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welcome to the first steps in understanding tape splicing,
and why everyone should be doing it!

Catch Professor Splice being interviewed by
Mike Konrad about component tape splicing best practices on his Reliability Matters Podcast.

Professor Splice has been interviewed quite a few times about tape splicing solutions over the past few years, but none have been more important than his recent one with Mike Konrad about the reliability and best practices in regards to these solutions. In todays world of shrinking work forces, it is not only important to have a reliable splice, but speed is now paramount. All of these important topics are brought to light during his interview, as well as other important insights about the role of the carrier and cover tape. So sit back, get your coffee, and take a listen. 

Here we take you through the basics, class 101, and then  best practices, class 102.
It’s best to learn the reasons why you splice, before you learn how to splice.

TAPE SPLICING 101 (The Basics)

The short answer is anyone who uses an automatic pick & place machine. It’s the most reliable and least expensive way to reduce your machine’s down time and attain it’s rated placements per hour.

There is no need to buy so many extra feeders or maintain a large number of them offline. Save time and money by not having operators load extra feeders w/reels of components, then waiting to replace them on the machine. No need to remove feeders from the machine on high running parts, this way the machine doesn’t stop because of empty feeders.

Tape splicing has been around for over 30 years and has gone through many innovations/changes. Some of the first splices were just single pieces of tape used to splice the top cover tape and bottom carrier tape. This was totally operator dependent and very unreliable. Then came the introduction of the crimping tool and single brass clip with rough cut holes to pinch into the carrier between the sprocket holes. The operator then added a single piece of tape to the cover tape. This was much more reliable but it was also much slower.

The next update featured the introduction of double splice tape that was able to be adhered to the top and bottom cover tapes at the same time (it was designed for punched cardboard carrier tape). Double splice tape was a great improvement but was only truly designed for 8mm tapes, it was still used for up to 24mm tapes, but this was very slow and unreliable. It was also the beginning of different splice tape variations for the emerging smart feeder market.

The next few years saw the development of different ways to maximize the use of the crimping tool and the brass clips, including feeding the clips from a leadframe and modifying the tool itself. Next was the development of splice carts to mount the tool in place and bring the tape splicing to the line. At this point, splicing went in a new direction with the development of the brass clip including a single tape on one splice (Clip and Splice); but it was a step backward. Many of these splices were quite large because they needed to go around the bottom of the carrier tape due to the function of the tool. Carpal tunnel became an issue because of the frequent use of the tool that is mounted to the cart.

There were no real updates to tape splicing for almost 15 years. In that time, pick and place companies changed the location of the full reels of components from the back of the feeders to a rack mounted system below the feeder. This caused many issues when using the brass clips. Then about 4 years ago, the splicing industry saw a change with a new splice that used more pieces of tape. Various choices of alignment systems going through the splice and the sprocket holes of the carrier tape were also added. This style was not much faster, but much more secure and reliable than the metal clips.

Finally, about 3 years ago, the new toolless double edge splice tape with onboard pin jig alignment hit the market! This splice uses 4 pieces of splice tape (5 pieces for tapes larger than 32mm width), can be applied in less then 15 seconds (for 8mm), and works around the top of the carrier tape, so the depth of the pocket is not an issue. Because of the number of pieces of tape being used, it is 100% reliable. These splices come in 2 types; one for metal detecting smart feeders, blue or yellow detecting cameras, or no smart sensor feeders, and then one for emitter/receiver detecting feeders. These new tape splices are revolutionizing the tape splicing industry and will work on ANY machine you may have!

In most situations, high volume pick & place machines are more dependent on tape splicing at the machine while it continues to run without changing feeders keeping your machine running. Low volume or prototyping lines use more tape extenders (only high running parts get spliced). On these lines there is a much higher use of kitting areas/component prep stations splicing cut pieces of tape to make a mini-reel.

No matter which splice solution you decide to use, the most important thing to do first is choose a cutter with a tape alignment guide, so anyone can make straight cuts all day long. Tooled splicing basically means you are going to be using a crimping tool and small metal clips to join the carrier tape together. This type of splicing was originally designed to load one clip at a time, but different crimpers have been developed that can be used with lead frames. This type of splice was more stable to use having pins to align the metal clip and splice. Crimping is very slow, and with the change in new reel location on the feeders, really struggles with reliability.

The first toolless tape splices were single splice tape and double splice tape. The main issue with these splices is there isn’t any alignment system, so they are completely operator dependent for alignment. These splices are not very repeatable from operator to operator.

In todays market, the new double edge toolless tape splices with onboard pin jig alignment, is superior to any other splices manufactured before! They have the best of both worlds, completely toolless, with no metal clips to come loose and jam your feeders, and very repeatable with the onboard alignment system. They also have the advantage of 3-4 pieces of splice tape for 8-24mm tape widths, and then 5 pieces of splice tape for 32mm and above tape widths. This system, with its alignment pins allows an operator to splice in 10-20 seconds, and it will be consistent between operators and 100% reliable.

Cover tape extenders are used to start partial reels or small pieces of carrier tape without any leader through any feeders except Mycronic/Mydata. These also make removing tape from feeders faster because you don’t need to worry about saving the used cover tape. Using carrier tape extenders (flat carrier tape with sprocket holes and heat sealed cover tape) is faster and more stable for some operators. They come on a 95 meter reel so you cut your own length and then add to the carrier tape with a standard splice. These extenders work on ANY feeder.

The development of carrier tape extenders (flat plastic carrier tape with sprocket holes and heat sealed cover tape) has helped customers create their own mini-reels. You can now take a small strip of components, splice any length of carrier tape extender to the beginning; then if needed, splice any length of carrier tape extender to the end. This mini-reel can then be used on a tape feeder in place of affixing strips on a feeder tray and teaching your pick and place machine new pick points.

Tape Splicing 102 (Best Practices)

The roll of tape splicing is really very simple, to keep the cash cow running! Basically, to get the rated speed per hour on a pick and place machine, you need to splice “on the fly” while the machine is running. It is no good waiting until a feeder runs out of parts and exchanging feeders, too much time is lost when you can actually keep the machine running continuously.

The first step in reliability and repeatability on the assembly line in reference to splicing, is throw away those scissors used to cut the tape, and replace them with a pair of cutters with an alignment system built into them. This avoids the crap in, crap out syndrome. The most reliable, and fastest way to splice these days, is with the new toolless double edge splice tape with alignment pins built in.  These splices include 4-5 pieces of tape; 2 that secure the top and bottom of the sprocket hole area, 1 piece on the cover tape and 1-2 pieces on the opposite side of the carrier tape, so the pocket depth becomes irrelevant.

In the old days there were 3 types of carrier tape, punched and slightly formed metal, punched cardboard (8mm wide only), and embossed (plastic w/formed pockets). The 2 types still being used today are punched cardboard and embossed. Tape splicing remains the same for both types of carrier tape. The only issue today has been the development of pressure sealed cover tape. Cover tape was applied for many years using hot bar sealing applying an even seal. One issue with this method was if the heat was turned to high, or the dwell time (seal time) was set to long, it was very hard to peel off. With pressure sensitive cover tape, an issue has been parts falling out of the tape because of a lack of pressure when sealing. The peel back force can be altered by the pressure at the sealing machine or operators applying too much pressure when affixing the tape splice. If the splice is manufactured correctly, you need very little pressure to make it adhere.

One of our largest challenges was years ago, a customer who bought hundreds of boxes of cover tape extenders would set-up jobs days ahead. Their banks of feeders were loaded with a reels and cover tape extenders and kept loaded under tension. They had extenders break loose after several days (tape splices are made to use in a few hours or less) and wanted our help. I worked with the customer and machine manufacturer and had the customer release the tension on the feeders until they were ready to use each feeder bank. This solved their problem and gave another insight on saving other customers from the same issue.

We work hand in hand with our suppliers so we can let each other know of any new ideas we might have. I also see ways to improve on the products we sell when I am working directly with some of our larger customers. This is how the development of the new double edge splices with on board alignment system was developed.

We are also involved with most of the machine manufacturers in the market to learn everything we can about any new feeders being developed. In this way we can keep on top of any new splices we might need for use on their smart feeders.

There are a few glaring issues to overcome when working with customers on tape splicing. The first issue is to convince companies to get rid of the regular scissors they have been using to cut carrier tape for years. They really need to be using an alignment system on the cutters today (what they say about computers still holds true today, crap in-crap out). 

Too many people have had a bad experience with the splicing tool and brass clips and they are hesitant to try the newer technologies available. That system is very outdated today because the machine manufacturers relocated the reel mounts below the feeders. This caused more issues with the brass clips failing over 30% of the time. 

The final issue today is the reason for this university, there is never enough time in a day to train operators on tape splicing, plus, companies are still using old technology. These reasons cause almost all problems with tape splicing, and this is why companies look at splicing as an added cost on the line and not a way to make more money!

The environment is not that much of an issue when tape splicing, except for extreme heat, and if you have that, you will be having many other problems as well. The one main concern would be how long the splice has been applied, splices were made to be used in hours, not days. You need to be careful kitting parts days or weeks in advance, especially if you are using cover tape extenders and keeping them under tension. Splices are similar to solder joints, oxygen is not their friend if they are left exposed.

One of our customers did an internal study before they decided to use tape splicing full time on all 6 of their assembly lines. They went “all in”, and including the cost of splices, the labor to splice 24 hours per day, they saved over $750,000 in the first year across their 6 lines. The amazing thing about this figure was that they were using the old splice tool and brass clips! Since this time, they are now using the newer double edge tape splices.

If the tape splicing process is done correctly, the splice never touches a component in tape. The process works on top of the cover tape, the top of the carrier tape, and under both top sides where the sprocket wheel touches the tape. If you use a splice cart, you should make sure it is grounded. The tape splices are also made out of static dissipative materials.

This question would have the same answer as the previous question, plus the training of the operator plays a large role as well.

There are 3 very important questions we need to answer when starting to evaluate the needs for tape splicing. First, verify the customer will be using SMD tapes, or will this line be running thru-hole components as well (we can still splice both). Second, we need to know what manufacturers pick and place machine/s they are running. And finally, are they using smart feeders, and are they truly sensing a tape splice. The new toolless double edge tape splices come in 2 styles, one for emitter/receiver sensing feeders, and the other is for metal sensing feeders, and non-smart feeders.

Many customers look at automatic tape splicing machines and think it would solve all their problems. The initial cost can run $25-50,000 per assembly line plus maintenance expenses, which is often overlooked. These machines run on a rechargable battery that typically lasts 8-10 hours, so you need to buy extra batteries if you run more than one shift.

The operator still needs to run the machine and the splice has fewer pieces of splice tape compared to the double edge splice tape (not as secure or reliable). As if this wasn’t enough, you can still splice to 2-3 times faster by hand! This is a huge investment if you are looking at splicing making you money,

The old style splice crimping tool was somewhat maintenance heavy with so many small moving parts. It got to the point most suppliers stopped selling all the small spare parts, so you needed to buy a new tool each time it breaks. The only other tools are the cutters. The scissor style can last for years, you just need to check the tape alignment every week or so. The stapler style cutters need to have the blades replaced every 6 months to a year, depending on usage (this is a much more expensive option compared to the scissor style).

Tape tension is not really an issue because you either splice off line in a kitting area, or at the line while the machine is running. If you splice at the line (this is the most impactful for saving money) you make sure to allow enough time for splicing before the feeder runs out of parts. Some of our customers prep feeders days ahead of time, for splicing this is not much of an issue, but for cover tape extenders you need the tension of the feeder backed off after loading the components.

Troubleshooting a tape splice is not that difficult. I just have the customer send me a picture if there is an issue. With my experience in taping equipment, pick and place, and tape splicing, a picture tells me what I need to know. The challenge is sometimes getting changes made at the company level to resolve the issue. 

Now, with Smart Splice University, the company can schedule a virtual visit with me on their phone or tablet. I can work to train them on what some of their issues are, and we can have them resolved in a few minutes. 

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