PCB Technical - PCB laser cutting and splitting machines are expensive

There are many ways to cut and split PCB. Whether it is manual splitting, knife splitting or punch processing, it will cause certain damage or deformation to the circuit board itself. The cutting edge has serious burrs and dust, especially when welding. The shortcomings of the traditional processing mode on the PCB circuit board of the components are exposed. The emergence of PCB laser cutting machine and PCB laser splitting machine has brought good news to the industry, non-contact processing, good processing effect, no burrs, no damage, and no deformation. However, the price of PCB laser cutting and splitting machines has discouraged most manufacturers. So, where is the price of laser processing equipment?

The components of PCB laser cutting machine and splitting machine are laser, galvanometer/focusing mirror, linear motor, control system, industrial control system, dust extraction and adsorption system, cooling system, marble stable platform and cabinet.

Laser

Depending on the material of the PCB substrate, the selected lasers are different. For details, please refer to "PCB laser cutting, laser selection for splitter". The laser is the core, and the stability of the laser directly determines the processing effect and efficiency, ensuring product quality. Therefore, under normal circumstances, we use imported lasers, such as IPG, SP, AOW, PI, etc. The characteristics are expensive in addition to stability. The cost of the laser accounts for one-third of the cost of the entire equipment, and there are even more different light sources. Laser is the most expensive core component of PCB laser cutting and splitting machine.

Cutting head (galvanometer/focusing lens)

Depending on the material to be cut, the selected processing head is different. For example, the cutting aluminum substrate PCB uses Prest's focusing lens, and the epoxy resin material PCB uses galvanometer. The main imported brands are CTI, SCANLAB, RAYLASE etc. The processing head is also the core device, which is an effective guarantee for high-speed efficiency and accuracy. Almost all the imported devices are used in the market, and the price is naturally not cheap.

Linear Motor

The linear motor is an effective guarantee for the processing format in the PCB laser cutting machine. The larger the processing format, the larger the linear motor used, and the natural price is more expensive. Because the single scanning range of the galvanometer is relatively small, the splicing of the linear motor is used. The accuracy of the linear motor directly affects the accuracy of the splicing. If you want to ensure the accuracy within 3 microns, you can only use imported motors, such as Taiwan On the bank and so on. Although there have been many outstanding domestic linear motors, they can also be considered when the accuracy requirements are not high, but in general they are always unsatisfactory. The price of linear motors is second only to the price of lasers and is an important component.

Software control system

Whether a PCB laser splitter is good or not, in addition to the stability of the hardware, the software control system is the most intuitive embodiment. The software function must realize the compatibility of all functions, and be able to operate foolishly, be able to control, edit, and be compatible with various hardware interfaces. The desired process parameters can be directly operated on the software with one key. This is its core. The software control of this model is often stuck, and the incompatibility not only affects the performance of the equipment, but also affects the normal industrial production. Therefore, a high-quality control system is an important core product after years of accumulated equipment experience, combined with the software developed by the customer on-site.

Other devices

Any one of the components of PCB laser cutting and splitting machine is indispensable, just like the principle of wooden barrel, no board can be filled with water, so industrial control machine, dust extraction machine, cooler, cabinet, stability Platforms are also indispensable. Compared with the above core devices, these devices can also be replaced by domestic devices, so the price is relatively cheap.

Summarize

The price of PCB laser cutting and board splitting machine is mainly reflected in the laser light source, linear motor, galvanometer, software system, etc. These core components directly account for more than 90% of the equipment cost, and some auxiliary components are also essential. Such as laser cooling system, dust extraction and purification of processing fumes, stable platform, etc. Since the core components are all imported, integrators like Tuopu Yin Optoelectronics, the purchase cost is too expensive, plus manual assembly, debugging, process, after-sales and other costs, the market price of the whole machine has also risen, the current market The price of PCB laser cutting and board splitting machines is still high, so they are basically used in fields that require processing, such as automotive electronics, consumer electronics, and mobile phones.