A wire bonding machine has a wire bonding head that provides five directions of movement or degrees of freedom. The radial direction of movement supports the wire bonding process and reduces the moving mass of the wire bonder during the generation of the wire bonds. The wire bonding machine further includes a selectable side view inspection system. Through a group of optical components, the assembly process can be selectively viewed from either a side view or a top view. The side view of the ass...

A wire-bonding apparatus which employs a belt-and-pulley driven, spring-returned Z-motion plate to appropriately locate a wire-axis-aligned, solenoid operated, wire feed-and-tear apparatus so that bonds can be quickly and effectively made upon devices located on an X-Y movement table.

A four-motion wire bonding apparatus, for effecting wire bonds between a semiconductor chip and a lead frame. In addition to employing X-, Y-, Z- and theta-motion drives for the bonding head, the apparatus provides a bulk wire-feed, which delivers bonding wire along the theta-rotation axis.

An apparatus and method for making high-speed wire bonds between a semiconductor chip and a chip carrier. A chuck supported on a pushrod passing through a rotating sleeve holds the chip and provides Z- and theta- motions, while the bonding head provides X- and Y- movements relative to the chip. Limiting the bonding head to X- and Y- motions significantly reduces the dynamic forces on the bonding head and supporting mechanism, thereby enabling a faster rate of reliable operation. A signal source ...

A cooling apparatus is provided for a linear motor that comprises a coil assembly and a magnet assembly, wherein the coil assembly generates heat during operation. The cooling apparatus comprises a compressed air inlet positioned to discharge compressed air in a direction directly towards a gap between the coil assembly and magnet assembly, and an inclined surface extending from the compressed air inlet and sloping at an obtuse angle away from the discharge direction of the compressed air. The c...

A method of detecting wear and damage to a rotary cutting blade for singulating a substrate is provided comprising the steps of providing a sensor to locate a first detecting position at an edge of the blade and performing dicing with the blade while the sensor is maintained substantially at the first detecting position for detecting damage to the blade. Subsequently, an extent of wear of the blade is determined by driving the sensor in the direction of the blade to locate a second detecting pos...

A method and apparatus are described for placing a plurality of balls in a predetermined array. The method and apparatus are particularly suitable for transferring solder balls to a ball grid array package. In the method the balls are transferred from a supply means 1 to a template 2 in which the balls are positioned in the desired array before being picked up by a ball pick head 3 for transfer to the final position while remaining in the desired array.

Fluid dispensing apparatus for dispensing small precise metered quantities of fluid, for example in a semiconductor manufacturing process, comprises two metering chambers disposed in series. Each metering chamber has an associated piston rod and fluid is dispensed therefrom alternately. Twice the volume of fluid is displaced from the upstream metering chamber so that when it dispenses fluid at the same time it can refill the second downstream metering chamber.

An apparatus and a method are disclosed for placing at least two elements on a surface. The apparatus comprises means for supplying a surface, means for transferring the two elements to the surface, means for adjusting the position of the surface in a first direction, and means for adjusting the position of the transferring means in a second direction and about a rotation axis parallel to a third direction, the first, second and third directions being mutually orthogonal. Recognizing means are p...

A linear motor is provided that includes a magnetic assembly, a movable element and a coil assembly that is operative to interact with the magnetic assembly to drive the movable element along a direction. The coil assembly further includes a first coil section having a first motor force constant and a second coil section having a second motor force constant that is lower than that of the first coil section for driving the movable element along the said direction.