This paper is about the development of Automatic FPC(flexible printed circuit) punching instrument for the improvement of working condition and cost saving. FPC is used to detect the contact position of keyboard and button like a cellular phone. Depending on the quality of the printed ink and position of reference punching point to the FPC, the resistance and current are varied to the malfunctioning values. The size of reference punching point is 2㎜ and the above. Because the punching operation is done manually, The punching accuracy is varied with operator's condition. Recently, The punching accuracy has deteriorated severely to the 2mm punching reference hall so that assembly of the K/B has hardly done. To improve this manual punching operation to the FPC, automatic FPC punching system is introduced. Precise mechanical parts like a 5-step stepping motor and ball screw mechanism are designed and tested and low cost PC camera is used for the sake of cost down instead of using high quality vision systems for the factory automation. Test algorithms and programs showed good results to the designed automatic punching system and led to the increasement of productivity and huge cost down to law material like FPC by avoiding bad quality.
