The BBL Bare Board Loader is a fully automated unit for feeding PCBs into a PCB assembly line. The operator places a stack of PCBs in the stacker section of the unit. In automatic mode, the unit lowers the bottom board in the stack onto the transport belts underneath. If the next unit requests a board, the transport belts will run and the board is exported into the next unit.
The sequence for separating the bottom board from the stack is as follows.
o The stack is clamped by five pressure pads in the rear wall of the stacker section. The pressure pads press the lower part of the stack against the front wall. By leaving the bottom boards in the stack unclamped, the weight of the stack is taken off these boards.
o Two vertical lifting plates move up under the stack to support the bottom board after it is separated from the rest of the stack.
o The actual separation takes place:
o the front pusher is briefly extended; the front side of the bottom board is thus pushed from the front stack support. It then drops onto the front lifting plate. The front pusher is immediately retracted
o the rear pusher is briefly extended; the rear side of the bottom board is thus pushed from the rear stack support. It then drops onto the rear lifting plate. The rear pusher is immediately retracted.
The bottom board is now sitting on the two lifting plates.
o The two lifting plates are lowered and the board is transferred onto the transport belts.
o As soon as the request for a new PCB comes in from the next unit, the belts start running and the board is exported.
As an option, the BBL Bare Board Loader can be equipped with an automatic width-adjustment module that automatically adjusts the position of the rear wall to the width of the PCB. The BBL Bare Board Loader integrates easily in a fully automated SMEMA-compatible test environment. The control panel with touch screen gives access to all parameters and settings.