CONTRACT MANUFACTURING
pull the kits of components required for each job, it can send the bill of materials (BOM) to the automated storage systems to automatically generate the pulling of the kit prior to production. Some users use an MES software system to manage this function. In this case, the MES software also can send the BOM and kit pulling request to the automated storage system.
The ERP system is the main control center for business operations in most companies. The automated storage systems can share any data that they store with ERP, upon request. From large, well-known providers of ERP such as SAP and Oracle to homegrown ERP systems developed by customers themselves to simpler small business- oriented ERP systems, the automated storage system can be fully integrated as a key partner in the manufacturing process.
The MES System
MES are computerised systems used in manufacturing to track and document the transformation of raw materials to finished goods. MES provides information that helps manufacturing decision makers understand how current conditions on the plant floor can be optimised to improve production output. MES works in real time to enable the control of multiple elements of the production process (e.g. inputs, personnel, machines and support services).
Some manufacturers use MES software to directly control the production floor and monitor critical production processes. Usually, the MES is used in conjunction with an ERP system with integration and communication between the two systems on a continuous basis. In electronics manufacturing, some of the larger providers of MES are Siemens (formerly Valor/Mentor Graphics), Aegis, and Cogiscan, and there are many less well-known providers as well. When an MES software is used, the automated component storage system communicates primarily with the MES, passing information to the ERP. The MES sends the BOM and requests the pulling of kits from the automated storage systems and also receives the input from the automatic MSD component monitoring system run by the storage system. Although in some cases while the production is directly
controlled by the MES, the ERP system will communicate directly with the automated storage systems regarding inventory, component quantities, and FIFO compliance.
The pick-and-place lines The automated component storage system can communicate directly with the pick- and-place system’s line control software to
accomplish a number of things. It will deliver the kit of components specified by the ERP system or the MES to the proper line. The kit then can be loaded onto feeders and onto the line. At the end of the production run of that assembly, the components can be removed from the feeders, loaded into cases barcode side up, and returned to the automatic storage system to be returned to inventory.
For most modern pick-and-place systems, it is possible to use the placement machine
data to update the quality of components in each reel or tray as they are returned to the automatic storage system. For example, when a reel is returned to the storage tower the unique ID is read, and the storage tower requests the quantity information from the pick-and-place line control. Each pick-and- place system knows how many parts from each reel have been placed and how many mispicks occurred during the picking from that reel. These numbers can be added together and combined with an attrition number that takes account for the number of parts on average lost when a reel is loaded onto a tape feeder. By combining these numbers and subtracting the total from the previous inventory count for that reel, the inventory quantity can be updated and kept current. This process can be done without any external counting device or labour time necessary to perform the count. Another exciting feature of the automated storage system is its ability to supply components to the production line in anticipation of its need, thereby eliminating wait time needed to replenish a reel or tray that has run out of components during the production run. Many modern pick-and- place systems have the ability to monitor the quality of components remaining in each reel or tray by counting down the quantity as the components are used. The user of these placement systems can set a warning level so that the pick-and-place line sends a warning to the automated storage system when a component reel or tray is approaching empty. Even though the storage system may be in the process of pulling another kit or returning components from a completed production run to inventory, it can interrupt its task, retrieve another reel or tray of the component about to run out, and place it in the urgently needed drawer located below the main door of each storage tower. The storage tower then will sound the alarm for the operator to come to the tower. When the operator arrives, they will see displayed “this reel urgently needed on Line 2, Machine 3, Feeder 26” and can open the drawer, obtain the reel, and take it to the line, arriving before the current reel is completely exhausted. Then the reel can be spliced or loaded on a different feeder and swapped, preventing line down time that would have occurred had the reel been allowed to run out, and a replacement reel had been sent for. For one customer, this feature alone resulted in an increase in production time of 8% on a 272,000 CPH placement line. Often, this feature results in enough production line efficiency improvement savings to pay for the automated storage systems in less than a year.
Essegi Automation S.r.l.
www.storagesolutions.it.
MAY 2021 | ELECTRONICS TODAY 55
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
