John,

To eleminate the same issue of time consuming marking of many little
parts for date code we developed a date code pattern on the CAM system
made up of one unique d-code for each section of a figure eight (7
lines per figure eight, each line drawn with a different d-code). We
did this for each master "8" in our code, 3 digit, 4 digit or what ever
length was needed (we also do lot codes when needed,6 digit).  When
these "master" patterns are placed on each pcb and stepped up with the
board they are all reading 8888. Then when we need a specific date code
we just globally delete each d-code as needed to create the unique date
and then re-plot the film.

We have found the time to create the date (5 min. on the CAM) and the
replot cost to be far less costly than the labor to do anything
manually. Also much cleaner than opaque and the same on all boards with
out error.

Sorry can't provide a picture for you. If you needed more infor let me
know.

Doug Jeffery
Electrotek, Inc.


You wrote:

TechNet:

We are trying to come up with a better method for marking the datecodes
on our bare boards. Currently, the codes are on either the outer-layer
or letterscreen artwork, which means the film needs to be modified each
time the datecode changes. This can be extremely time consuming on
small boards that are built 50 or more up per panel.

We have been considering an alternative method such as hand stamping at
final QC or even purchasing an inkjet marking system.

Any thoughts on the subject or any other alternatives would be
appreciated.

Thanks,

John Lennox
Process Engineer
EMC

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