Telecom, Internet, and automotive sectors are driving a shift toward larger, heavier, and more complex components, posing new challenges for electronic manufacturers.


In telecom infrastructure and data centres, switches and server cards are adopting custom processors to satisfy demands for compute-hungry services and AI acceleration. Today’s largest adaptive FPGA compute engines are housed in BGA packages up to 55mm x 55mm, and multi-chip ASIC processors can be significantly larger, especially with fan-out interconnects.

Automotive electronics are scaling too, as embedded systems require increased current delivery for more powerful processors, expanded I/O to handle camera, radar, lidar, ToF, and inertial sensing channels. Control systems need larger connectors to handle extra data channels and power, and large bottom-terminated packages such as BGAs – avoided in the past due to inspection challenges - are now being adopted out of necessity.


The Challenge to Manufacturing
Equipment manufacturers serving these markets need to be able to place large and heavy components accurately and at high speed and high yield. It calls for reliable and secure pick-up from trays or pallets, rapid positioning, and accurate alignment before placing the component. Through-hole parts like some types of connectors and transformers need a reliable solution for press fitting. The components can be large, tall, and bulky, while assembling press-fit components calls for accurate pin alignment before insertion. Historically challenges like these, involving such large components, have exceeded the typical capabilities of regular surface-mount placement equipment.

An inline solution is preferable, to help assemblers maintain efficiency and productivity. Better still, using standard surface-mount machines to place large BGAs and press-fit connectors saves investing in special equipment or performing operations such as assembling connectors offline.