Industrial Dynamics' LP Series Gets High Marks for Innovation

Excerpt from May 2002 IPC Show review by Mike Buetow, Editor in Chief, and Jerry Murray, West Coast Editor

"At the exhibits, the big hits were IDCT's new (LP Series) drill with its ingeniously designed spindle set-up; new higher-speed flying probes, which are closing fast on universal grid types; and the sudden arrival of automated nomenclature machines…"

"…IDCT's radically different drill drew a lot of attention. Its six spindles (soon to be eight), moving on air cushions under a perforated magnet, ran six separate drill programs simultaneously in six different areas without colliding. This spindle arrangement is new, conceived by ID principal Ken Hudson. Drilling is performed by the 250,000 rpm "Zindle." The eight-spindle machine will have much larger toolboxes and will be long enough to handle a surfboard on its table, which rises to meet the "Zindles" for drilling. The cost is slightly more than a conventional machine, but the advantages - no parts to wear out - make its economics appealing."

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Excerpt from April 2002 IPC Show review by John Ling, Editor-In-Chief

"Nearest the point of entry was IDCT, from Torrance, California. Torrance? Rings a bell here. Anyway, IDCT are into drilling. And they have a system that just captures the imagination. If there are prizes for originality, winning would have been down the ID path.

"It might just be said that 2002 saw a whole new direction in the field of drilling. Imagine 6, or 8, drilling heads, all operating independently, drilling boards down less than 0.1mm, with a foot print of 40% of a conventional 6-8 spindle drilling machine. And using 50% less energy, with a fraction of the floor loading (ubique granite slab?) which could handle panels of 37" x 76", with spindle speeds of 250,000 rpm. Got it?

"Sure, this is mechanical drilling, but it is revolutionary, and it only took ID 3 months from design to build of the machine that was running at Long Beach. They say that laser drilling is next. Multi-head laser drilling at the speeds possible on an ID machine will be interesting, and whilst what they have now is a unique alternative to a traditional drill spindle, the future developments at this extremely interesting company will make fascinating reading. Genius is the perception of the obvious, and what IDCT have done is prove the point."