Advantages of Laser Depaneling

The narrow beam diameter of the laser enables precise and high quality processing of the material. In addition, the fusion of the materials at the cutting edge prevents fraying and ensures a closed edge of the component.

LPKF's innovative CleanCut-technology also ensures unprecedented technical cleanliness of the processed material (100% carbonization-free).

In contrast to mechanical separation processes, the non-contact separation of the printed circuit boards from the panel by laser does not transfer any mechanical stress to the material. This prevents damage to sensitive components.

In mechanical processes, such as milling, dust is generated during the manufacturing process. Laser depaneling, on the other hand, evaporates the material. In this case, the resulting fumes are disposed of with the use of an extraction system. Potential malfunctions due to deposited dust are thus avoided.

With Laser Depaneling, a wide variery of different substrate materials can be processed with ease by varying the process parameters. Additional and/or proprietary tools are not necessary for the processing of different materials.

New applications, such as in the high-frequency range, require the development and processing of special materials that must meet specific requirements. These sensitive and demanding materials can only be processed to a limited extent using classical mechanical processes. In these application contexts, Laser Depaneling is the predestined solution.

In contrast to mechanical processes for depaneling, there are virtually no limits to the design freedom of PCBs in Laser Depaneling. Due to the flexible lines and the narrow diameter of the laser beam, even very fine and complex structures can be implemented without any problems. The fine laser further ensures that the distances between the cutting edges and the components are minimized and that the maximum permissible height of the assembly is maximized.

It is not necessary to consider minimum radii or ridge widths, as in the case with milling, for example.

In addition to cutting, the laser offers a wide range of other applications: drilling, marking or structuring can also be carried out with the aid of the laser. For example, the laser system can be used to produce coverlayers which is an increasingly important application that is growing more and more common each day.

Laser systems are wear-free, which means that no tools such as router bits or saw blades have to be changed and therefore no additional user intervention or associated consumable costs are incurred. Furthermore, no wear means that constant, high quality is guaranteed in the long term.

The initial investment in Laser Depaneling systems is comparable to that of standard routing machines on the market today, however due to the elemination of consumable tooling costs for router bits or saw blades, operational running costs of a laser depaneling system are significantly lower.

Further information on a cost analysis of laser depaneling can be found here.

In the case of laser systems, there is a common misconception that the printed circuit board or components could be damaged by laser-induced heat. This false assumption is based on obsolete 30+ year old laser technology and is simply not the case today. At just 100 µm from the point of impact temperatures only reach a maximum of 65°C - only about half as high as the reflow process previously carried out during assembly. As a result, damage to components or the PCB is far more likely to occur during the reflow process, but not during laser depaneling.