Nov/Dec, 2022
www.us-tech.com
Inovaxe Mobile Smart Carts Help Surf-Tech Increase Efficiency
Continued from previous page
says Eggart. “We chose them be- cause they are the industry leader and they work very close- ly with Hanwha. Since we al- ready use the Hanwha inventory tracking, partnering with Ino- vaxe made good business sense.”
Mobile Smart Racks
The racks offer a flexible mix of reel storage, handling 7, 10, 13, and 15 in. reels of various widths, along with a small work surface to facilitate feeder load- ing/reloading or reel splicing. Whether a low-volume kit or a high-volume run, Surf-Tech op- erators can keep material loaded in lineside smart racks ready to go. As soon as a new reel is re- quired for a feeder, it can be lo- cated in seconds and loaded into
a new feeder or spliced onto an emptying reel.
Each rack stores 560 7 in. reels or 320 13 in. reels, lights up to identify the parts required for the kit, and has intelligent sen- sors that detect where reels are placed. The mobile racks can be daisy-chained for increased ca- pacity and reels can be retrieved in less than four seconds and re- turned in less than eight sec- onds. Flexible and easy to use, the racks reduce kitting time from hours to seconds and are ac-
cessible from both sides for even faster use.
Combined with Inovaxe’s easy-to-use InoAuto software, these standalone racks help streamline Surf-Tech’s SMT op- eration, reducing line down oc- currences and eliminating opera- tor errors. With Inovaxe’s vari- ous integration options, the racks help close the loop and eliminate the black hole of WIP. Eggart added that even though the Inovaxe racks are
Continued on page 25
Page 23
Surf-Tech president Stephen Eggart.
Surf-Tech performs services for most contract manufacturing needs. Its staff works through BOMs, prints, datasheets and other specific requirements to ensure reliable assembly and quality. The company’s quality assurance department verifies that proper assembly is done through the use of unit testing, visual and automated 3D inspec- tion, and through its ISO 9001 program.
“Few, if any, areas are as important as quality assurance in United States manufactur- ing,” says Eggart. “Our high- quality output frequently is cited by our customers as meeting and exceeding their requirements.” Surf-Tech’s reputation is based on its quality and, as such, all its inspection personnel are certi- fied to IPC-A-610.
Eggart adds that the mobile smart racks help Surf-Tech keep control of its inventory. “In a world where availability of com- ponents has become a critical is- sue of the day, this system has prevented parts from being mis- placed and kept our SMT line running more quickly and effi- ciently,” he says.
Inovaxe’s SR smart compo- nent storage management sys- tem is designed for operation on the production line right next to the pick-and-place machines to facilitate efficient feeder replen- ishment. The mobile smart stor- age racks store material required for feeder replenishment during a job’s run. This allows the reels to be quickly and easily accessed by operators before a feeder has run out, maximizing machine uptime.
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
