Bob, We have panelized several boards for ease of processing. We first added a 1/2 inch v-score border around each individual board that contains the necessary alignment holes for our semi-automatic through hole pick and place machine. This added three benefits. 1) the alignment holes are never filled with a component lead. 2) we can hold the board by the edges and stuff parts right out to the edge. 3) we can hold the board in the wave solder without fixtures and still have components right out to the edges of the board. An added side benefit was that with multiple boards (up to 10 per panel, assuming the total number of boards did not exceed our machine holding and processing capability) in a panel we could reduce our machine build time. Depending on how deep the v-score was made will be a factor in how flimsy the panel will be during processing. For v-scoring info check out http://www.accusystemscorp.com/ and click on "V-Scoring Service" and look for their FAQ page. It gives all the gory details for v-scoring. Phil Nutting Manufacturing Engineer Kaiser Systems, Inc. -----Original Message----- From: bbarr [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2001 1:46 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [TN] Panelized Boards I have a 3.5" x 5.5", .063" thick board we will be building in somewhat high quantities (3,000+/month). This size board is just on the edge as far as having to put it into a basket to run through our in-line aqueous cleaner to keep it from moving around. I do not want the operators to have to put this many boards in baskets during production runs. So, my thoughts have turned to panelizing these boards, perhaps in a 2x2 arrangement. This would go through the cleaner with no problem. I do not have a lot of experience in the best designs for panels. What are the advantages/disadvantages between v-score and tabs? If using tabs, how many are required to maintain the rigidity of the panel during reflow? Does there have to be a border around the boards? Are fiducials required on the panel in addition to the fiducials already on the individual boards? Any other issues I may have missed? Thanks. Bob ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------- Technet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt delivery of Technet send the following message: SET Technet NOMAIL Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > E-mail Archives Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt delivery of Technet send the following message: SET Technet NOMAIL Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > E-mail Archives Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------