5 Questions to Ask Your JEDEC Tray Supplier
Trays are trays, right? Wrong! There are obvious differences and subtle ones, too. Beyond the specifications, here are a few question to ask your JEDEC tray supplier that will tell you what need to know before you invest your time and money.
Do your trays comply with the JEDEC outline dimensions and tolerances?
It’s important that trays meet the specification to work properly with automation equipment, fixtures and tooling. Don’t be misled by generic descriptions that don’t include tolerances.
RH Murphy Co. trays are manufactured to the same tolerances as the JEDEC standard.
Do you guarantee tray flatness at the maximum rated temperature?
Temperature ratings should be for continuous exposure and the trays must stay flat and functional. Some manufacturers are rating their trays based on deceptive testing. It’s not good enough that the tray doesn’t melt.
RH Murphy Co. tests trays at temperatures above their ratings to make sure trays will perform as promised.
When trays don’t meet their ratings
Do you use carbon powder in your trays? The best answer is no!
Carbon powder is a low-cost, electrically conductive filler for plastics used by some matrix tray companies. When enough is added to make trays static-dissipative, it rubs off the plastic (called sloughing). Now you’re putting dirty, conductive contaminants into your equipment, onto your parts, and your customers’ parts. You need to know whether you’ll be taking this risk.
RH Murphy Co. uses carbon fiber in NoStat® ESD-safe polymers. It’s non-sloughing and it makes the trays stronger.
NoStat® high performance composite polymers
How do you measure antistatic properties?
If a tray manufacturer claims to make antistatic trays, they should be able to measure it. Surface resistivity is the way to do it because it’s a property of the material that relates to the tray performance. Other methods can vary based on the geometry of the part being tested.
RH Murphy Co. measures surface resistivity with a simple-to- use meter – the same equipment used by the raw material suppliers, and easily used by customers.
Resistivity meters confirm anti-static tray performance
Are you the tray manufacturer or a distributor?
Distributors provide valued services. But being in the middle, they can also complicate communications and add cost. You need to be aware of the role of the company acting as your JEDEC tray supplier. You can save time and money working directly with the people designing and building your trays.
RH Murphy Co. sells direct to all customers. All our customers buy factory-direct, including value added resellers (VARs).
In the early days, trays were often referenced by the JEDEC tray manufacturer and you may still find people using names like peak trays, shinon trays, kostat trays, daewon trays or murphy trays. There are even references to trays from matrix tray companies that no longer exist like AMS, Fluoroware, or Camtex. If you want JEDEC matrix trays (sometimes misspelled as JDEC or JADEC) to protect your parts and work properly with handlers and automation, you must be specific about your requirements.
JEDEC matrix trays are not generic. All share the JEDEC outline which ensures the trays will work with standardized process equipment, but how they hold the parts is the decision of each manufacturer. Trays from different manufacturers shouldn’t be mixed. There are no “standard” trays. Each tray is designed for a specific device (not just package type). Get exactly what you need, without surprises. You put a lot of value into your parts. Make sure all that value reaches your customer.