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Ensuring Success in PCB Manufacturing and Assembly Continued from page 56
mixed production methods. The result is an unavoid- able tradeoff between the flexibility of higher prod- uct mixes versus productivity. Planning must quick- ly analyze the shop-floor status, consider changing delivery demand, and understand process optimiza- tion. The complexity of surface-mount-technology (SMT) manufacturing processes makes meeting these demands extremely difficult. Microsoft Excel is commonly used for ERP,
although it may not find the optimum production plans for SMT manufacturing processes. Fortunately, the latest SMT-oriented Valor® Production Plan manufacturing software from Mentor Graphics Corp. simultaneously optimizes the selection and sequencing of products following delivery requirements and manages the grouping of feeders throughout SMT processes. This tool helps to reduce SMT changeover time, preserving machine optimization and line balance, and enabling a production schedule that accurately tracks the needs of the customer. A top-level plan can be developed with the
aid of standard ERP tools together with the requirements for each product, broken down for each production line and manufacturing machine. The Valor Production Plan logic is capable
of planning optimization based on customer requirements, current production status, and avail- able materials, managing thousands of products. The result is an immediate increase of operational productivity, with high-mix production achieving efficiency approaching high-volume levels.
Being Ready for Anything The third step is to be ready to produce any-
thing, at any time, and in any quantity. SMT engi- neers create production-ready machine programs, test and inspection data, and visual documenta- tion by converting manufacturing product model data and a bill of materials (BOM), which is usual- ly produced by the ERP system. This is often a first step for electronic manufacturing service
Modeling SMT processes while performing schedule optimization creates accurate shop-floor plans and schedules.
product data qualification and merging of local BOM data, which often yields discrepancies which must be resolved. Any new materials must be understood before they can be added to production. SMT assembly must be divided across different machines, and SMT-related processes, such as with screen printers and reflow ovens, must be prepared. Preparation is needed for each required test process and for inspection processes, whether manual, automatic, or a combination of the two. Operator documentation must also be produced. Taking all these actions for each product on
manufacturing floors where the number of prod- ucts is growing and the product mix is increasing can consume all available engineering resources. As a result, de facto assumptions are inevitable,
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(EMS) companies, where an understanding of the cost of production is required along with any spe- cific physical production qualifications. Performing all of the complex process prepa- ration tasks can be difficult. It starts with the
resulting in restrictions that limit each product to a specific line configuration. This limits the flexi- bility of how SMT lines are assigned to different products and can limit production rates. Without the flexibility, some lines may build stock that is not required for delivery, whereas other lines may be idle, making delivery targets for other products unachievable.
Advanced Prep Tools Fortunately, advanced process preparation
tools are helping to overcome these limitations. They can take the design data and merge the BOM within a graphical user interface (GUI), so that discrepancies can be quickly identified and resolved. They can create optimized SMT pro- gram sets, test programs, inspection data, etc., including all necessary manufacturing engineer- ing process steps across production equipment from multiple vendors. Direct outputs to SMT machines, testers, and inspection machines can be made without manual data manipulation, using sophisticated automated native program and library generation tools. All engineering processes share a common-
parts-shape data source, linked with the ODB++ product model data and an Internet-based shape
library. Simulations of SMT machine operation can be performed in software to correct placement rota- tion and offset errors, removing the need for physi- cal product qualification, and thus avoiding produc- tion line downtime during new product qualification. Through simulation, an SMT programming
team can develop different capable line configura- tions for each product, matching delivery de - mands. The result is reduced lead time for new products, increased asset utilization, elimination of line down-time for product qualification, and the reduction of engineering efforts for duplicate maintenance of data in different systems. Step four involves knowing exactly what one is doing at any time. SMT machines are very fast,
Continued on page 60
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