Automated insertion of package dies onto wire and into a textile yarn sheath
Automated insertion of package dies onto wire and into a textile yarn sheath
Wider adoption of electronic textiles requires integration of small electronic components into textile fabrics, without comprising the textile qualities. A solution is to create a flexible yarn that incorporates electronic components within the fibres of the yarn (E-yarn). The production of these novel E-yarns was initially a craft skill, with the inclusion of package dies within the fibres of the yarn taking about 90 min. The research described here demonstrated that it is possible to produce E-yarns on an industrial scale by automating the manufacturing process. This involved adapting printed circuit board manufacturing technology and textile yarn covering machinery. The production process started with re-flow soldering of package dies onto fine multi-strand copper wire. A carrier yarn was then placed in parallel with the copper wire to provide tensile strength. The package die and adjacent carrier yarn were then encapsulated in a polymer micro-pod to provide protection from moisture ingress and from mechanical strain on the die and solder joints. The process was then completed by surrounding the micro-pod and copper interconnects with additional fibres, held tightly together with a knitted fibre-sheath. This prototype, automated production process reduced the time for embedding one micro-device within a yarn to 6 min, thus increasing the production speed, demonstrating that automation of the E-yarn production process is feasible. Prototype garments have been created using E- yarns. Further developments can include automated transfer of the yarn components from one stage of production to the next, enabling greater increases in speed of manufacture of E yarns.
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Hardy, Dorothy Anne
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Anastasopoulos, Ioannis
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Nashed, Mohamad Nour
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Oliveira, Carlos
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Hughes-Riley, Theodore
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Komolafe, Abiodun
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Tudor, John
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Torah, Russel
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Beeby, Steve
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Dias, Tilak
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Hardy, Dorothy Anne
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Anastasopoulos, Ioannis
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Nashed, Mohamad Nour
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Oliveira, Carlos
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Hughes-Riley, Theodore
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Komolafe, Abiodun
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Tudor, John
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Torah, Russel
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Beeby, Steve
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Dias, Tilak
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Hardy, Dorothy Anne, Anastasopoulos, Ioannis, Nashed, Mohamad Nour, Oliveira, Carlos, Hughes-Riley, Theodore, Komolafe, Abiodun, Tudor, John, Torah, Russel, Beeby, Steve and Dias, Tilak
(2019)
Automated insertion of package dies onto wire and into a textile yarn sheath.
Microsystem Technologies, .
(doi:10.1007/s00542-019-04361-y).
Abstract
Wider adoption of electronic textiles requires integration of small electronic components into textile fabrics, without comprising the textile qualities. A solution is to create a flexible yarn that incorporates electronic components within the fibres of the yarn (E-yarn). The production of these novel E-yarns was initially a craft skill, with the inclusion of package dies within the fibres of the yarn taking about 90 min. The research described here demonstrated that it is possible to produce E-yarns on an industrial scale by automating the manufacturing process. This involved adapting printed circuit board manufacturing technology and textile yarn covering machinery. The production process started with re-flow soldering of package dies onto fine multi-strand copper wire. A carrier yarn was then placed in parallel with the copper wire to provide tensile strength. The package die and adjacent carrier yarn were then encapsulated in a polymer micro-pod to provide protection from moisture ingress and from mechanical strain on the die and solder joints. The process was then completed by surrounding the micro-pod and copper interconnects with additional fibres, held tightly together with a knitted fibre-sheath. This prototype, automated production process reduced the time for embedding one micro-device within a yarn to 6 min, thus increasing the production speed, demonstrating that automation of the E-yarn production process is feasible. Prototype garments have been created using E- yarns. Further developments can include automated transfer of the yarn components from one stage of production to the next, enabling greater increases in speed of manufacture of E yarns.
Text
Hardy 2019 Article Automated Insertion Of Package Dies
- Version of Record
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 19 February 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 4 March 2019
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 429140
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/429140
ISSN: 0946-7076
PURE UUID: 536e480d-df86-4e04-b3e6-3b2977a1891b
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Date deposited: 22 Mar 2019 17:30
Last modified: 18 Apr 2024 01:45
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Author:
Dorothy Anne Hardy
Author:
Ioannis Anastasopoulos
Author:
Mohamad Nour Nashed
Author:
Carlos Oliveira
Author:
Theodore Hughes-Riley
Author:
Abiodun Komolafe
Author:
John Tudor
Author:
Russel Torah
Author:
Steve Beeby
Author:
Tilak Dias
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