Tyco Electronics teams with Graphic Solutions for state-of-the-art RFID equipment

Working closely with Graphic Solutions (GSI) to customize a system to meet their exacting specifications, Tyco Electronics provided a reel-to-reel system that allows GSI to mount flip chips, surface mount devices (SMDs), and printed batteries on a continuous web of printed antennas and conductive traces. The system is capable of the high-speed mounting of electronic components on a 6,000+ foot (1,800+ m) roll of 20˝ (500 mm) wide material. After conductive printing, the roll is fed into the Tyco machine where components are added along with one or two printed batteries. Upon completion, the roll can be slit into individual streams and rolled, or supplied in production web width rolls for delivery. A typical circuit is inlaid with batteries, an RFID chip, and a printed antenna. The speed of this machine allows for production levels up to 26 million inlays per year.