How to perform automatic insert of THT components on PCB?

Different from the surface mount (SMT) process, the Automatic Insert (AI) process assembles components by inserting component pins into pre-designed holes on the PCB and then soldering. The following is the basic process of PCB Automatic Insert:

Automatic insertion process planning: including analysis of PCB drawings, design of component installation plans, etc.

PCB board processing: Determine the process parameters of the PCB board, including line thickness, aperture, gold plating layer, etc., and perform mechanical processing through machines to achieve accurate positioning and fixation of the PCB pads.

Automatically import component list: Import component information into the program and specify the installation location.

Send components: Automatically send components to the corresponding location and use a robot to fix them.

Automatic measurement: Automatically use robots or testing machines to measure, detect and record components.

Automatic welding: complete the one-time operation of plug-in and welding, and can use wave soldering or wave eddy welding.

It should be noted that the difference between automatic plug-in and SMT process is that automatic plug-in needs to snap the components into the holes of the PCB board, while the SMT process directly pastes the components on the surface of the PCB board. Therefore, during the automatic insertion process, holes need to be reserved in advance on the PCB board for component insertion, but these issues do not need to be considered in the SMT process. In addition, the automatic plug-in process requires higher costs and lower efficiency than the SMT process. However, in some special scenarios, such as high stability, high-voltage electrical appliances, etc., the technical advantages of automatic plug-in will be more prominent.