Page 24


www.us-tech.com


March, 2018


Micro Analog Becomes Largest Speedprint Customer in U.S.


By David Hughes, SMT Industry Analyst M


icro Analog, Inc., (MAI) oper- ates six SMT lines: two high- volume, two medium-volume


and two for low-volume, high-mix manufacturing. The high-mix lines account for 70 percent of the compa- ny’s production changeovers — typi- cally between 18 and 25 per week. With such a mix of products and vol- umes, and a recent change in man- agement, the company was ready to update and optimize its many lines. The progressive new manage-


ment allowed the operations team to review its SMT equipment. Screen printing came under scrutiny. For al- most a decade, the company had been supplied by a single printer manufacturer, who had been proven less than satisfactory. MAI director of operations


Mauricio Villeda looked for a reduc- tion in defects across the screen print process, as well as a reduction in set up times. More importantly, his team wanted better customer support. “It was a critical element in our review process,” explains Villeda. “We wanted a machine that was easy to use, and a supplier that would partner with us and who would help with training.”


Screen Printing in the Spotlight Among the suppliers invited to


participate in the review was Speed-


print Technologies. Speedprint prides itself on customer support, having won four service excellence awards from a respected industry publication. “We invited Speedprint to par-


er came with 90-days of uncondition- al support, which proved to be very proactive. “It set Speedprint apart from the outset,” claims Le. “No one else did that.”


less than half the time, in a like-for- like production setting. “Based on the high number of changeovers on our high-mix lines alone, that time saving delivered a significant cost saving,” says Kim Bickmeier, direc- tor of sales.


Reducing Costs Other aspects of the Speedprint


platform design appealed to the MAI evaluation team. The SP700 easily accommo-


dates the universal stencil frame sys- tem the company employs to further reduce changeover time, reduce sten- cil manufacturing and shipping costs and simplify foil storage on the pro- duction floor. Features that include Speed-


ticipate, based on this promise of support. Then, before we knew it, a Speedprint screen printer had shown up in our SMT Room.” says Villeda. Production Manager Thanh Le points out that the unexpected print-


Micro Analog’s manufacturing facility in La Verne, California The Speedprint SP700 platform


made an immediate impact, especial- ly alongside the set up times the MAI operations team had come to accept from the incumbent printer. With the SP700 in place, this was reduced to


print’s laser-guided tooling system dramatically improve set up accura- cy which, combined with the ease of calibration, has significantly im- proved print quality and reduced re- work due to misprints experienced with the previous equipment. This all reduces MAI’s costs, al-


lowing it to maintain its advantage over the competition. “The five-year Speedprint parts warranty was by far the best we have seen. It is reas- suring, as it further demonstrates how the company stands behind its


Continued on next page ESD-SAFE™ LABELS and TAPES Electronic & Engineering Materials


Ask about our IPC-CC-830 / MILil-46058C conformal coatings designed for easy dip or spray application on printed circuit boards and surface mount devices.


HELP PROTECT STATIC SENSITIVE DEVICES


® Member 314.621.5700 www.elantas.com/pdg See at APEX, Booth 2319 Innovative Materials for Harsh Environments See at APEX, Booth 2500


1.603.352.1415 polyonics.com


BOOTH #2500 APEX EXPO 2018 FEB 27- MARCH 1 SAN DIEGO


ANSI/ESD S20.20, IEC 61340, JEDEC JESD625B Compliant


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  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136