If you manufacture small batches and particularly sophisticated products, you must adjust your SMT production line to accommodate larger printed circuit boards as well as odd-shaped components and unusual assembly processes. Being able to execute rapid product changeovers without the need to interrupt the production flow also helps to make high-mix/low-volume lines competitive.
“Not every innovation fits into a standard smartphone or tablet case today,” says Jetulla Avdili, Senior Product Manager Placement Solutions at ASMPT. “Highly specialized and often high-priced products such as server boards for AI applications place completely different demands on the production infrastructure than mass-produced items, but maximizing your ROI is still the most important goal.”
High-mix/low-volume manufacturing also means more complex products that require larger printed circuit boards, and the printing process must be able to adapt accordingly. The DEK TQ L model from ASMPT is particularly suitable for such purposes. It can process printed circuit boards measuring up to 600 x 510 millimeters, which is an area that is 90 percent larger than what the DEK TQ can cover and expands the spectrum of your SMT production considerably. With 560 by 510 millimeters (approx. 22 by 20 inches), the DEK TQ L’s printable area has grown by more than 78 percent. The DEK TQ L offers the same alignment accuracy (±12.5 microns @ 2 Cmk) and certified wet-print accuracy (±17.0 microns @ 2 Cpk) as the standard DEK TQ model. Although the DEK TQ L can print significantly larger boards, it requires only slightly more floor space measuring 1.3 x 1.5 meters (DEK TQ: 1.0 x 1.3 meters).
With the wider range of formats, new, attractive orders can be processed, for example in the automotive or aerospace sectors. Another significant increase in flexibility is offered by the three-stage conveyor. Instead of one large substrate, the DEK TQ L can also process three smaller ones with lengths of up to 300 millimeters per cycle. While printing one board, the machine simultaneously removes the previously processed one and loads the next one.
Particularly for products that change frequently or are more complex than usual, quality control is critically important. It ensures that the production line does not get burdened with incorrectly printed circuit boards that consume time and resources in subsequent station but ultimately must be discarded.
The Process Lens HD SPI platform functions as the optimal quality assurance instance. It enables even complex inspections without slowing down the overall performance while reliably sorting out defective products.
While the placement machines of the SIPLACE TX series score points in high-volume production, the SIPLACE SX platform was purposely designed to deliver maximum flexibility. The three available placement heads CP20, CPP and TWIN, all of which have undergone further improvements, make it possible to process a huge spectrum of components. (Regarding the placement heads, see also “When throughput makes the difference”. In terms of feeders and conveyors, the SIPLACE SX offers many options. Even exotic components can be reliably supplied from tapes, sticks, bowls, or trays. And for large components, an optimized version of the Waffle Pack Changer (WPC) is available as well. Smaller boards measuring up to 450 × 260 mm can be processed with the efficient dual conveyor, and with the optional Smart Transport Module you can process boards measuring up to 1,525 × 560 mm.
The SIPLACE SX even processes odd-shaped components with THT pins with the optional OSC Package. Since all SIPLACE placement machines automatically determine the optimal travel speed for the respective OSC, they optimize their performance for OSCs and raise the line’s overall productivity. It automatically determines the best travel speed for the respective OSC to make the process more productive. With adjustable placement forces ranging from ‘touchless’ and 0.5 N to 100 N, sensitive LEDs can be processed just a efficiently as mechanically resilient connectors. The Snap-in Detection feature makes sure that the component was placed correctly. When processing light-emitting diodes, the active LED Centering feature helps by activating the component and checking and correcting its optical alignment.
The SIPLACE SX platform offers also capacity-on-demand with its interchangeable gantries. By adding an SIPLACE SX gantry, for example, it is possible to double a machine’s capacity in about half an hour (SX1 to SX2). The line then continues to operate in the same configuration – just twice as fast. Following the same pattern, capacities can be easily transferred between lines, which allows manufacturers to pay only for what they actually need.
The latest generation of the SIPLACE SX platform also relieves operators with its many intelligent features – something that is particularly important in times when skilled labor is hard to find. The machine checks the condition of each nozzle. Contaminated nozzles are automatically cleaned, and damaged nozzles get discarded. Based on the new Unique Nozzle ID, the machine knows the condition of each nozzle and fetches only nozzles that have been approved and released from a 320-unit magazine. The machine also monitors the pitch settings of 8-mm tapes automatically. And for predictive maintenance purposes, each machine is equipped with many additional sensors.
Other significant improvements have also been made in the area of new product introductions because the IPC-HERMES-9852 industry standard allows for the electronic transmission of PCB data from machine to machine. Based on this capability, solder paste printers of the DEK TQ platform, Process Lens SPI systems and SIPLACE placement machines from ASMPT can automatically load the respective production program as needed. No longer does each machine need to read barcode – it has to be read only once by the first system, the loader. The open, standardized interface also makes it possible for each conveyor system to automatically adapt to the respective width of the PCBs, regardless of the manufacturer.
“No two SMT factories are alike today,” says Avdili. “But the high-mix/low-volume production in particular places very special demands on our technology and our consulting expertise. Many customers are surprised to see how many configuration options there are and how individually they can automate, for example by replacing complete changeover tables with AMR solutions. The standardized IPC-HERMES-9852 and IPC-2591 CFX interfaces ensure end-to-end M2M and M2H communication and provide the basis for our open automation concept, which grants each manufacturer maximum freedom in assembling the right hardware and the ideal degree of automation. These state-of-the-art interfaces form the basis for continuous and integrative process optimization in the Intelligent Factory.”
