Manufacturing technology
Automation can improve ROI through better and more
consistent wafer yields and less material waste.
design and produce products across various domains, including minimally invasive devices, blood management, cardiology, patient monitoring and neurology, has seen first-hand both the advantages and challenges that automation brings.
Data-driven innovation
Subrahmanyan leads a team for selection and deployment of design and manufacturing technologies for use in high-reliability microelectronics applications, and is the co- author of a recent whitepaper titled ‘Assuring Reliability in Medical Device Manufacturing Using Automation and a Digital Factory’, which outlines a fail-safe, fast response strategy for manufacturing reliable medical electronics in a controlled, data-rich, and cost-efficient environment.
“Once the automation platform is optimised, it can lead to significant microelectronics packaging design enhancement, material savings, energy reduction, product quality and reliability.”
Girish Wable
“Some challenges are assuring supply continuity, especially given ongoing changes to and the obsolescence of microelectronics components technologies, as well as extended incoming data- focused quality control, so we draw on close partnerships with our supply base, proactive obsolescence management, digitally integrated workflow and data-rich manufacturing, among other things,” he remarks. “We can then unlock the most important advantages of automation in microelectronics production – prescriptive control of quality and reliability, configuration management and improved cycle time,”
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he adds. “Consequences of this are lower costs and improved efficiency and scalability – both up and down – to dynamically adjust to demand. That helps us to overcome the challenges of miniaturisation, the diversity of technologies and the design constraints, as well as managing a global value stream that requires strict materials controls.” This innovative, data-rich approach used by MSE allows for consistency in microelectronics manufacturing, as it rapidly detects anomalies and enables faster remedial actions. The strategy employs the idea of a digital twin, relying on scalable factory automation and a digital factory concept to eliminate manual handling of product assemblies and data, automate workflow, and preserve traceability information. “We have seen quality, cost and lead time improvements that meet or exceed customer demand,” observes Subrahmanyan. “Then there is the portability of processes, which are people- agnostic and can be reconfigured close to the next step in the value stream, which improves efficiency.” As a companion virtual representation of the physical factory, a digital factory has the know- how to manufacture a product, as well as the quality and transactional data that is unique to each serial number manufactured. The digital factory can identify the right workflow and recipes for that serial number and communicate this information to the physical production line, dynamically prescribing manufacturing operations and validating recipes and inspection parameters, as a product moves through the physical factory. “Advanced digital integration, configurable advanced manufacturing and distributed workflow are the next steps forward in automation,” says Subrahmanyan. “The traditional approach of a connected physical factory – like a conveyorised manufacturing line – is increasingly supplemented with software-control.”
“Manufacturers continually leverage automation capabilities from one industry to another out of necessity,” adds Wable. “Increased modularisation of manufacturing lines with common functional automation platforms built with robotics, sensors, actuators, operating software and artificial intelligence are emerging to be the common core.” Innovation in medical device design must – and will – be matched by innovation in manufacturing processes. The latest advances enable the production and handling of silicon dies that are thinner than 25 microns, making them flexible enough to be placed in low-profile spaces that could potentially lead to minimally invasive smart catheters or contact lenses that require the placement of microelectronics in the gap between eyeball and eyelid. For all its challenges, automation is the key to designing and manufacturing the next generation of medical devices. ●
Medical Device Developments /
www.nsmedicaldevices.com
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