What is LED Strip Light ?

LED strip light, also known as an led tape light or led ribbon light is a flexible circuit board populated by surface mounted light-emitting diodes (SMD LEDs) and other components. The backside of the circuit board is applied a double sided adhesive for mounting to clean and dry surfaces, you can stick it almost anywhere to brighten any space.

LED strip lights are 90% energy saving than traditional incandescent light bulb. They emit very little heat which is easy to dissipate and they have no mercury. They look seem to be very small on their own, but they can emit powerful lighting in a variety of colors and brightnesses.

As LED strip lights are more and more popular and widely used by people, the process of making them becomes more efficient and simple as well. LED strip lights are basically printed circuit boards (PCBs) that are welded together to get the different length accoridng to customer needs. PCBs production apply Surface Mount Technology (SMT) assembly process to mount all LEDs and other components onto the board through automated machines.

We can actually customize special parameter LEDs on a PCBs to match your specific lighting requirements during PCB production process. We also do quality control tests at the end of each steps to ensure our product 100% quality achievement.

6 Steps to Understand LED Strip Light Production Process

Components Sorting and LED Reel Production

The first step in producing a LED strip light is to arrange the LEDs and other components in a certain order and put them on the reel. All components including LEDs and resistors are placed on the reel for purpose of efficient SMT manufacturing later on in the process.

We use a high precise equipment device to attach LED wafers onto a reel in the right order. The wafers are fixed using wire bonds. We use industrial gold, the purity can reach up to 99.9999% to ensure the longevity of connection.

We use automatic spectrophotometer to sort LEDs based on current, voltage and color. Doing this to ensure the same specification LEDs are connected together on a reel. We also do filtering for light color to maintain light consistency. In order to ensure the proper placement of wafers, manual microscopic check will be done as well. Once the LED reels are ready, we seal them in vacuum bags to protect them from dust and moisture.

Solder Paste Printing

The second step in LED Strip light manufacturing is getting the PCB solder pasted. This paste is applied on the PCB at the places where the LEDs and other components are to be mounted. This process called Solder Paste Stenciling.

Solder paste is a combination of a powder made up of greyish metal solder particles and sticky flux that has the consistency of putty.

This process done by manually in the past, but due to the development of technology, this step is now replaced by a specialized machine. It is crucial that a proper amount of solder paste must be applied to the exact mounting position of the components.

A special designed device is used to fix the PCB and the stencil in place, meanwhile, the applicator places an exact amount of solder at each specified position on the PCB. The machine scraper then spreads the solder paste evenly on the PCB. When the stencil is removed, an even layer of solder paste is spread on the desired position.

SMT Production

After solder paste printing finished, the third step is SMT production, the machine then positions the components in the specified position on the PCB. The LEDs on the reel are placed on the PCB by using a robotic device that put each component exactly to where it belongs.

This process was done by manually in the past, but it has high risk for quality control issues and It is low efficient as well. But thanks to the advanced technology, SMT machine is equipped with specialized devices to ensure the accurate placement of components.

At Oursun, we use high-precision Japanese SMT machines to help us maintain high quality standards targets.

Reflow Soldering

Up to now, the solder and components are all in right place on the PCB, we have to fix them permanent on there. The four step is putting the PCB through a process called Reflow Soldering.

The PCB board together with the pasted components are put on a conveyor belt which will take it to a reflow oven. This oven consists of a series of heaters, similar to a commercial pizza oven that heat the PCB gradually until it reaches a temperature of 250 degrees celsius, equal to 480 degrees Fahrenheit.

The solder in the solder paste melts instantaneously at this temperature, once all melt, the conveyor belt moves the PCB to the another side where inbuilt a series of coolers bring the temperature down. A gradual decrease in temperature causes the solder solidified again. This creates a permanent connection between the LED components and the PCB.

After reflow soldering process finished, it’s time to take a whole test to our LED strip lights. We test the brightness, color and other specifications to make sure it is just as right as designed.

Welding

Due to all strip lights come out of the reflow soldering process only has 50cm long. They are then welded together by connecting one strip light with the another. At Oursun, we can connect the strips together to any length you want by using a machine or hand.

After the LED strips are welded together, it is quality testing process again, we take another series of testing measures to make sure the led strips work as designed. By lighting tests to confirm that the strips don’t have any loose circuits. We also perform other optical and electrical tests to ensure that the LED strip meets all of our standards and all of your requirements.

Aging Testing and Waterproofing

The welded strip lights are put through the aging testing process to check their performance. The LED Strip lights are truned on for 12 hours to see if they will work in good condition. This test helps us to find and troubleshoot any problems to make sure all lights are good quality.

In order to prolong LED light strips service life, the waterproof treatment is also carried out. This process requires covering the LED strip with silicone tube, silicone coating or PU Coating etc. This will made by a machine or choose manual coverage.

At Oursun, we will use both a machine and manual inspection to make sure the LED strips are evenly coated.

We also will do surface inspection quality test on each LED strip lights to ensure it’s quality and performance.

Tape Pasting and Packaging

When led strip lights pass all the quality checks, we will paste double sided 3M tape to their backs. In this way, it is easy for customers to install the LED light strips wherever they want. We always use brand and high quality 3M tape that adheres to all surfaces easily.

Our last quality test is a random inspection of the LED strips prepared for packaging which helps us maintain high quality standards. After all these done, we will ship them out to you.

Conclusion

Choosing the right strip light supplier can make or break your business, so It is necessary to do some research before making a buying decision.

If you are interested in our products through this article, please feel free to contact with us, we not only provide high quality products but also the full lighting solutions to your business.