In-plant Training report on

Manufacturing process of PLCs

and SMT technology

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC INDIA PVT

LTD.
Pratyush Pandey
15BEE0232
 My internship was based in an industrial automation company,
Mitsubishi Electric which manufactures PLCs.
The objective of my internship was to attain technical knowledge
and practical experience in the manufacturing department of
Introduction Mitsubishi Electric India Pvt. Ltd, Pune.
The internship included all the activities from PCB assembly, SMD
mounting, Testing, Product integration and final boxing.
The internship was a complete hands-on session through all the
steps of the manufacturing process of a PLC.
 A programmable logic controller (PLC), or programmable
controller is an industrial digital computer which has
been ruggedized and adapted for the control of manufacturing
processes, such as assembly lines, or robotic devices, or any
activity that requires high reliability control and ease of
programming and process fault diagnosis.
Introduction A PLC consists of a printed circuit board (PCB) which
contd.. mechanically supports and electrically connects electronic
components using conductive tracks, pads and other features
etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive
substrate.
The mounting of components on the PCB is referred to as PCB
assembly.
 Surface Mount Technology is a method for
producing electronic circuits in which the components are
mounted or placed directly onto the surface of printed circuit
boards (PCBs). An electronic device so made is called a surface-
mount device (SMD).
Surface-mount components are usually smaller than their
SMT and SMD counterparts with leads, and are designed to be handled by
machines rather than by humans. They are known as packages.
Package types for surface mount integrated circuits can be
grouped into families. The flat pack is old technology. The QUAD
flat pack and TSOP use newer technology. Each family has certain
characteristics in common such as lead style, lead pitch, body size
and case materials.
Assembly line
flowchart
 Solder Paste Printing
This process is used to facilitate the mounting of SMD
Solder paste components on the PCB. It consists of an etched metal stencil with
etched openings. The required paste pattern is designed on the
Printing stencil. The PCB is in direct contact with the stencil and with the
help of a squeegee the solder paste is printed on the PCB pads.
 Stencil printing is the process of depositing solder paste on
the printed wiring boards (PWBs) to establish electrical
connections. It is immediately followed by the component
placement stage. The equipment and materials used in this stage
are stencil, solder paste, and a printer.
The stencil printing function is achieved through a single material
namely solder paste which consists of solder metal and flux. Paste
also acts as an adhesive during component placement and solder
Stencil reflow.

Printing Stencils are used to print solder paste on the PWBs. They are often
made of Stainless Steel or Nickel and are manufactured by
different processes.
 The pick and place M/C is the process where in the SMD packages
are placed on the PCB board. M/C used in this assembly line is the
Panasonic NPM.
The components are fed using feeder, stick feeders or tray
Pick and place depending on the component. The nozzles pick the components
by air pressure and place it on the PCB board depending on the
Machine program loaded on the M/C.
The pick and place machine has increased the production to a
greater extent.
 Reflow soldering is a process in which a solder paste (a sticky
mixture of powdered solder and flux) is used to temporarily attach
one or several electrical components to their contact pads, after
which the entire assembly is subjected to controlled heat, which
melts the solder, permanently connecting the joint.
Reflow The goal of the reflow process is to melt the solder and heat the
soldering adjoining surfaces, without overheating and damaging the
electrical components. In the conventional reflow soldering
process, there are usually four stages, called "zones", each having
a distinct thermal profile: preheat, thermal soak, reflow,
and cooling.
 The process is an automated inspection of the PCB and placed
Automated SMD components. The process uses 3-D imaging and different
light illuminated pictures to compare the specimen with a master
Optical piece and report all suspicious parts of the PCB.

Inspection After this the PCB is taken for manual assembly line where larger
components are inserted manually and soldered.
 The manual assembly is an older technique but is used for
inserting components which need to be rigid since they have a
rough usage, eg: ports, switches etc.
The manual assembly liune goes through different stages:
Component formation, Through hole insertion, Wave soldering
Manual and post soldering finishing.
Component formation includes the pre-cutting of components to
Assembly line a length of 3mm (standard pcb thickness for good solder).
Capacitor legs and inductor legs are trimmed down to 3mm for
through hole insertion.
Through hole insertion employs the insertion of each component
on the PCB at a desired location manually. This is done for large
size components such as inductor, ports and trasnformers.
 Wave soldering is a large-scale soldering process by which
electronic components are soldered to a printed circuit board
(PCB) to form an electronic assembly. As the circuit board makes
contact with this wave, the components become soldered to the
board. Wave soldering is used for both through-hole printed
Wave circuit assemblies, and surface mount.

Soldering The basic equipment used during the process is a conveyor that
moves the PCB through the different zones, a pan of solder used
in the soldering process, a pump that produces the actual wave,
the sprayer for the flux and the preheating pad. The solder is
usually a mixture of metals.
 In this process the PCB obtained from the wave soldering machine
is taken for inspection and defects are rectified.
During wave soldering to solder joints may merge and create a
short circuit. Such defects are tackled manually.
Post Soldering This process also includes removal of mask, if any used for wave
soldering, and finding out and replacing any component burnt due
Finishing. to heat.
Un-soldered components are soldered here.
The PCB is then taken for Quality check.
Testing
Testing
contd..
 Process inspection
Above cleaned PCB goes for visual inspection. In this inspection, dry
solder, solder bridge and other such defects are checked.
After rework, PCB again goes for inspection and then to the Testing
department.
Initial electric card testing
PCB goes for testing where a testing Jig is used.
TESTING Testing is carried out according to the flowchart
PROCEDURE OS needs to be downloaded for hardware and software tests
Burn in chamber
After PCB inspection it is placed in running condition at 60 degree
Celsius in the burn in chamber.
The PCB is kept for about 8 hrs or as per required for individual
modules.
 Conformal spray coating
PCB is sprayed with CRC which forms insulation on the card and
protects it from moisture, conductivity, dust, humidity, corrosion,
high voltage arching and fungus. This is a customer met demand for
PROCEDURE customers near coastal areas or so. The coating is done manually.

contd..
Final electric card testing
The PCB goes for the final testing.
 The company works on a Japanese principle KAIZEN.
Kaizen ( ), is the Japanese word for "continual
Standards and improvement". In business, kaizen refers to activities
that continuously improve all functions and involve all employees
Practices from the CEO to the assembly line workers. It also applies to
processes, such as purchasing and logistics that cross
organizational boundaries into the supply chain.
 Key kaizens
Testing line enhancement:
Process flow optimization
Set-up time reduction
Space improvements
Packing area relocation
Key Kaizens Enhancement of PLC packing area
Space improvement
Proper handling of PCB and Product
Use of trays for handling PCBs
Rework PCBs to be kept in a separate tray to avoid confusion
Tools and cables required for testing kept at defined locations.
 5s is the foundation of all improvements and is the key
component of establishing a Visual Workplace. Both are a
part of Kaizen a system of continual improvement which
is a component of lean manufacturing.
Sort- (Seiri)
Removing all unnecessary items from the workplace

Set In Order- (Seiton)

What is 5s Creating a specific location for everything

Shine- (Seiso)
Clean the work area

Standardise-(Seiketsu)
Standardize the best practice within the workplace

Sustain-(Shitsuke)
Never slip back into the old ways
 The Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS 1), short
for Directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous
substances in electrical and electronic equipment
It restricts the use of the following ten substances:
Lead (Pb)
Mercury (Hg)
Cadmium (Cd)
ROHS or Lead Hexavalent chromium (Cr6+)
free directive Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB)
Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE)
Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)
Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP)
Dibutyl phthalate (DBP)
Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP)
 An electrostatic-sensitive device (often abbreviated ESD) is any
component (primarily electrical) which can be damaged by
common static charges which build up on people, tools, and
other non-conductors or semiconductors.
Common electrostatic-sensitive devices include:

ESD- CMOSFET transistors, used to make integrated circuits (ICs)

MOS ICs (chips), integrated circuits built with MOSFETs. Examples
Electrostatic are computer CPUs, graphics ICs.
Computer cards.
sensitive TTL chips.
devices Laser diodes.
Blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs)
High precision resistors.
 The MFG department is completely a static safe area. Practices
that have been incorporated are:
Use of antistatic aprons
Antistatic Use of antistatic shoes and shoe cap.
practices in the Use of antistatic gloves and mask.
Antistatic floor mats are placed with a copper wire mesh beneath
industry them for complete drain of charges to the ground
Antistatic wrist bands are used while handling components.
Antistatic trays are used to carry PCBA and other components.
 The primary objective of this report is a description of my practical
knowledge that I attained during my in-plant training in the MFG
department of MEI, Pune.
Conclusion SMT technology was something very new to me and this training
helped me in a better understanding of it than a theoretical
approach. I learnt some working practices in industries- KAIZEN
was one of the most prominent.