Kulicke & Soffa 4523 wedge wire bonder

Where the 4523 fits

The Kulicke & Soffa 4523 is a manual wedge wire bonder from K&S's long-running 4500 series. It is the bonder you find next to the probe station in many university labs and small packaging rooms, used to connect test chips, sensors and MEMS devices to packages and printed circuit boards. The operator guides the bond head with a manipulator under the microscope, and the machine makes each bond with ultrasonic energy, force and time set on the controller.

Used K&S 4523 wedge bonders remain popular because they are simple, robust and easy to teach. Wedge bonding with aluminium wire works at room temperature, which suits temperature-sensitive devices. For gold wire and higher-volume work, the heated workholder and semi-automatic modes on digital versions help. If you need ball bonding or ball bumping as well, compare with the TPT HB16.

What we inspect on a used 4523

• Transducer and horn. Resonance, ultrasonic output and the mounting of the horn. A loose or damaged horn gives weak, inconsistent bonds.
• Wedge and wire clamp. Wedge wear, clamp gap and cleanliness, and the wire path from spool to wedge.
• Bond head mechanics. Z motion, search height, bond force and the manipulator for smooth, backlash-free movement.
• Workholder. Heater function, temperature controller accuracy and vacuum hold-down.
• Controller. Ultrasonic power, time and force settings, loop and tail control, and the mode selection on digital versions.
• Microscope and lighting. Optics, focus and illumination.
• Test bonds. We bond on a test substrate and pull-test a sample of wires. Results go in the inspection report.

Refurbishment scope

Typical work includes cleaning and adjusting the bond head, tuning or replacing the transducer horn, replacing the wire clamp and worn tooling, checking the heater and controller, and calibrating bond force. We replace fans, cables and indicator parts where needed and finish with test bonds and pull tests. The bonder is graded Certified, Refurbished, Inspected or As-is, and the grading is explained on our refurbishment service page.

Upgrades and spare parts

A heated workholder is the most useful addition for gold wire. Deep access tooling with vertical wire feed opens up recessed packages and housings. For teaching labs, a camera on the microscope lets an instructor see what the student sees. Wedges, clamps, transducer horns, heater elements and controller boards are the usual spare parts; ageing analogue electronics are the long-term risk, and we stock or source replacements through spare parts.

Facilities

• Single-phase mains power
• Vacuum for the workholder (house vacuum or a small pump)
• Clean dry air or nitrogen, depending on configuration
• An anti-vibration bench and an ESD-safe workstation
• Good room lighting control for microscope work

Buying advice

Decide which wire you will bond and at what diameter. Wedges, clamps and sometimes the horn set-up depend on it, so a bonder set up for 25 µm aluminium needs work before it bonds thick gold reliably. Ask whether the unit is an analogue or digital version and whether the heater works. If you will train many users, plan an operator training session on wedge changes and bond parameters. Labs that need ball bonding or several wire types on one machine can compare newer bonders in the back-end category.