Introduction to the production method and equipment required for smart tag antennas (reposted)

JasonYoo

Introduction to the production method and equipment required for smart tag antennas (reposted) [Copy link]

Although the production chain of RFID tags is not long, it requires a lot of equipment. From the manufacturing process, it is divided into several processes such as chip manufacturing, antenna manufacturing, chip flipping or bonding, synthetic material printing, lamination/film synthesis/die cutting.
1. Printed antenna Antennas can use traditional etched antennas or printed antennas. Etched antennas can be aluminum foil or copper foil. Manufacturers need a set of screen printing equipment and a set of etching equipment. Throughout history, due to the high price of conductive ink and the strength problem of printed antennas themselves, etched antennas are still the main products in the market. Antenna corrosion is very polluting to the environment, so many companies are committed to the development of printed antennas. The latest conductive silver paste (which looks like water) has passed the test printing of flat-pressed round and flat-pressed flat screen printers and will be available in the near future. The price is much lower than the existing silver paste. In the production process of low-frequency and high-frequency etched antennas, the printing of anti-corrosion ink is relatively simple, and a rotary (round-pressed round) screen printer can be used. However, the printing of conductive silver paste has high requirements for screen printers. Major foreign companies all use flat screen (Polyester) flat or flat round type. Another advantage of this flat screen is that the printing layer can be very thin, saving silver paste. In addition, there is no need to waste a lot of silver paste when changing the screen. The round nickel screen cannot do this. There are not many such screen printers that really pass the test. In terms of printing speed, color registration accuracy, and drying tower performance, the screen printing lines of Germany's KINZEL Siebdruckmaschinen GmbH and KLEMM GmbH are first-class. They can provide screen printing lines of different specifications in the above three forms. Unfortunately, KLEMM has gone bankrupt. This printing line is also equipped with a detection function to detect the resistance of the antenna and whether there is a short circuit or open circuit problem. Connection detection can detect problems in time, solve problems, and reduce scrap rate. The problematic antenna is marked to avoid wasting chips. Whether the ultra-high frequency antenna uses corrosion or increasingly perfect silver paste printing, the equipment requirements are relatively high.

JasonYoo

2. Chip flip-sticking Chip production belongs to the high-tech field. So far, only a few companies can do it well, mainly TI, Siemens Infineon, Philips and other major manufacturers. The most advanced one in China is Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics. So far, no factory in China has the ability to fully automatically embed (flip-stick) chips. However, several companies are preparing to introduce chip embedding equipment. There are also two companies in China that are stepping up assembly, and it is estimated that they will be available soon. Mature companies abroad include: Datacon in Austria, Muehlbauer in Germany, Dongli in Japan, and Automation in France. Bonding a connection bridge with a chip is also a production method for smart tags. It has a low threshold and great flexibility. The printed antenna can be completed in one time, which is different from the flip-stick antenna that needs to be printed three times. But once this method is enabled, it is like riding a tiger and it is difficult to get off, because this bridge is very expensive, the bonding equipment is very slow, and the cost cannot be reduced in the end. If blank labels are mass-produced, personalized reading and writing will not be a problem. The specific method should be decided by the user according to his or her own affordability. At present, the prices of both methods are relatively high, and it can be said that each has its own strengths. Once the price of one production method drops, the other will have to find its own way to survive. I believe that the suppliers of this equipment will consider this.

JasonYoo

3. Regardless of the type of printing machine used for synthetic material printing, roll-to-roll production and a 500mm printing width are basic requirements, otherwise the degree of automation of the entire production line will be reduced.

JasonYoo

4. Lamination/bonding equipment The equipment with the strongest integration and processing capabilities is the RFID synthesis production line of Germany's MESAG, BIROMADE and KINZEL GmbH. In the past six months, several new equipment manufacturers have also joined this market. For example, Schober and Avery Dennison. The synthesis processes of these companies are somewhat different. MESAG and several other equipment manufacturers adopt the traditional single-strip label production method. While the self-adhesive label is being bonded, the INLAY layer is added and synthesized into the printed surface material. The working width of the equipment is about 10 cm, which is suitable for small batch production. Some also need to pre-cut the INLAY with the self-adhesive die, arrange it on a base film, and then put it on the bonding line for use.

JasonYoo

KINZEL's lamination/bonding/die-cutting line is based on the same working width (500mm) of the screen printing and flip chip equipment, and the whole sheet of Inlay is die-cut, laminated, or laminated and die-cut at one time. The composite material can be paper or PVC, and can be cold-bonded or hot-bonded. This process reduces the damage caused by multiple unwinding and rewinding of the bare open wire during the slitting process, which is especially important for the more sensitive silver paste printed antenna, and the production speed is also much higher. If the UHF label is bonded, this equipment can start the upper, middle and lower layers synchronously and stop asynchronously, die-cut the closely arranged INLAY, put it on the bonding substrate, and then compound the bonding layers of different specifications. There is another point to remind everyone. If the whole antenna with the chip is to be cut into single strips or sheets, please use a slitting machine without surface contact, otherwise you will increase the scrap rate yourself. The production of RFID tags is so simple and so complicated. I wish you all good luck!

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The latest conductive silver paste (which looks like water) has passed the test printing of flat-bed round and flat-bed screen printers and will be available in the near future. The price is much lower than the existing silver paste.
　　Is there any printing in China (Shanghai)? Can manufacturers of electric heating films make this kind of silver paste antenna?