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Eagle-Eyed One Has Testing, Certification in Sights
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
HUDSON, N.H. — In any economic condition, getting the most out of surface mount machines in an assembly line is critical. In a downturn, companies want to optimize their machines and increase productivity. When things are looking up, e.g., higher productivity, manufacturers produce at higher volumes, meaning mistakes can happen at a greater rate.
To this end, Michael Sivigny, sales manager of Eagle-Eyed One, feels that the CmController mobile machine capability test method will revolutionize the industry.
"The level of functionality, and its powerful software package, makes it unprecedented in performing capability evaluations," Sivigny explained. "It is possible to do accuracy and repeatability studies with other equipment, such as coordinate measuring machines (CMM), but their methods are time-consuming to program, offer limited diagnostic capability and make data crunching a considerably arduous task."
The CmController allows customers to move the equipment to any manufacturing line and analyze performance indicators. Specially designed vision algorithms enable testing on SMT equipment including placement machines, printers, dispensers, die bonders, AOI and stencil manufacturing equipment.
Eagle-Eyed One will display one of its solid industry relationships at APEX when it exhibits at Cookson Electronics Equipment's booth. Sivigny will be demonstrating the CmController on MPM's AccuFlex stencil printer, as well as on other Cookson equipment.
Besides sales of the CmController, Sivigny feels the service he can provide, third-party certification of machine performance, is a growing one. "Companies want someone to come in, verify the machine performs to specification, fix it if necessary, give a certificate for ISO/QS compliance and be on the way," he explained.
Several large companies have expressed interest in such certification, Sivigny said. "This unique test method is still in its infancy, but will storm the market in the Americas."
Outsourcing Board Production, Inspection and Delivery
HAMPSTED, N.H. — It's common for an OEM to turn to a favorite EMS supplier when finished PCBs are needed. But what if there are particular demands such as quick turnaround, design for a tricky flex circuit or a specific low-price target? What if an EMS company has a demand for a type of board that it doesn't supply? In that case, a company such as P.D. Circuits Inc. would compete for the contract.
"We manage the spectrum of requirements from design to prototype and production," says David Wolff, company president.
Here's how it works: A customer bids on a Request for Quote Worksheet containing information on board size, layers, traces/spaces, SMT, silkscreen, soldermask, holes, fabrication, quantity, type of inspection and test required, and other specifics. Once an order is received and accepted, CAM files are sent to P.D. Circuits where a DFM check is done. Next, P.D. e-mails files to their chosen vendors matching the customer's requirements. Boards are produced by P.D. Circuits' chosen vendors, sent to P.D. for inspection and test, and then shipped directly to the end customer or stored in P.D.'s on-site warehouse as needed. Typically boards take two weeks for turnaround. The customers to this particular "broker" are made up of approximately 60 percent CMs and 40 percent OEMs.
"What we really sell is our knowledge of the industry, including our partnerships with overseas customers, our design and test capabilities, and our unique ability to track boards," says Wolff. "From our proprietary software, we can tell exactly how much it costs to produce their particular board. Our next offering might be our software, it has been such a powerful control tool." P.D. Circuits' software tracks each board, sorts by date, performs analysis, tracks defects and cuts delivery times.