The system is a stand alone unit that performs the following functions:
Input de-stacker:                  
De-stack one magazine at a time (Max 10), containing maximum 72 components, and place magazine in to the input load lock.

Input Load lock:                   
Store the magazine until the dew point inside is equal or lower than the dew point in the main pressurized area. Supply the magazine to the main pressurized area.

Main pressurized area:       
This area is maintained at a positive pressure compared to the outside air pressure to assure no contamination form the outside. This area is supplied with N2 and with 7% or more of He.
Main pressurized area contains:

• Vacuum Chamber
• Heating stage
• Cooling stage
• Buffer conveyor
• Indexer to transport the magazines from load lock to Buffer conveyor
• Component dispensing stage, with an indexer to shift the components to the linear indexer, complete with 4 suction pick tools, presence sensors and vacuum sensors for each four magazine tracks
• Linear Indexer. To bring the components to the pick up tool, to bring the components to the magazine filling station, to bring components to the pin check station
• Pick up tool. 2 arms pick up tool with 3 working stop points. 1.) Pick component from the linear indexer  2.) Welding point  3.) Reject point / 2Dscan   4.) Pin Check
• Magazine filling stations with presence sensors
• 2 Magazine flipping devices

Output Load lock:                 
Supply the magazine to the output stacker.

Output stacker:                      
Stack one magazine at a time (Max. 10), containing maximum 72 components, for the operator to remove.

Vacuum Chamber contains:

• Heating stage
• Cooling stage. (Chiller not provided)
• Vacuum Pump, 2 stage dry pump min. pressure 0.1 mbar
• N2 dispensing by Mass flow Controller
• Vacuum valve
• Vacuum sensor
• N2 Venting valve

Power:                          3 phase 400 VAC + Earth 50/60 Hz
Cooling water:               10 Liters/minute @ 20°C
N2:                               200 Liters/minute @ 6 bars
He:                               20 Liters/minute @ 2 bars
UPH:                            500  (components/hour)
All pneumatics inside the Main area N2 driven

Empty magazine loading sequence.

• The operator loads an empty magazine on the de-stacker and calls the appropriate function on the touch screen. The magazine will be quickly sequenced through the system until it reaches position 15)
• The operator loads up to 10 magazines on the de-stacker. This will give autonomy of approximately one hour before the operator is asked to reload again. During this period the operator can at any time load more magazines as long as the total quantity does not exceed 10.
• The operator starts the automatic sequence on the touch screen
• The De-stacker loads the first magazine in the input load lock
• The input load lock will close the outer door and purge the chamber with the magazine and N2. The Dew Point is measured and once it has reached a programmed value of -40°C it will allow the inner door to open.
• The Magazine Indexer 7) moves in the load lock and picks up the magazine and places it on the Heating Station 4).
• The Input load lock closes the inner door and opens the outer door, ready for a new magazine.
• The Vacuum Chamber 5) lowers down over the heating and cooling station and starts pumping down. The vacuum chamber is separated in to two parts, one for the heating station and one for the cooling station.
• The heating station is at temperature, so the magazine will take a very short time to reach 130°C. Once reached the preset pressure value, a mass flow controller will leak N2 in the chamber and stabilize the pressure at 1 mbar. The cycle time of every step is 360 sec. After this time has elapsed, the vacuum chamber will lift allowing the magazine indexer to pick up a new magazine and the heated magazine and index them simultaneously to their respective next position.
• Now the vacuum chamber lowers down on the heating and cooling station where we have a new magazine on the heating station and a heated magazine on the cooling station.
• The vacuum goes down as before only that it remains stable (low) on the cooling side while the heating side repeats the process.
• A valve will allow with selectable cycle times the cooling water to flow in the cooling station thus removing heat from the overlaying magazine.
• Both temperatures are individually monitored.
• Once the cycle time of 360 sec. has elapsed the indexing cycle restarts bringing the cooled magazine on the buffer conveyor, the heated magazine on the cooling station and the new magazine on the heating station.
• The buffer conveyor transfers the cooled magazine to the component unloading station 8).
• The Component extraction arm 9), together with the 4 pick up tools 11) will place 4 components on the linear feeder. This operation is cycled every time the linear feeder has 4 empty slots available, until the magazine is empty.
• The components are fed one by one, to the component inspection station 12). Here lead straightness is checked. Good components continue down the linear feeder, bad ones are placed into a reject position for collection. Collection is done through a glove box.
• Once the first component reaches the pick position at 16), the pick & place system will feed the welder 17), and then rotate 90° to allow the welder to punch down.
• Once the welder has finished the Pick & Place rotates back to 90° to pick a new component on one side and a welded component on the other side. Then it rotates to 180° to exchange components.
• In case of bad weld signal coming from welder, bad ones are placed into a reject position for collection. Collection is done through a glove box.
• The welded components will continue to move down the linear feeder until 4 components are in front of the empty magazine at 15).
• The pushers 16), push the 4 welded components in to the magazine. This cycle repeats until the magazine is full.
• When the magazine in 8) is empty it will be collected by the flipper 13) and will wait in vertical position, that position 15) is empty. Then it will place the new empty magazine in position 15).
• Similarly when the magazine in 15) is full it will be collected by a flipper 18) that will load the output load lock 19).
• The inner door of the output load lock will close and then the outer door will open
• The Stacker 20), will collect the full magazine and stack it upwards for the operator to collect.
• The output load lock will close the outer door and pressurize. The inner door will open only when the correct dew point has been reached.
• The Stacker can hold maximum 10 magazines, so the operator will be notified when the machine needs to be unloaded. Continuous unloading is possible during normal operation.

This system is suitable for medium pressure vacuum processes in the range of 0.15 to 0.9 mbar and can operate with the combination of the following gases:

• N2
• He