PCB Buffer Equipment

What is PCB Buffer Equipment?

A PCB assembly setup usually consists of a number of machines - Solder paste printing, pick and place equipment, reflow soldering, inspection etc. All these processes are done in a sequential manner. The time that each process takes different. So when once machine finishes its task before the other one is ready for it, the PCB board needs to be held somewhere till the next machine finishes its task. Equipment that facilitates this is called PCB Buffer equipment. This is very important in assembly lines as we need to maximize output.

PCB buffer equipment is put in the intervals between assembly line machines and used to control the flow of a PCB on the assembly line by communicating with other machines. Usually, the SMEMA communication protocol is used for communication between machines. A buffer machine load, store, and unload PCB from various machines in the assembly line. It has three operating modes: LIFO (Last in first out), FIFO, and pass-through mode.

In LIFO mode, the PCBs are received through a conveyor and stored in a stacked manner. When the next machine needs it, the last received board is sent out first from the machine and transferred to the next stage from a conveyor belt. In pass-through mode, the buffer machine simply acts as a conveying table, i.e., it simply transfers the board from one stage to another without storing it.      

PCB Directory has listed PCB buffer equipment from the leading manufacturers in the industry and made it easy for users to find these machines. View equipment specifications, download spec sheets and get quotes. Quotes requested are routed to the manufacturer of the PCB buffer equipment.