Automatic supply of tray-packed ICs, BGAs and QFPs to an SMT placement machine · how many trays a stack holds and how heavy, how long a tray exchange takes, how repeatably the tray edge is presented, and how the unit takes the place of tape lanes on the feeder rail
Components too large, too heavy or too delicate for carrier tape, such as big BGAs, QFPs and other ICs, arrive in JEDEC matrix trays. A placement machine can pick from a tray laid on a plate, but someone then has to swap each empty tray by hand. An automatic tray feeder takes over that job: it holds a stack or magazine of trays, lifts the next full tray onto a conveyor or shuttle, presents it at the pick position, and returns the empty one, all while the machine keeps placing. Buying one comes down to how many trays and how much weight the stack holds, how long a tray exchange takes against the time the head spends on each tray, how repeatably the tray is located, and how much feeder-rail space it takes from the tape feeders beside it.
Automatic tray feeders and tray changers that supply JEDEC matrix trays to SMT placement machines and similar equipment: stacker and magazine types, tray capacity and weight, exchange time, tray-edge repeatability, rail footprint and machine interfaces. Tape (reel) feeders are covered on the Component feeder (SMT tape feeder) page, and feeder banks and exchange carts on the Feeder base for SMT placement machines page; belt-and-rail conveyors that carry trays under an inspection camera are covered on the Conveyor mechanism for JEDEC component trays page. Stick (tube) feeders and bulk feeders are outside this page except where compared.
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01
Stack capacity sets how long the feeder runs between refills, and tray weight sets which heavy parts it can carry at all. Quasys publishes both for its stacker and magazine feeders:
Editorial calculation: 30 thin trays at the 600 g maximum would weigh exactly the JTF2 PLUS's 18 kg stack limit (30 × 0.6), so a full stack of the heaviest trays is the design case; 14 thick trays at 600 g in the JTF3 PLUS weigh 8.4 kg, well inside its 14 kg magazine limit (14 × 0.6). [1] [2] A stacker suits long runs of one part number; a magazine with random slot access suits boards that need more than one tray part number. [2]
| Item | Quasys JTF2 PLUS (stacker) | Quasys JTF3 PLUS (magazine) | Quasys JTF3 G3 (as reported) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 20 thick or 30 thin JEDEC trays [1] | 18 thin or 14 thick trays in magazines; custom magazines possible [2] | Up to 24 trays [3] |
| Stack or magazine weight | 18 kg max. [1] | 14 kg max. [2] | Magazines up to 30 kg with a new lift [3] |
| Tray weight | 600 g max. [1] | 600 g max. [2] | 600 g standard; up to 1.8 kg optional [3] |
| Tray standard | JEDEC 95-1 and IEC 60286-5 [1] | JEDEC 95-1 and IEC 60286-5 [2] | Trays of 322.6 × 135.9 mm; works with Gen1 magazines [3] |
| Access to trays | Stack loaded and unloaded without interrupting production [1] | Any slot in the magazine reachable in serial mode, for multiple part numbers [2] | — |
List the tray parts per board, the tray type (thick or thin), the loaded tray weight, the number of trays per shift and whether more than one part number must be fed from one unit.
02
While a tray is being exchanged, the head cannot pick from that feeder. The exchange time therefore has to be compared with how long the head spends emptying one tray.
Both Quasys datasheets give a closed-loop elevator and conveyor drive with an encoded Maxon motor, RS232, RS485, Ethernet UDP/TCP-IP and USB virtual COM interfaces (the JTF2 PLUS adds digital I/O and SMEMA), an environment of 10–35 °C and 10–90 % RH, and compliance with SEMI S2 and S8, NFPA 70 and 79, and CE; both also carry the line “Cleanroom ISO-6 Fraunhofer”. [1] [2]
Editorial calculation: if a tray holds 20 parts and the machine places one of them every 2 s on its board mix, the head spends 40 s on a tray; a 7 s exchange then idles that lane for about 15 % of the time unless the machine picks from another lane meanwhile (7 ÷ 47). The 20 parts and 2 s are assumptions for illustration; use your own tray matrix and placement rate.
| Feeder | Tray exchange or cycle time | Position accuracy | Utilities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quasys JTF2 PLUS | Less than 6 s for the exchange; tray cycle about 5.5 to 7 s depending on application [1] | Edge of tray repeatable to 0.05 mm [1] | 24 VDC ± 10 %, 2 A peak; compressed air 5–6 bar; 22.7 kg [1] |
| Quasys JTF3 PLUS | About 3.5 to 15 s depending on application [2] | Edge of tray repeatable to 0.05 mm [2] | 24 VDC ± 10 %; 5–6 bar; 25 kg [2] |
| Quasys JTF3 G3 (as reported) | 5–6 s [3] | ±50 µm [3] | Width 176 mm [3] |
Give the parts per tray (matrix), the placement rate for tray parts, and the tray-edge position tolerance the head's vision correction can absorb.
03
A tray feeder takes rail space that would otherwise hold tape feeders, so the machine's feeder layout decides how many tray part numbers fit.
Yamaha's S10 and S20 placement machines take up to 90 and 180 feeder types and, at the same time, two and four JEDEC tray types, when all 45-lane feeder banks plus its RTS-1 tray unit are fitted and counted in 8 mm tape feeder positions. [4] Yamaha offers retrofit kits to change fixed feeder banks to feeder carriages or tray feeders and back, a CTF-36C tray changer that docks to the machine the same way as its CFB-36E/CFB-45E feeder carriages, a function that builds tray pick-up position data from multiple images around the centre, and stick-component tracks supplied with its stick feeder. [4]
Quasys gives the JTF2 PLUS a footprint of less than 162 mm of feeder-rail space, and the JTF3 G3 is reported at 176 mm wide. [1] [3] The picture above shows the tape-feeder side of such a bank: about fifteen reel feeders standing on a cart at the machine, each with its reel below and its tape running up to the pick window. A tray feeder docks to the same rail and gives up that width of tape lanes.
Name the placement machine and its feeder bank or carriage, the rail space free for trays, the signal interface (SMEMA, serial, Ethernet) and whether trays and tape feeders must be exchanged on one cart.
04
Paste it into your enquiry below or into an email to a maker, then replace every bracket.
Placement machine and feeder bank: [model; rail space available] Tray parts: [part numbers; package; thick or thin tray] Tray weight loaded: [g] Trays per shift: [ ] Stacker or magazine: [one part number or random access] Placement rate for tray parts: [parts per hour] Position tolerance: [mm] Utilities and interface: [24 VDC; compressed air; SMEMA, RS232, Ethernet]
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Quasys gives 20 thick or 30 thin trays for its JTF2 PLUS stacker and 18 thin or 14 thick trays in magazines for the JTF3 PLUS; its JTF3 G3 is reported at up to 24 trays. [1] [2] [3]
Quasys states less than 6 s for the JTF2 PLUS exchange with a 5.5 to 7 s tray cycle, and 3.5 to 15 s for the JTF3 PLUS depending on the application. [1] [2]
600 g on the standard Quasys feeders; the JTF3 G3 is reported with an option for trays up to 1.8 kg. [1] [3]
Yamaha's S10 and S20 take two and four JEDEC tray types alongside 90 and 180 feeder types with all 45-lane banks and its RTS-1 unit fitted. [4]
Sources checked 2026-10-13. Four documents: Quasys's JTF2 PLUS and JTF3 PLUS tray feeder datasheets, an Electronics For You news report on the Quasys JTF3 G3, and Yamaha's S10/S20 placement machine page.
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