MARCH 15--Cognex Corporation (Natick, MA; www.cognex.com), a supplier of machine-vision systems, has announced that Palomar Technologies (www.bonders.com/), a manufacturer of automated, high-precision assembly systems for the electronics, automotive, aerospace, and medical industries, has integrated Cognex's MVS-8000 machine-vision system into its new Model 8000 thermosonic wire bonder. Wirebonders are automated, high-speed, highly accurate machines used during the manufacture of semiconductor chips to attach semiconductor die to lead frames and other substrates. The Cognex MVS-8000 vision systems will be used to guide and monitor the bonding process by automatically determining where the connections between the die and lead frame are to be made. Using Cognex machine vision, the Palomar Model 8000 bonder is able to place eight tightly spaced wires per second, with a repeatability of better than 5 μm.
Palomar Technologies automated equipment eliminates manual processes by precisely placing and attaching small silicon or compound semiconductor chips to their package. The Model 8000 wire bonder can handle large hybrids, MCMs (multichip modules), or several smaller devices at one time. Established in 1975 as part of Hughes Aircraft Company, Palomar has been an independent company since 1995.
Cognex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets machine-vision systems, or computers that can "see." Cognex has shipped more than 200,000 machine vision systems, representing more than $1.5 billion in cumulative revenue, since the company's founding in 1981. Cognex's Modular Vision Systems Division specializes in machine-vision systems that are used for automating the manufacture of a wide range of discrete items and for assuring their quality.
