FEATURE DISTRIBUTION & SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT Shining a spotlight
on component management PCB production and the lights-out factory
Words by Joe Booth, business development and marketing manager, Altus P
CB technology is becoming increasingly intricate as the trend of miniaturisation sets in. This can be a challenge for manufacturers as they look for techniques and applications for which to produce these highly technical designs in a timely and cost-effective way, ensuring a stable production. PCB assembly automation is an effective solution and is a key driver in improving efficiency in the industry. Focus has predominantly fallen onto
SMT and THT production equipment to help in the automation process. New technologies have been developed and released by leading capital equipment companies to increase throughput and technical capabilities in all stages of PCB assembly, in order to meet today’s demanding electronic design requirements. This is significant as the move towards automated ‘lights- out factories’ is continuing to build momentum. This has put a spotlight on improving all processes within a manufacturing site; for a ‘dark factory’ to be successful, one must be smarter and stricter with component management and its supporting processes.
BE SMART - DON’T TAKE RISKS A lack of component stock is a trigger for slower production that is all too common in PCB assembly. This leads to the difficult situation of trying to explain that the lead time of a product has increased, to the end customer. If you have ever found yourself in this situation, you might have thought how far away the smart factory was, or at least, in comparison to your current status. Many manufacturers don’t have a comprehensive view of what is in stock. They don’t have a system that auto-orders components, required for future production runs. And there isn’t a stock checking system that directly communicates to the manufacturing execution system (MES), or the components are missing the 3D barcodes to trace their origin. For many companies, the usual practice when it comes to components is a large storage area, lined with shelving units, filled with numerous parts, all of which take up considerable space. An order
10 SEPTEMBER 2019 | ELECTRONICS
is received, and the purchasing team summarise the components entailed. The supply chain is then contacted, and parts are delivered to ‘goods-in’. Goods-in accept the components, booking them into their management system and physically carrying the parts to their storage locations. Production confirms it requires parts to start
assembly and the relevant components are then picked from different locations, checked out of their management system and sent to production: any remaining parts are sent back to goods-in. This is a very time-consuming and intensive process in terms of labour.
The traditional method of component counting has many issues, which arise largely from it being a manual process. Because it is carried out by a human hand, there is a high risk of mistake. A reading error of a single part number across any of the
processes can cause problems. It is also expensive as the process requires human intervention. For example, at each stage, an operator is required to communicate to the management system and enter data. These
procedures are repetitive and time consuming, however. But,
by implementing modern production techniques, it will free up valuable
labour time, reduce the cost per part and increase output.
TAKE A STEP BACK Given the complexity of producing modern electronics, manufacturers need to look at their processes differently. Once an order comes in,
“The move
towards automated ‘lights-out factories’ is continuing to build momentum”
The time taken to manually count component numbers of used reels returning from production can be considerable without modern automated systems in place
the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) accepts it automatically, cross checking with the production and store database to analyse both the schedule and the available parts in the store. MES automatically places orders to the supply chain for the required components, which are subsequently delivered. At the same time, the product is programmed into the schedule with innovative
planning software. Operators are alerted to an optimum monthly production plan, to meet deadlines and minimise the feeder and product changeovers. Parts arrive and are scanned by a component counter with MES
communication and 3D barcode labelling. This contains all the required information (part number, location, product, expiry etc.) which is then checked off the order list. An assistant robot transports the required components to production, ready for assembly. Once production has taken place, the parts component information is automatically updated, and any remaining components are stored and re-labelled for later use. This automated process has many advantages, including an increased efficiency and capability for counting and batching components at high speed, and a greater accuracy in component traceability, reliability and accuracy. Component management
technology can be integrated into all sizes of production and at varying levels resulting in significant savings in the manufacturing process. Mass-market electronics manufacturing requires more thought and planning to
ing levels resulting in
prevent production line stops and to increase productivity and profit. Component management forms a fundamental cog in
profit. Component
automation and is vital to a lights-out factory. With a variety of innovative systems already on the market, smart manufacturers are seeing the light and are updating to automated processes in order to have efficient, future-proof manufacturing procedures.
Altus
www.altusgroup.co.uk / ELECTRONICS
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