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Pick-and-Place Round up
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
Gail Flower, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, SMT
Often, challenging macroeconomic conditions, such as those faced by the electronics industry in the past year, bring about creative innovations in both vendor products and engineers using automated assembly equipment. This year, SMT's pick-and-place equipment survey found some disconnects between supplier and user, but more often, unrealistic expectations were scraped away, uncovering practical must-haves and more direct responses to needs. This year, we asked component placement system makers and equipment users different questions.
What major problems have you had with using pick-and-place systems?
Major problems arise from bad components. "Sometimes we have bad components with broken leads, oxidized metals, etc., and our machines cannot recognize them," said Vitaliy Gladkyy, a production engineer based in Kiev, Ukraine.
Not all machines are user friendly. They are difficult to program and to teach component recognition, claims Steiner Chen, process engineer and QA manager at a large EMS firm. Simon Shin, a process engineer at an electronics OEM, says that process control is a major problem, and that includes human, mechanical, and material quality issues.
Some lack a center point teaching camera for feeders and have limited functionality in angle rotation increments. Some nozzles cannot properly pick up certain components or connectors. Missing parts and skew are major problems, according to Ben Zhou, a senior account operation manager based in Shanghai. Defects average at 3% due to pick-and-place problems at his plant.
"With ever-changing designs and market demands, not all machines can handle the wide range of component sizes -- 01005, SoP, PLCC, QFP, BGA, CSP, connector, odd-form components -- it is hard to find a machine with the necessary placement accuracy," says Henry Karpinski, production engineer based in Malaga, W.A. Australia. "Custom nozzles made by a third party may work, but the ID markings may not be recognized by the software of the pick-and-place machine," Karpinski added. Most manufacturers are reluctant to provide access for custom nozzle markings to be input by the customer as an option. Because changes in packaging have gotten out of sync with pick-and-place equipment, a custom feeder market supplies these up-to-date feeders, at a price. New machines are still on the market with 56-mm feeders, though some connectors may require 72-mm feeders or special trays.
Paul Goepfert, a production/manufacturing engineer in a NJ-based aerospace equipment supplier said, "The major problems we have had with our pick-and-place machines are not so much with the equipment as with our engineering department's new designs. We have just now started to use 0603 and 20-mil pitch components, which require smaller pick-up nozzles and a new component library. The biggest problem for us was that the diode manufacturers no longer make MELFs, so we had to change our existing programs to SOD-23 and DO-220AA (SMP) body types. This has also caused redesign of pad layouts on PCBs."
Ray Whittier, senior process engineer located in New England said that major problems were timely support, software upgrades, tool bits, and price control.
How have you, as suppliers, made your pick-and-place equipment robust?
"We have launched a new placement head, the SIPLACE MutiStar Collect& Place placement head, to encompass a chip shooter and end-of-line machine. You can run it as a chip shooter, and then take the whole machine and redeploy it as an end-of-line machine without reconfiguring heads. This optimizes line balancing for higher productivity and lower operational cost," says Guenter Lauber, CEO, Siemens Electronics Assembly Systems.
Siemens worked with the concept of having a manufacturer select what's needed, including single- or dual-gantry. The customer decides to invest in a whole new machine or just a gantry with a specific head. "With these interchangeable gantries, SIPLACE replaces the mini-modules that represent the current industry standard," says Lauber. Line space requirements remain unchanged, no time-consuming restructuring is needed, and the basic line structure doesn't change. The manufacturer's productivity and quality remain high.
To make pick-and-place equipment robust while handling small components is one of Panasonic's goals. One of the strengths of Panasonic's factory automation platform is to accelerate the implementation of micro chip mounting (01005) to a higher usage in the market. "We've introduced a new, integrated platform (NPM, Next Production Modular) that expands and evolves with a manufacturers' needs," says Tom Baggio, solutions program manager at Panasonic Factory Solutions Company of America. The new platform is designed to place parts, print paste, dispense and inspect -- a lean solution that enables manufacturers to do more assembly with less floorspace.
"Europlacer has added coplanarity as a standard inspection feature with all of our new IINEO machines," says John Perotta, VP. Coplanarity inspection eliminates "false positive" inspection of fine pitch devices with bent leads. This is a common assembly defect on ultra-fine-pitch QFPs. Automated inspection helps eliminate rework, returning failed components to a tray for possible recovery later.
One of the measurements of robustness is how long the equipment holds up under constant usage. "We have many Juki machines still in production for more than 15 years due to the high standards of our manufacturing quality," says Bob Black, CEO of Juki Americas. To keep machines working in the proper manner, the company offers unlimited free training with the purchase of every machine. Training helps maximize machine production, extending the machine's life span. Henry Mann, CEO at Manncorp Inc. says, "Our premium MC series features all-welded construction - no nuts and bolts whatsoever. The equipment also includes ball screw drives, AC motors, linear encoders, along with the latest generation of Cognex vision to improve precision."
APS Novastar has a history of making durable reliable pick-and-place machines says Tim Kardish, CEO. Machines with serial number 00006 placed into service in the spring of 2002 have recently been upgraded with state-of-the-art feeders, controls, software, and diagnostics. They also introduced fault monitoring diagnostics and mechanicals available as a retrofit on all machines currently in operation.
Essemtec AG offers machines made with a focus on innovation and precision. One third of the company's employees work in R&D. User group meetings provide close customer contact. "During these meetings, customers discuss new developments, improvements and technical challenges with our service department and new product managers directly," says Florian Schildein, marketing manager, Essemtec.
"Quality improvement is a fixed program within Assembléon," says Jeroen de Groot, marketing director. "Improved diagnostics and logging features have been installed on our equipment to enhance analysis and prompter responses. Remote connectivity now can anticipate and warn production engineers ahead of time to prevent a possible failure."
How have current economic conditions affected SMT manufacturing?
No matter what tradeshow you visit, no matter who you talk to within our industry at any time, the uppermost topic is how the economy is faring. Engineers in charge of SMT assembly equipment talk about how they creatively face the current global economic situation.
"The microwave and medical equipment sectors are seeing explosive new product growth," says Henry Mann of Manncorp, adding that many of these emerging OEMs are finding it cost effective to build boards in-house, generating great opportunities for pick-and-place sales. "The defense, aeronautics, and medical electronics segments are healthy and doing well," says John Perrotta VP at Europlacer, North America. Overall though, the assembly business is lagging a bit due to the uncertainty in the financial market and to lowered demand for electronics. "The current economic conditions have not affected our SMT manufacturing processes, as we are still making our monthly production quotes," says Goepfert. Many of the avionic products coming out of his company's operation feed into the military market. They are also designing new products, which helps train their staff for future assembly challenges as they run prototypes and experiment with new component types.
According to Ray Whittier, the economic conditions have had no effect. "We have been very fortunate to have had no changes in our OEM operation, with the exception of shutting down our third shift." Florian Schildein of Essemtec AG sees no major market differences. "Focusing on our three market segments -- high-volume, flexible midsize, and small volume including prototypes -- machines sell in an average steady flow without a boom in any one area." Essemtec concentrates on service and support worldwide.
"From a technical point of view, procurement of machines and material has never been better. Even with short lead times, we get a quick response from vendors. From a business point of view, however, we need the market to rebound just like everyone else," says Simon Shin. Ben Zou has experienced more changeover in his PCB assembly. Though quantities are down, changeovers happen at a rate of six to seven times per day right now.
"Overall, the lighting industry also seems to be growing; due to demand for high-speed placement of low-power LEDs to replace conventional higher power consumption lighting. In addition, some consumer electronic facilities are starting to increase production primarily due to traditional seasonal business," says Mike Foster of Samsung, adding that his company's offering of complete turn-key lines with sole source for sales, service, and process support continues to be attractive to customers, as their own resources become more strained. "At the component level, the growth of LEDs, odd forms, connectors, microBGAs, and 0201s are also fueling interest in mid-level machines with greater flexibility. Because long runs are less prevalent in North America, we are now seeing many high-speed machines in the used equipment marketplace," Mann adds.
In his Kiev plant, Vitaliy Gladkyy has giving discounts for regular standing customers and provided flexible prices for new customers to encourage steady business. Chen has had to downsize, cut costs, and trim production in response to market conditions. Similarly, Henry Karpinski's SMT manufacturing has used this slower market cycle to conduct maintenance upgrades, and line improvements. Karpinski has reduced operational numbers by 65% and staff by 50%.
Furthermore, the solar and LED industry sectors are showing growth, driven by CO2 reduction programs. The automotive area is picking up, driven by government scrap programs. "Many other electronics areas are lagging due to lowered consumer confidence and low credit availability," says Jeroen de Groot of Assembléon.
How does geography play a role?
Juki Automation claims to have the largest installed base of more than 15,000 pick-and-place machines worldwide. China has been a growing market for the firm. Juki Europe has grown an average of more than 37% in the last four years, according to the company with Europe growing only 5.7% per year on average. Russia is fast coming up as an emerging powerhouse of electronics manufacturing. "With the delivery of the FX3 starting, we will be able to target new account and new industries," says Jürg Schüpbach, president of Juki Europe. "The goal is to be the number one supplier of SMD machines by revenue worldwide in 2010." There are quite a few areas where the market shows growth. "Business is booming in netbooks and mobile applications driven by government stimulus programs, particularly in China," says de Groot, Assembléon.
"Because we have built up a strong worldwide distribution network, business is improving, especially in areas such as Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg), where we founded our latest distribution subsidiary," says Schildein of Essemtec.
"According to the SMEMA Q1, 2009 figures, North America equipment supplier survey business is not booming anywhere. For short-run, complex boards and the most challenging microBGAs, QFPs, CSPs, and SOICs, placement demands remain strongest in the Americas and Europe," says Tim Kardish of APS Novastar. "At the same time, China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan continue to face stiff head winds from the material downturn in demand coming from consumer electronics." APS will launch four new products over the next 12 months that target areas of growth in specific regions.
Conclusion
Users, in a unified chorus, know what they want when purchasing pick-and-place equipment. More than ever, low cost has become a top priority. Other requirements include but are not limited to maximum flexibility, speed, accuracy, set-up and changeover ease, programming, product reputation in the industry, repeatability, up-time, options, power requirement, footprint, support, training, range of component capability, and return on investment (ROI) factors. How user-friendly and compatible with existing machines a pick-and-place is also makes a difference in machine purchases.
Savvy pick-and-place users have responded to changing markets quickly. The more flexible and responsive suppliers can be, the better. Suppliers who key their products to meet specific demands while keeping costs low and quality high will be ready for growth in this recovery cycle.
Acknowledgements:
Many thanks to suppliers APS Novastar; Assembléon; Essemtec AG; Europlacer, North America; Juki Automation; Manncorp Inc.; Panasonic Factory Solutions Company of America; Samsung; and Siemens Electronics Assembly Systems. I also value the contributions of pick-and-place equipment users, from Kiev to the U.S. and China.
Gail Flower, editor-at-large, SMT, may be contacted at (603) 203-0543; gailflower@gmail.com. Read her annual Pick-and-Place Round Up articles from September 2008 and July 2007 on smtonline.com.