Available but Not Line Ready: When Custom Component Taping Makes the Difference

Component taping describes the process of placing parts into carrier tape in a defined orientation and securing them with cover tape.

Tape and Reel describes the resulting packaging and feeding format. The sealed carrier tape is wound onto a reel and can be fed into the automated production process using a suitable feeder.

When surface mount devices are involved, the process is often called SMD taping. Custom component taping is the broader term. It can also include suitable electronic and electromechanical parts such as PCB terminal blocks and battery contacts.

A professional taping service therefore considers more than the component itself. The following parameters must also match the production process:

• Component orientation
• Pocket geometry and depth
• Tape width and pitch
• Cover tape and sealing
• Reel diameter and quantity
• Packaging unit labelling
• Lot assignment and traceability
• Inspection and documentation requirements

A different component orientation or an unsuitable reel format may be enough to prevent technically compliant parts from being processed directly.

In electronics manufacturing, packaging provides more than protection during transport. It also affects how components are stored, separated, oriented, picked and fed into the next production step.

Tape and Reel, tube, tray, cut tape and bulk packaging can all be suitable formats. The important point is whether the selected format matches the equipment, feeder and defined process parameters.

Packaging may therefore need to be considered during sourcing. If the available format is not compatible with the planned process, the components require additional preparation before production can start.

This does not mean that the original packaging is inadequate or that the component is faulty. The available packaging format simply does not match the requirements of the intended production line.

A different situation arises when short lead times or limited availability make it necessary to source components in a packaging format that differs from the established production configuration.

Depending on the product, quantity and availability, Texas Instruments offers carrier options including full reel, custom reel, cut tape, tube and tray.ti

A required TI component may therefore be available in tubes, while the intended automated process requires Tape and Reel.

This is not a component quality issue. The part is available and suitable for the application. The available packaging format simply does not match the planned feeding process.

Custom component taping can prepare the parts for that process. Following a technical assessment, the components are placed in suitable carrier tape in the specified orientation, secured with cover tape, inspected and supplied as a documented packaging unit.

An additional sourcing option can then become a usable option for production.

Not every packaging mismatch is caused by a shortage. It may result from the combination of component variant, required quantity and the packaging formats that are commercially feasible as standard manufacturer options.

WAGO PCB terminal blocks provide a practical example. A suitable taped version may not be available for every variant and lot size in the configuration required by the individual production process.

btv technologies uses a robotic arm that moves in three dimensions for the blister taping of WAGO terminal blocks from the WAG250 series and similar types. The solution supports 32 mm blister tape and 13, 15 and 22 inch reels.

The robotic arm picks the terminal blocks and places them into the blister tape pockets in a defined orientation. This enables individual variants and lot sizes to be processed automatically and with consistent accuracy.

The taping process does not change the function of the component. It supplements the standard manufacturer offering with the packaging and feeding format required by a particular production line.

Learn more about automated taping for WAGO terminal blocks.

The difference between available and line ready becomes particularly clear when components are delivered in bulk.

Battery contacts are one example. The parts are present, but they are loose and have no defined orientation inside the container. They cannot be fed directly through a Tape and Reel feeder.

To prepare them for automated processing, the contacts need to be separated and aligned. They are then placed into pockets designed for their geometry and the intended production process. Suitable cover tape secures the contacts inside the carrier tape.

Several questions need to be answered before taping can begin:

• In which orientation must the contact be presented?
• Which pocket geometry and depth are required?
• Which pitch matches the intended feeding process?
• How will the contact be held securely inside the pocket?
• Which inspections are required for orientation and completeness?
• How will the lot, quantity and packaging unit be documented?

These parameters determine whether loose battery contacts can be fed reliably into an automated process.

Custom component taping is the appropriate general term for this application. Whether it can also be classified as SMD taping depends on how the specific contact is mounted during production.

Another situation occurs when required components are not available through established channels within the necessary timeframe and additional sources are considered.

In this case, the packaging format is not the first issue to address. Depending on the sourcing route and risk profile, the origin, condition, storage, marking and traceability of the components may need to be assessed.

The Electronic Components Industry Association identifies risks associated with unauthorised sources, including counterfeit components, improper storage or handling and a lack of documented traceability to the original manufacturer.

The appropriate sequence is therefore:

1. Assess the risk
2. Inspect the components
3. Complete any necessary preparation
4. Approve the material
5. Package the components for the intended process

Depending on the component and requirements, visual, dimensional or parametric inspection may be necessary. Drying and baking, reconditioning, selection or documented repackaging may also form part of the process.

New Tape and Reel packaging is not a quality release. For material from additional sourcing channels, taping takes place after the required inspection and preparation.

Packaging mismatches are not always identified early. Sometimes it only becomes clear shortly before production is scheduled to start that components are supplied in tubes, trays, cut tape or bulk and cannot be processed through the intended feeder.

In this situation, processing time matters as much as the technical solution.

For suitable taping projects, btv technologies offers express processing within 24 hours. Whether a project qualifies depends on several factors:

• Component geometry
• Quantity
• Availability of the required carrier tape
• Defined component orientation
• Available and approved process data
• Inspection and documentation scope
• Availability of the components
• Completeness of the order data

A previously defined and approved configuration can be processed more quickly than a new component for which the pocket, orientation and process parameters first need to be specified.

Upstream services such as authenticity inspection, testing, drying and baking or reconditioning may also affect the total processing time.

Express processing therefore begins with a feasibility assessment. This determines whether the required material, project data and technical conditions are available for the requested processing time.

Express processing within 24 hours is available for suitable components and project configurations. Feasibility depends on the component geometry, quantity, material availability and required inspection scope.

The 24 hour period refers to the agreed processing time. Transport and delivery times are confirmed separately for each project.

Professional component taping involves more than placing parts on a reel. It prepares electronic and electromechanical components for a defined production process.

The process starts with the production requirements:

• Which component will be processed?
• In which packaging format is it currently supplied?
• Which production line and feeder will be used?
• Which component orientation is required?
• Which quality and inspection criteria apply?
• Do lots need to be separated or quantities reconfigured?
• Which labelling and traceability requirements apply?
• Are additional services required before taping?

The answers determine the appropriate configuration. Depending on the project, this may range from a small customised quantity to automated series production.

btv technologies combines standard and custom taping with 2D and 3D inspection as well as documented lot splitting, recounting and repackaging.

If components need to be inspected, dried, tested, programmed and taped, each handover to another service provider creates an additional transport step and a separate documentation status.

At btv technologies, component taping can be combined with:

• Testing and quality inspection
• Authenticity inspection
• Component reconditioning
• Drying and baking
• Taping and packaging
• Repackaging and traceability
• Programming

For programmable components supplied in tubes or trays, programming and taping can be completed in a coordinated process. The parts are programmed and then supplied in the Tape and Reel configuration required by the production line.

The appropriate combination of services depends on the component, sourcing route and production requirements. btv technologies provides these component services as modular processes.

Learn more about Component Services

Murata’s Bulk Case, time critical TI components, WAGO PCB terminal blocks, bulk battery contacts and components from additional sourcing channels have different starting points.

They lead to the same question:

Can the intended production line feed and process the available material reliably?

Availability confirms that a component is present. Line ready confirms that it is supplied in the format required by the intended process.

Considering the feeding process during sourcing helps identify possible mismatches before the material reaches the production line. Inspection, preparation, custom taping and documentation provide additional options when the available packaging format does not match the planned process.