Courses - Smart Splice University

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.

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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.

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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!

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!

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Embossed Carrier Tape. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.