In the workshop of an electronic components factory in Dongguan,Lao Zhang,a worker,is closely observing the debugging parameters of the newly arrived screen printing equipment.In the past,he had to repeatedly use a magnifying glass to calibrate the printing position.Now,all he needs to do is press the start button.The imaging head on the machine"scans"the substrate,and the alignment is automatically completed in less than 3 seconds."The error is smaller than a strand of hair,and the work is much easier,"Lao Zhang said.His experience reflects the industry changes brought about by the technological upgrade of domestic CCD screen printing machines.

"Visual Positioning"Replaces Human Eyes

　　Traditional screen printing is like stamping by hand,and experienced workers have to adjust the position of the screen printing plate based on their experience.Now,the equipment equipped with a CCD vision system works in a similar way to taking photos with a smartphone.After the high-precision imaging head captures the image of the workpiece,it automatically calculates the offset through an algorithm.An engineer from a domestic manufacturer gave an example:"Even if the substrate is tilted by 0.5 millimeters,the machine can complete the correction in the blink of an eye."This technology not only enables the printing line width to be stably controlled within 50 microns but also can handle special materials such as curved glass and irregular ceramics.

Breaking Through in Applications from Mobile Phone Parts to Blood Glucose Test Strips

　　In a medical consumables enterprise in Dongguan,20 CCD screen printing machines are printing the electronics on blood glucose test strips at a speed of 60 pieces per minute."These patterns,which are smaller than a fingernail,are directly related to the accuracy of the test,"said the technical director.After switching to domestic equipment,the printing error in the key area has been reduced from±30 microns to±10 microns,and the corresponding testing error has also decreased.In the field of new energy vehicles,the solder mask layers of circuit boards printed by this kind of equipment are helping many enterprises reduce the product defective rate from three thousandths to five ten-thousandths.

The"Uphill Road"of Domestic Equipment

　　"Five years ago,80%of this kind of equipment relied on imports.Now,the proportion of domestic products has exceeded 60%,"according to a report from an industry association.Domestic manufacturers have gradually broken the foreign technological monopoly by independently researching and developing core components such as visual algorithms and precise guide rails.An energy-saving model launched by an enterprise in Suzhou can even adjust the energy consumption in real time through cloud monitoring,and a single device can save nearly 8,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.However,some practitioners also admitted:"In the field of high-speed and precise printing,we still have a gap compared with imported equipment,but the catching-up speed is faster than expected."

Future Visions

　　With the emergence of new demands such as flexible screens for smartwatches and photovoltaic micro-grid batteries,the industry is exploring solutions with higher precision.The experimental model recently displayed in a laboratory in Nanjing can already print conductive lines with a width of only 8 microns on a curved glass that is 0.6 millimeters thick."It's like embroidering for microcircuits,"the researchers described it.In more factories,these devices equipped with"the eyes of wisdom"are quietly rewriting the precision standards of precision manufacturing.