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September, 2018
Creating Automation Solutions for Unique Applications
Continued from previous page to the operators.
Conveying Between Workstations All workstations share
the main conveyor that moves the soldering frames to a 90° turning station, which changes their direc- tion of travel and orienta- tion for component place- ment. Opposite worksta- tions are always synchro- nized. Regardless of the workstation, the worker’s placement task stays the same.
An AOI system inte-
grated into the production line then inspects each assembly to verify the cor- rect component placement. An adjacent automatic sep- aration station separates fault-free soldering frames from the ones with defects. The fault-free frames go through another 90° turn- ing station and then enter the wave soldering system. The frames with placement errors are lowered auto- matically to the return conveyor level, where they are sent back to the relevant placement workstation. After wave soldering, the
assemblies are also lowered to the return conveyor level and pass through the AOI system again for solder joint inspection. Fault-free frames are then moved to their next workstation. To prevent bottlenecks if assem-
blies with soldering defects cannot be processed immediately, the produc- tion line includes a central rework buffer that can hold bad boards awaiting rework. With the push of a button, an operator can request a sol- dering frame, which is then delivered to the workstation. The handling unit automatically adjusts to the cur-
Layout of a high-volume, automated THT production line.
tion line. Barcode readers or other identification systems could be used instead, in similar production lines. In another project that used sol-
dering frames, the customer was using frames of different lengths. The production line design included four component placement workstations in parallel with the main conveyor, as well as handling units for feeding and picking up the soldering frames. Each of the handling units is equipped with six buffer stations between the place- ment and return conveyor. The SEHO team developed inward transfer units that adjust automatically to the required length of each frame. By reading each frame’s transponder, the inward transfer units for the main conveyor adjust to the required length within seconds.
Versatility in Automation “We have realized some cus-
tomer projects that didn’t have any- Continued on page 80
rent height setting of the operator’s workstation. This application uses RFID to
perform the automatic control of the soldering frames within the produc-
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