Page 62
www.us-tech.com
Some Paths to Help Streamline Overseas Factories Continued from previous page
Even in the Chinese electronics
Korea, and other developed nations. No matter which path is taken,
“streamlining” of production is un - avoidable from a variety of respects. In particular, as products become more highly functional and soldering becomes more complex, know-how regarding “automation” entailing more than robots alone has come into the spotlight.
market, which has grown through cost competition, the trend continues towards improved-quality products. As consumer confidence increases, the Chinese consumer is demanding bet- ter products, with products providing high added value. To make the most of existing production lines, with stable production of high-value-added prod- ucts, proper division of roles between
personnel and robots is essential. At one Chinese electronics man-
Find Electronic Failures with Vibration Testing
Benchtop Vibration Table
ufacturing services (EMS) facility, soldering had been performed by hand on such a scale that hundreds of workers were required. However, significant changes, including rapid market growth and increase in print- ed-circuit-board (PCB) density, out- paced the ability to train and educate new personnel. To keep pace, several dozen desktop type robots were introduced, and a cell-manufactur- ing-based soldering system was implemented. Surplus personnel were transferred to processes unlike- ly to impact product performance, such as assembly. As personnel are no longer responsible for soldering operations, advanced skills are not required, and the product quality has become more uniform. Along with miniaturization of
connections, increasing circuit-board density has made weight manage- ment essential. For this reason, high-precision feeding equipment was installed at this Chinese EMS facility. Being able to feed 0.6mm of 0.15mm diameter solder wire enabled weight management with a precision of less than the amount of solder for a single point, a mere 0.1mg. The resulting use of robotic equipment allowed a reduction in the number of workers by roughly 50 percent; the reduction of required skills also cut the costs associated with that requirement by more than 50 percent. At the same time, a qual- ity level over 99 percent was achieved in production quality. The UNIX 41S series of automat-
Visit us at Apex, Booth #1335!
E
Cincinnati Sub-Zero Cincinnati, OH
www.cszindustrial.com (p) 513-772-8810
ed EMS equipment is designed with a desktop form factor, for rapid intro- duction and startup. The series of sys- tems is designed for ease of use, deliv- ering high-quality soldering without requiring advanced knowledge of operation. These systems have been widely adopted for a broad range of manufacturing purposes, including automobiles, household appliances, smartphones, and renewable energy devices. They can support almost any soldering application when equipped with the proper options. These sys- tems also help establish and maintain a high quality rate when production is brought to a new region. As an example, a factory in
Southeast Asia adopted a UNIX-413S system. It came equipped with a posi- tion correction mechanism, and the
July, 2014
capability to correct the solder posi- tion of the iron tip with a precision of 0.05mm. The system can also make incisions into solder wire to prevent flux dispersal and solder balls. As a result, initially configured conditions are maintained, making it possible to maintain a high-quality production rate. When implementing partial automation in a facility, management must be sensitive to how equipment can represent environmental changes for personnel, and how EMS produc- tion can be maintained most effective- ly with the combination of equipment and personnel. The UNIVERSE S (Universe
Series) soldering robot positions a PCB between a scalar robot above and articulated robot below, and auto- mates electronic component picking,
The versatile UNIX-41S series desktop robot enables quick startup and partial automation at this overseas factory.
board insertion, and soldering all in a single sequence. In a traditional process model, four processes (compo- nent insertion, board setting, inver- sion, and soldering) are performed by a number of workers. In contrast, the UNIVERSE S takes advantage of these two types of robots to integrate component insertion, setting, and sol- dering into a single process. As a result, the UNIVERSE S
system reduced a 150-second mount- ing process to roughly a 55-second process at a Japanese factory. The installation area was also reduced to about one-third of what it had been. In addition, the uniformity provided by this use of automation, along with the system’s image-recognition-based error detection feature, reportedly led to an increase in the quality rate of the soldering process to almost 100 percent. The UNIVERSE S is an excel-
lent product for Japanese factories in which unmanned 24-hour full auto - mation is not uncommon. The system achieves full automation that simul- taneously delivers significant quality improvements while reducing re - quired operating space. With the evolution of PCBs and
•Custom Flex Circuit Assemblies• •Flexible Jumpers•
760-631-0202 x 22 Fax 631-0237
their components, soldering is becom- ing more difficult and complex. An understanding of the basic technology is essential to effectively automate modern soldering. To meet such needs, the Soldering Lab, a specialized soldering R&D center within Japan UNIX Co., Ltd., has been expanded to four locations within Japan. In these locations, state-of-the-art, advanced analysis equipment and the latest models of automated machinery are used to perform microlevel quality control and applied research into cut- ting-edge soldering technology. Contact: JAPAN UNIX Co.,
www.elmecmfg.com
Ltd., 2-21-25, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, % +81-(0)3-3588-0551 E-mail:
yusaku@japanunix.com Web:
www.japanunix.com r
NEW NE
NEW
EW
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96