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Partnering December, 2012 Tracking Components at The Sony UK Technology Centre By Michael Bloor C
ounting SMT components on reels can present a dilemma. Conventional counting sys-
tems are slow, error-prone and can even result in component losses and damage to the material being count- ed. They require far too much opera- tor time and delay the availability of reels for further builds. They rely on manual processes: determination of the component pitch, start and end positions of occupied tape, the recording of results and subsequent data entry to an ERP system. However, if you don’t count ma-
terial after use, you may only know your true attrition when a reel is ex- hausted. At that point, the conse- quence may be that a vital build can not be completed. Handling attrition with these
components can be significant. It will probably far exceed material lost dur- ing placement, especially in high mix/low volume manufacturing envi- ronments. To deal with these prob- lems, The Sony UK Technology Centre has recently installed Seratel’s Reel aMounts component counting system at its plant in Pencoed, Wales.
The manufacturing team at
Sony Pencoed already uses IT sys- tems that record the expected usage of components based on bills of mate- rials, together with losses reported by production equipment. However, a lack of knowledge of components lost in handling has meant that in- ventories could not be accurate. Hence there was a risk of unexpected component shortages leading to pro- duction delays. Counting all reels used at the
end of each production run was sim- ply impractical using traditional component counters. Besides the em- ployee time and delays involved, ad- ditional process steps requiring man- ual data entry were unacceptable. However, Reel aMounts makes this counting fast and simple. With Sera- tel’s help, Sony has also closely inte- grated Reel aMounts with both its Automount MRP manufacturing sys- tem and Oracle ERP.
Simple Operation and Integration Reel aMounts provides high
speed counting for tape-and-reel components by linking a computer,
electronic weighing scales, bar code scanner, bar code printer and a data- base of component types. Patented technology, unique to the system, is used to provide accurate results in a field where weigh counting has oth- erwise failed. When a reel is returned from
production, the operator places it on the Reel aMounts scales and scans a bar code on the reel. The system counts the reel instantly and also warns the operator if this is mois- ture-sensitive material that needs to be returned to a bag. The operator then simply scans
a Reel aMounts “command” bar code. This one action has the effect of recording the count details in a data- base, printing a new label for the reel, logging the material back into the warehouse, updating the reel quantity in Automount MRP and posting the material usage (includ- ing attrition) to Oracle, in a transac- tion which identifies the individual reel involved.
Not Only Tape-and-Reel Although counting SMT materi-
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• BGA Reballing • BGA Packaging Falcon 5/C • Die/Heat Sink Bonding
• High Density Packaging/Substrates • Laminated Power Components
• Laser Diode Reflow • Lead Frames • Microwave Hybrids, Fluxless Au/Sn Reflow • Extremely Low O2 ppm Capability w/low N2 Consumption SIKAMA INTERNATIONAL, Inc. 118 E. Gutierrez Street • Santa Barbara, CA 93101-2314 U.S.A. Tel: 1-805-962-1000 • Fax: 1-805-962-6100 •
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al in tape-and-reel format is where Reel aMounts presents the greatest advantages over other methods, it can be used to count virtually any component in any container. For example, it can count
PTH/axial parts, tubes, strips and loose components. It can be used to issue exact quantities of loose compo- nents for a kit, counting them in lin bins, labelling each bin and printing a list of all materials issued.
Counting Reels in Feeders Sony keeps some commonly
used materials permanently in feed- ers. This is not a problem for Reel aMounts. The feeder and reel are placed together on the scales, the op- erator scans an additional bar code on the feeder and the system calcu- lates the correct quantity, as it would if the reel were on its own. A recent upgrade to Reel
aMounts means that reels which are loaded in twin-track feeders (where one feeder services two reels) can now be counted with the same ease. This same upgrade also means that for many makes of placement equip- ment, it is possible to count reels loaded in feeders, while the feeders are still mounted in the pick- and- place machine.
Flexible Labelling Reel aMounts allows the user to
design his or her own reel label for- mats, and even to have multiple for- mats for different scenarios. Addi- tional information, such as a date code, can be requested from the oper- ator and entered by a bar code scan. Seratel and Sony have worked to- gether to take maximum advantage
of this flexibility. The label used by Sony Pencoed shows:
l
l The new quantity on the reel. l
Sony’s part code and the component description.
The Automount MRP ID for the reel, both in human readable and bar code form.
l l l l l l
The type of feeder to be used with the component.
The employee who processed the reel.
Whether or not the material is moisture sensitive.
Whether or not the material is RoHS-compliant.
The unique ID assigned to the reel by Reel aMounts.
The proprietary bar code that allows Reel aMounts to count the reel instantly without further operator input.
Handling Multiple Stocks Sony Pencoed produces a range
of high technology state of the art Broadcast and Professional Cameras and Camera systems for world wide markets. In addition, the plant also offers a Collaborative Manufacturing Solutions (CMS) service, manufac- turing products for other companies. Because of this, Sony has to
manage two separate materiel stocks. Reel aMounts allows new reels of components to be tagged as belonging to either the camera or CMS division. From then on, the unique reel ID placed on all reels by Reel aMounts is used to ensure that the appropriate inventory is auto- matically adjusted — in one of two Automount MRP systems, and for the correct owner organization in Oracle.
Web-Based Reporting For every counting transaction,
Reel aMounts generates a database record with over 20 items of informa- tion about that individual count. Reel aMounts Reporting Centre — an extensive, web-based reporting sys- tem — then provides both manage- ment statistics and detailed analysis of the data, including traceability down to the individual reel. Information can also be for-
warded to an ERP system, printed as reports or exported to Excel for fur- ther analysis. Since the Reporting Centre runs inside a web browser, it can be provided to any employee within the company, without any in- stallation being required on that per- son’s PC.
Seratel provides computer sys-
tems to aid electronics manufactur- ing. For 15 years, its systems have been used worldwide by leading
OEMs and EMS providers. Contact: Seratel Ltd., Mulrany,
Westport, Co. Mayo, Ireland %+353 98 36244 fax: +353 98 36024 E-mail:
info@seratel.ie Web:
www.seratel.ie r
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