Abstract: Small articles, such as miniature ceramics having integrated circuits bonded thereon, are adjacently positioned with an initial row orientation in parallel first rows in guide tracks having a first row spacing. The first articles in each track are lifted from the tracks by a transfer arm, having rotatable vacuum pickups, along a line angular to the tracks such that the articles have a predetermined second row spacing measured along the transfer arm. The lifted articles are transferred to second rows of vacuum supports therefor by pivoting movement of the arm. The supports have pedestals in columns transverse to the second rows which are indexed into position for repeated transfer of articles thereto to form an array (or matrix) of articles having the second spacing between the second rows of the articles on the supports. A link mechanism is provided to rotate the vacuum pickups and re-establish the initial row orientation of the articles with respect to the second rows.

Abstract: A bonder for attaching in succession small articles such as electronic devices to substrates has eight stations located along the path of a rotary member. The rotary member supports eight holders for substrates which are moved in sequence from station to station. At a first station a substrate is loaded onto one of the holders. The holder is then moved to an alignment station and transferred from the support member to a planar manipulator. An optical alignment control system recognizes a position of the substrate on the holder and controls the manipulation of the holder to align a substrate to a predetermined reference axis. The holder is then transferred back to the support member to fix the position of the substrate with respect to the support member. At the next station an article is also aligned to a corresponding reference axis and then tack-bonded or preliminarily attached to a bond site on the substrate.