plating

Copper Plating

Telmec SpA introduces

SL2000 Conveyorized Vertical Plating Line

a step ahead in electro plating technology.


fully automatic line outstanding copper distribution pattern or panel plating independent front and rear anodes less exhausts maintenance free clamps long anodes life no shields required easy and low maintenance	totally computer controlled high plating speed reduced floor space automatic copper and additives replenishments lower water consumption maintenance free anodes Pulse or DC plating safe operation easy access to all parts

SL2000 is the results of years of developments and research of Telmec SpA in the electro-plating technology. The aim of this research was to build a system capable of plating at very high current densities in order to reduce the machine length, without compromizing the quality of the deposit. The result of all these efforts is the SL2000. This machine uses Telmec's new patented technology for the high speed electrolytic plating of copper and some of the machine's features make it considerably more advanced than the traditional galvanic lines it has been designed to replace. Firstly, it is more compact for the same production output.This means that it occupies less floor space, consumes less liquids and produces less exhausts to be treated. The machine works in line which allows the process to be fully automated, simply and cost-effective.Its main advantages, however, are the high speed of copper deposition and the outstanding distribution of copper, both on the panel's surface and on the hole walls.

The SL2000 is build in modules,thus can be easily customized to obtain the needed production capacity.The SL2000 can be customize to obtain a plating machine for panel,semi-panel or pattern plating with any throughput.

Yes ! Also PATTERN !!!!

Now available the Copper Solving Unit CSU which allows the use of standard Copper instead of Copper Oxide. Check it out !

Description of the line

1. The automatic loading station.

SL2000 receives the panels to be plated horizontally and delivers them after plating horizontally. The loader allows the automatic loading of the panels from the previous horizontal line to the vertical position required by the SL2000. The loader will load the panels to the clamping system of the SL2000. The SL2000 thus despite running in vertical mode,can be seen as a machine working from horizontal to horizontal mode. In the picture the automatic loader is shown. Panels are brought from horizontal to vertical and automatically clamped by the SL2000. No modifications or set-up are required by the loader, when a different size panel is going to be processed. The loader can load even panels of different sizes at the same time with no set-up required.

2. The first treatment is an acid cleaner with H2SO4 at 10% followed by a triple rinse with water.

3. There are then the plating modules which number depends on the required productivity. They are the main part of the machine. One of the main carachteristic of this module is the use of unsoluble anodes which are located very close to the panels to be treated. The copper is in solution with the electrolyte in form of Copper Oxide and its concentration is kept constant by an automatic dosing system. This new design along with a very high recirculation of the liquids,allows to work with very high current density (easily over 20 Amp/dm2 - 200 ASF) and thus obtaining very high productivity. Tests on the deposit have proved a very high quality of it. The obtained distribution of the deposit is also much better than the one obtained with traditional and horizontal machines. The electrolyte is not sprayed over the panel , but is just brought to it with no pressure. This patented technique prevent any scratches or damages when panels with dry-film are processed still assuring a very high liquid circulation (over 1,000 liters/min). An important issue of this new design is that the cathodic contact ( the clamps) are never touched by the electrolyte. This means that they do not required to be stripped and that the maintenance of the machine is drastically reduced compare to the horizontal equipments on the market today. No springs nor other devices are installed on these patented clamps, making them very reliable in the long term and completely maintenance free.

4. After the plating there is a third triple rinse module and eventually if the machine is built for Pattern plating an Sn Plating module using the same technology of the Cu modules.

5. Followed by a drying oven.

6. In the automatic unloading station the panels are automatically unloaded from the vertical conveyor to an horizontal line.

Due to the high current density used in this equipment,the productivity obtained is really high.

Average deposit of Copper for one module (1.8 meters long)

Current Density (ASD)	Speed (mt/min)	Deposit (microns)
7	1	2
14	1	4
18	1	5

For instance the line shown in this picture is composed by three and half Cu modules. The total length of the machine including the automatic loader and unloader is 12 meters (36 feet). When working in full panel mode,it can plate

25 microns

at a linear speed of

0,7 mt/min

We are talking about 90 panels/hour or

25.2 m2/hour

with panels 18" x 24"

SL2000 can process panels 25" x 25" with the requirement of 1" on only one of the edges for clamping. The other three edges are useful area. The installed SL2000 are currently working at 18-20 Amp/dm2, but the machine have been designed to keep up to 50 Amp/dm2 as it has been proved already with the previous two prototypes. Such current density has to be supported anyway with suitable chemistry, while up to 20 Amps/dm2 standard chemistry can be used. Such unusually high current density is possible because of the new technology adopted.

Maintenance and Management of the line

The maintenance of the line is reduced to a minimum. The clamps are maintenance free and do not require any cleaning. All various elements of the machine are easily accessible. By means of footbridges it is possible to walk "along" the line to reach all pumps,heaters and sensors.

The conveyor can be automatically removed from its position to acces the towers and anodes area.

The line is totally controlled by a computer with easy to use Windows based Software for the total management of the line.

Results

Perfect distributions of Cu are obtained with no burning of the panels. Steel Panels 24" x 24" (610 x 610 mm) have been tested for external distribution and have shown a distribution from a minimum of 49 microns and a maximum of 51 microns with a requested 50 microns on the two sides. An External distribution of +/- 2 microns is easily achieveble.

Exceptional results have been obtained for the distribution inside the holes also in case of blind micrivias. For what concerns this delicate matter it is important to clear and undeline some points first. It's well know that the use of pulse,reverse pulse or other techniques allow to improve the plating distribution of plating machines,specially for what concerns the throwing power. The benefits of the use of pulse plating techniques have been widely described in the literature. Unfortunately what most people doesn't know is that all these benefits do not come free of charge. The major problem given by these techniques is a drastical increasing of the necessary controls and maintenance of the chemistry. The chemistry is deterioreting very quickly and constant supervision and checks need to be done. Often the complete chemical bath has to be changed because it is no longer usable. These problems are connected to the use of the pulse plating and has nothiong to do with the equipment.

All the tests and results we are posting on this document have been obtained strictly using DC POWER SUPPLY. The performances of the system using pulse plating will be of course better,but here you can evaluate our system in a more stable conditions. The following diagram is a result of tests done by an independent firm comparing the performances of Telmec SL2000 with competitors machines working under the same conditions. SL2000 and competitors have been tested with several combinations of PCB thicknesses and holes sizes and at different current densities. SL2000 has been tested at 7 ASD and 14 ASD,while competitors at 7 ASD and only 9 ASD,because not capable of reaching the 14 ASD.

As clearly shown in the diagram,if we compare the red and purple lines,we can easily see as SL2000 can deliver a much better quality working at the same speed. We can also see,comparing the blue and purple lines,that SL2000 delivers the same quality at double the speed. If competitors try to increase their speed (green line) , their quality drops below acceptance levels without even reaching the 14 ASD of the SL2000.

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