective individual locating mechanism  18 . The individual mechanical release members  62  protrude through the respective individual locating mechanisms  18  and mechanically separate the individual conductive preforms  30  from the individual locating mechanisms  18 . Each individual mechanical release member  62  may include a compliant member  64  contained by a compliant member casing  66  to provide compliance to each individual mechanical release member  62 . The pattern of mechanical release members  60  are located within a mechanical release supporting structure  68 . The use of a compliant member maintains the spirit and intent of the original patent application applying a mechanical releasing force to the conductive preforms  30 . The use of a compliant member provides for a less complicated requirement for the mechanism which operates the release mechanism, allowing the compliance to compensate for the travel distance of the operating mechanism and planarity of the mechanical release mechanism  11  to the conductive preform locating apparatus  10 . The previous application described springs above the mechanical release apparatus  11 , whereas the compliance in this figure is shown for each individual mechanical release member  62 . A pin shaped release structure is disclosed in Hertz patent application Ser. No. 08/789,883. It is recognized that one can accomplish the same shape using many various methods, including those taught in the original application. Based upon the initial teachings, one skilled in the art could also recognize achieving the same goal by machining a pattern of holes within the mechanical release supporting structure  68  and placing fixed or compliant pins within the machined pattern of holes. This feature can be enhanced by assembling compliant pins such as “Golf-T” test probes  70  within the same locations as the fixed pins, recognizing the “Golf-T” test probes  70  would include an individual release member  62 , a compliant member  64 , and a compliant member casing  66 . The “Golf-T” test probes  70  are spring-loaded pins which partially protrude from a casing such as a compliant member casing  66 . The individual release member  62  would be in the form of a cylinder where a contacting area  72  used to separate the individual conductive preforms  30  from the individual locating mechanisms  18  is enlarged from the cylinder and the contacting area  72  is concave. The “Golf-T” test probes are one suggestion, and it should be recognized that there are many other methods of creating an apparatus which is within the spirit and intent of the present invention. The result is the transfer of the pattern of conductive preforms  32  from the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  to the tacky media  26  on the pattern of electronic pads  14 , preferably proximate the electronic pads  13 . 
     FIG. 4 may additionally provide a means for inspecting presence of the conductive preforms. Using test pins as the release members  62 , one can create a continuous circuit when contacting the individual conductive preforms  30 . The continuous circuit may be created by either the completion of a circuit where the compliant member  64  would be compressed allowing the release member  62  to close a circuit, or where the release member  62  would contact the conductive preform  30  and conductive preform  30  would close a circuit. A first side of the circuit  56  would be attached to the release member  62  and a second side of the circuit  58  would be attached to either each compliant member casing  66 , the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  or a conductive member  59 . The conductive member  59  would be required is the conductive preform locating apparatus is nonconductive. The conductive member  59  would preferably be placed under the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  prior to loading the conductive preforms into the conductive preform locating apparatus  10 . The electrical conductivity of the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  or the conductive member  59  would provide a second side of the circuit to each conductive preform  30 . The circuit would be continuous when the first side of the circuit  56  provides a electrical path to the mechanical release member  62  which contacts the electrically conductive individual conductive preforms  30  which then contact the second side of the circuit  58  provided through the conductive member  59  or the conductive preform locating apparatus  10 . Alternatively, the circuit would be continuous when the first side of the circuit  56  provides an electrical path the to second side of the circuit  58  where the second side of the circuit is electrically connected to the compliant member casing  66  and the circuit is completed by the motion of the mechanical release member  62  upon contacting the conductive preforms  30 . The second described electrically continuous path does not require that the conductive preforms be conductive upon all potential areas of contact, nor the requirement of a conductive member  59  or conductive-conductive preform locating apparatus  10 . The separate conductive member  59  would be less desirable as it must be removed prior to placement of the pattern of conductive preforms  32 . A logic circuit (not shown) can compare continuity to determine presence of the conductive preforms  30  to determine the completeness of the pattern of conductive preforms  32 . The logic circuit can be of many variations, as designed by anyone skilled in the art. The logic circuit and actual means to create a continuous circuit should not be limiting the spirit or intent of the embodiment. 
     FIG. 5 is a cross sectional side view of a second embodiment of the present invention. The cross sectional side plan view of the conductive preform placement apparatus  10  illustrates a release mechanism which utilizes vibrational energy to release the pattern of conductive preforms  32  from the pattern of locating mechanisms  16 . The use of vibrational energy does not dictate the requirement that the individual release members  62  contact the individual conductive preforms  30  to separate the individual conductive preforms  30  from the respective individual locating mechanisms  18 . Additionally, the second embodiment of the present invention does not require customization or alignment for each pattern. By adding a backing member  74 , the vibrational energy directs the separation of the individual conductive preforms  30  away from the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  and onto the respective individual electronic pads  13 . The backing member  74  includes two surfaces, a vibrational contacting surface  76  and a locating mechanism contacting surface  78 . Although requiring more design considerations, it can be recognized that the vibrational contacting surface  76  may be the same side as the locating contacting surface  78 , keeping within the spirit and intent of the present invention. The vibrational energy may be transferred to the surface of the backing member  74  using any of known vibrational source devices, including but not limited to an off-balanced motor  84 , a piezoelectric transducer (not shown), or a mass resonant vibrator. FIG. 5 illustrates the use of an off-balanced motor  84  coupled to a resilient tapping member  82  via a motor coupling member  86 . Preferably, the resilient tapping member  82  and the backing member  74  are coupled to a primary fixture  86  creating a vibrational release apparatus  90  which may be brought to and from the locating mechanisms  18 . In order to automate the application, the vibrational release apparatus  90  may be coupled to a controlling mechanism (not shown) by a coupling mechanism  88 . 
     The operation of the second embodiment would be to bring the vibrational release apparatus  90  to a position where the locating contacting surface  82  of the backing member  74  contacts the pattern of locating mechanisms  16 . FIG. 5 illustrates one method of creating and applying vibrational energy to the backing member. The illustration utilizes an off-balanced motor  84  which is energized through wires  92 . When the off-balanced motor  84  is energized, the off-balanced motor  84  generates a vibration; the vibration causes the resilient tapping member  82  to oscillate  94 , causing a resilient tapping member  82  to tap the backing member  74 . The force resulting from the tapping causes the individual conductive preforms  30  to separate from the individual locating mechanisms  18 . The backing member ensures that the individual conductive preforms  30  are separated towards the individual electronic pads  13 . It can be recognized that one skilled in the art may include the backing member  74  within the vibrational source or within the individual locating mechanisms  18  such as described in the original patent application. The tapping generates a sudden shock, whereas the vibration generates a slower separation and may utilize gravity to overcome the potential of the releasing away from the individual electronic pads  13 . It should be recognized that either vibrational or tapping forces may be created and applied in numerous ways without deviating from the spirit or intent of the present embodiment. The result is the transfer of the pattern of conductive preforms  32  from the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  to the tacky media  26  on the pattern of electronic pads  14 . 
     FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of a general air pressure release mechanism  100 . The general air pressure release apparatus  100  requires a passage within each individual locating mechanism  18  to allow the flow of air  114  to provide a releasing force  118  to the individual conductive preforms  30 . The advantage to this system over the vibrational release apparatus  90  is the lack of electrical requirements and mechanical wear on the components of the apparatus. The advantage over the mechanical release apparatus  11  is the lack of requirements for aligning the pattern of mechanical release members  60  to the pattern of locating mechanisms  16 . The general air pressure release apparatus  100  takes incoming air flow  114  provided by an air pressure source  112  such as a compressor or in house pressurized air supply and distributes the incoming air flow  114  within an expansion chamber  102  to provide a distributed air pressure  116  against the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  on the side opposing the desired direction for release. The expansion chamber  102  is an area which includes an inlet port  110  and an enclosure  103 . The enclosure  103  may consist of an inlet port  110 , a top surface  104 , a side surface  106 , and an open area  108 . The air pressurizes within the expansion chamber  102  and releases against the least resistant path, the passages through the individual locating mechanisms  18 . The escaping air provides the releasing force  118  to the individual conductive preforms  30  to cause them to separate from the individual locating mechanisms  18 . The result is the transfer of the pattern of conductive preforms  32  from the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  to the tacky media  26  on the pattern of electronic pads  14 . 
     FIG. 7 illustrates a directed air pressure release apparatus  120 , similar to the general air pressure release apparatus  100  with the addition of a pattern of air exit ports  126  to direct the escaping air into a pattern of directed release airflow forces  128  similar to the pattern of locating mechanisms  16 . The directed air pressure release apparatus  120  requires a passage within each individual locating mechanism  18  to allow the flow of air  114  to provide a releasing force  118  to the individual conductive preforms  30 . The directed air pressure release apparatus  120  takes incoming air flow  114  provided by an air pressure source  112  and, optionally using a diffuser  130 , distributes the incoming air flow  114  within an expansion chamber  102 . The air within the expansion chamber  102  escapes through the path of least resistance, the pattern of air exit ports  126 . The expansion chamber  102  is an area which includes an inlet port  110  and an enclosure  103 . The enclosure  103  may consist of an inlet port  110 , a top surface  104 , a side surface  106 , a bottom surface and a pattern of air exit ports  126 . The air pressurizes within the expansion chamber  102  and releases against the least resistant path, the pattern of air exit ports  126 . A diffuser  130  may be included to equally distribute the inlet airflow  114  across the pattern of air exit ports  126 . It should be recognized that a diffuser may be included in the previous embodiment. The directed release airflow forces  128  provides the releasing force  118  to the individual conductive preforms  30  to cause them to separate from the individual locating mechanisms  18 . The result is the transfer of the pattern of conductive preforms  32  from the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  to the tacky media  26  on the pattern of electronic pads  14 . 
     FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of a directed sound pressure wave release apparatus  140 . The sound pressure wave apparatus  140  utilizes a transducer  142  generates sound pressure waves  144 . The transducer  142  may be of any known sound generating apparatus, such as speaker, ultrasonic horn, mass resonant generator, etc. understanding the effectiveness may be based upon the selected frequency or variations in frequencies, amplitude, and distance. The sound pressure waves provide a release force  118  which separates the conductive preforms  30  from the locating apparatus  10 . Additionally, the sound pressure waves  144  cause the individual components of the system, more specifically, the conductive preforms  30  and the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  to oscillate at their natural frequencies. Since the mass and spring constant of each component is generally different, they oscillate at different frequencies, reducing friction or static forces (not shown) between the conductive preforms  30  and the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  which are known to retain the conductive preforms  10  within the locating apparatus  10 . 
     FIG. 9 is an operational flow diagram demonstrating the method for locating, placing, and releasing a pattern of conductive preforms  32  onto a pattern of electronic pads  14  of a receiving substrate  12  using a topside  28  loading conductive preform locating device  10 . The first top-loading placement step  200  to positioning the conductive preforms  30  is to place a tacky media  26  onto the electronic pads  14  of the receiving substrate  12 . This can be accomplished through various known techniques. One method which can be used would be to apply a tacky media  26  such as flux, solder paste, or conductive epoxy, onto the electronic pads  14  by dispensing, screen printing or other well known processes. The second top-loading placement step  202  is to align the pattern of locating mechanisms  16  within a conductive preform locating apparatus  10  to the pattern of electronic pads  14  of the receiving substrate  12 . This can be accomplished through various means such as but not limited to mechanical alignment, vision-assisted alignment, or any other known method of aligning two patterns as by one skilled in the art. The third top-loading placement step  204  is to position the individual conductive preforms  30  from a volume of unorganized conductive preforms  34  into the individual locating mechanisms  18  through various means such as: Passing volume of unorganized conductive preforms  34  across the pattern of locating mechanisms  16  using a conductive preform loading mechanism  36 , such as a squeegee (illustrated), vibrations, airflow, or any other mechanism that can be recognized by one skilled in the art (see FIG.  2 ). It should be recognized that the conductive preforms  30  may be loaded into the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  in numerous ways without deviating from the spirit or intent of the present embodiment. The forth top-loading placement step  206  is to locate the release mechanism (any of the described or implied embodiments) proximate the conductive preform locating apparatus  10 . Generally, the release mechanism would be located to the side of the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  opposing the pattern of electronic pads  14 . Where alignment is required, the alignment may be of any means described above. The fifth top-loading placement step  208  is to energize and/or activate the release mechanism such that the release mechanism applies a releasing force  94 ,  118  to the conductive preforms  30  or the conductive preform locating apparatus  10 . The sixth top-loading placement step  210  is to separate the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  and the receiving substrate  12  resulting in the release and placement of a pattern of conductive preforms  32  onto the tacky media  26  deposited on the pattern of electronic pads  14 . The seventh top-loading placement step  212  is to de-energize the release mechanism and separate it from the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  to allow for the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  to be reloaded with the individual conductive preforms  30  for the next cycle of operation. The final top-loading placement step  214  in the process is to optionally remove the component from the apparatus and secure the conductive preforms  30  to the pattern of electronic pads  14  on the receiving substrate  12 . The securing (bonding) process would be respective of the material used for the tacky media  26 . Some examples would be reflow for flux or solder paste or curing for conductive epoxy. It should be recognized that there are many other methods of placing, and releasing conductive preforms onto electronic pads of a receiving substrate using a top loading conductive preform locating device apparatus which is within the spirit and intent of the present invention. 
     FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating the method of locating, placing, releasing conductive preforms onto electronic pads of a receiving substrate using a bottom loading conductive preform device. The first bottom-loading step  300  to placing and/or locating the conductive preforms  30  is to subject the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  to a volume of unorganized conductive preforms  34 . The individual conductive preforms  30  are positioned into the individual locating mechanisms  18  generally using a primary vacuum force  46 . The primary vacuum force  46  is applied through a primary vacuum port  44  into a vacuum chamber  40  and distributed in a manner to apply a vacuum loading force  50  to each respective individual locating mechanisms  18  through individual vacuum ports  48 . The vacuum chamber  40  is created by placing a vacuum chamber housing  42  over the pattern of locating mechanisms  16  and sealing the assembly except for the primary vacuum port  44  (which is coupled to the source of the primary vacuum force  46 ) and the pattern of locating mechanisms  16 . The vacuum loading force  50  positions an individual conductive preform  30  within a respective individual locating mechanism  18 , where the individual conductive preform  30  is captured within the individual locating mechanism  18  and against a backing member  54 . The conductive preforms  30  maintains the pattern to mimic that of the electronic pads  14  where the pattern of conductive preforms  32  are to be deposited (see FIG.  3 ). It should be recognized that the conductive preforms  30  may be positioned into the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  in numerous ways without deviating from the spirit or intent of the present invention. The second bottom-loading step  302  is to place a tacky media  26  onto the electronic pads  14 . This can be accomplished using any of various known techniques, such as screen printing, pin transfer, dispensing, etc. The tacky media may be flux, solder paste, conductive epoxy, or any other similar material recognized for the assembly of electronics devices. The third bottom-loading step  304  is to align a conductive preform locating apparatus  10  to the pattern of electronic pads  1  of the receiving substrate  12 . This can be accomplished through various means such as but not limited to alignment pins, manual, semi-automated, or automated means of alignment. The forth bottom-loading step  306  is to locate the release mechanism proximate the pattern of electronic pads  14  of the substrate  24 . This can be accomplished through various means such as but not limited to alignment pins, fixturing, manual, semi-automated, automated, with or without vision assisted means of alignment. The fifth bottom-loading step  308  is to energize and/or activate the release mechanism to release and deposit the pattern of conductive preforms  32  onto the electronic pad  14  (see FIGS.  4  through  8 ). The release force  118  may result from a mechanical release apparatus  11 , a vibrational release apparatus, an air pressure release apparatus, a directed air pressure release apparatus, or sound pressure waves apparatus. The sixth bottom-loading step  310  to placing and/or locating the pattern of conductive preforms  32  to the pattern of electronic pads  14  is to separate the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  from the electronic pads  14  and the receiving substrate  12 , positioning the pattern of conductive preforms  32  on the tacky media  26 . The seventh bottom-loading step  312  is to de-energize the release mechanism to allow for the conductive preform locating apparatus  10  to be re-loaded with the conductive preforms  30  for the next operation. The final bottom-loading step  314  in the process is to optionally remove the component from the apparatus and secure the conductive preforms  30  to the receiving electronic pads  14  of the substrate  24 . The securing or bonding process would be respective of the material used for the tacky media  26 . Some examples would be reflow for flux or solder paste or curing for conductive epoxy. It should be recognized that there are many other methods of placing, locating, and releasing conductive preforms onto electronic pads of a receiving substrate using a bottom loading conductive preform locating device apparatus which is within the spirit and intent of the present invention.