New Siplace SX offers Capacity on Demand

The intelligent combination of innovative replaceable gantries, the flexible Siplace MultiStar CPP head and new services makes it possible for electronics manufacturers to build a „breathing“ production on the basis of Siplace SX lines.

Traditionally, new placement machines are described and advertised based on their technical specifications: maximum speed, feeder capacity, placement heads, component spectrum, footprint, etc. With the Siplace SX, all these numbers are impressive, of course (see sidebar), but for a correct evaluation of this platform they are almost irrelevant. The Siplace SX focuses on a lot more, namely the ability to scale the production up and down to a much greater degree and significantly faster than before.

Previous platforms offered scalability only in distinct jumps and in one direction: upward. For electronics manufacturers, this meant that they had to decide early on with which strategy they intended to respond to forecast demand and possible demand fluctuations.

Optimistic and successful manufacturers picked the so-called lead strategy to aggressively add to their production capacities in expectation of incoming orders. This enabled them to respond quickly to rush orders and keep their customers happy. The price: most of the time, such manufacturers have excess production capacities – the lines’ capacity utilization is suboptimal. The manufacturer operates not efficiently enough and must also deal with excessive operating costs. When – like in the current crisis – orders stagnate or even evaporate or traditional customers go under, the situation can quickly become serious.

Other companies, on the other hand, were more audacious and willing to put up with temporary shortfalls. Following the so-called lag strategy, they invested only when they had received the orders they needed to operate at optimum capacity. Since they invest more carefully and only on the basis of customer orders in hand, however, they run the risk of losing customers or having to turn away new customers with rush orders.

The third traditional model is based on contract manufacturers and outsourcing. Their production ran at almost constant capacity and a high degree of utilization. Any additional orders were sent to contract manufacturers. The disadvantage of this strategy; it runs the risk of losing customers to third parties and making competitors stronger with your own orders. What’s also expensive is the high configuration effort required to use the existing lines efficiently for constantly changing products. Logistics and quality control costs can also climb very rapidly. Outsourcing has its advantage if seasonal fluctuations need to be managed or when overall demand drops, because orders to others can be reduced while in-house production continues at full capacity. The current crisis has shown, however, that this limited degree of flexibility is insufficient in many cases.

The new Siplace SX opens the door to significantly more flexibility. For the first time, electronics manufacturers will have the capability to scale their capacities exactly in line with demand, and do this very quickly and with a focus on performance, flexibility, or both. Scaling for performance requires an increase in the placement speed, while scaling for flexibility requires additional feeder positions. With the Siplace SX, both factors can for the first time be scaled independently of each other. Siplace calls this revolutionary concept “Capacity on Demand”. The Siplace SX achieves this capability by intelligently combining several trailblazing technical innovations.

The Siplace SX’s major innovations are its replaceable gantries. Since they are mounted on rails, a single person can de-install and install them in a few minutes. And since the gantries keep their calibration data in memory chips, the post-installation calibration process between the gantry and the Siplace SX chassis is performed automatically. The program recognizes the gantry changeover and takes the respective machine segment out of the active placement process while the conveyor keeps running and the remaining machines in the line continue to operate productively.

The gantry modularity of the Siplace SX delivers significant benefits. Unlike today’s mini-modules, which are inserted into or removed from the line, switching out gantries doesn’t change the line’s basic structure. The space requirements remain the same. Time-consuming and productivity-reducing line reconfigurations are no longer needed. Thanks to the interchangeable gantries, users can for the first time scale the placement performance independently of the feeder capacity. Vice-versa, removing a gantry does not automatically eliminate urgently needed feeder positions as well.

Although the Siplace SX module is only 1.5 meters long, it provides space for 120 8-mm feeder slots. If the manufacturer has sufficient placement performance, i.e. spare gantries, he can purchase “bare” SX modules, i.e. without gantries and placement heads, and add them to his line to raise his setup capacity – an excellent way to keep the investment budget down. That way, he can scale performance and setup capacity completely independent of each other. This type of capacity on demand makes the machines of the Siplace SX Series clearly superior to traditional machine concepts.

Experts and practitioners may now object and claim that a quick line configuration is a clear advantage, but that rebalancing the line also requires a corresponding number and sequence of special placement heads.

This is where the next Siplace innovation makes a real difference: the Siplace MultiStar CPP head. Since CPP stands for “Collect & Pick & Place”, the head’s name indicates its capabilities perfectly. Controlled via software, the 12-nozzle head can instantly switch between the super-fast Collect & Place mode for all small and medium-sized components, the highly flexible Pick & Place mode for large and exotic components, and the new Mixed mode. With this level of versatility, the MultiStar adapts to any line requirement and operates as a high-speed head or a flexible end-of-line head – or a mix of the two. The placement program makes the decision for each placement cycle. With the MultiStar, Siplace SX lines are always perfectly balanced even after fast product changeovers or quick gantry changes.

But how far does Capacity on Demand extend when orders are few and far between and the placement performance does not have to be scaled up, but down? Will electronics manufacturers be able to respond to short-term seasonal or cyclical drops in demand by eliminating placement performance?

With the Siplace SX, they can – in several different ways. The first option involves shifting performance from line to line. For example, if one line requires additional performance for seasonal peaks or rush orders, additional gantries can be transferred to this line within minutes. When the peak load is over, the gantries and their placement capacity are simply moved back again. No configuration or layout change is involved. Before the Siplace SX, scaling a line up or down this quickly and easily was simply impossible.

A service which Siplace starts with the introduction of the Siplace SX offers additional technical and commercial flexibility. With “Rent-a-Gantry“, manufacturers can rent SX gantries as needed. When the demand peak is over, they simply return them – and keep their line performance perfectly in line with demand at all times. That way, they carry no risk and invest only in the performance they need when and while they need it. And if the level of new orders turns out to be permanent, they can always convert the rental into a purchase.

For users who want to practice Capacity on Demand in the extreme, the Siplace SX+ model is the answer. This machine comes without any gantries and heads. When additional gantries or heads are needed, the customer simply rents them from Siplace, thus paying for placement performance only when needed.

The replaceable gantries and the CPP head of the Siplace SX are further enhanced by the well-known variety of Siplace conveyor systems with their single-lane, dual-lane, Productivity Lane and Quad Lane options. And beyond the Siplace software and intelligent X-feeders, the entire spectrum of innovative setup concepts is available – up to non-stop setup changeovers with the Siplace LES software.

With the Siplace SX, the German technology leader defines a new generation of placement solutions. Siplace is also learning the right lessons from the current crisis in the SMT industry: only manufacturers who can scale their capacity in line with demand and respond quickly to short-term peaks and troughs will stay competitive. By delivering true Capacity on Demand, the Siplace SX is the world’s first platform that complies with such a “match” strategy.

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Die Krise zeigt, dass Spitzen der Nachfrage und extreme Einbrüche in immer kürzeren Abständen einander folgen. Bisher hatten EMS-Fertiger keine Werkzeuge, um ihre Fertigung schnell und flexibel anpassen zu können. Die neue Siplace SX-Plattform bietet “capacity on demand”.

La crise montre que pics de demande et fortes baisses se succèdent de plus en plus rapidement. Jusqu’à présent, les fabricants d’EMS ne disposaient d’aucun moyen pour s’adapter rapidement et avec souplesse à ces fluctuations. La nouvelle Siplace SX offre la „capacity on demand.“

Real Capacity on Demand – what does it mean to you?

“We use this term to describe the ability to scale a line’s performance and flexibility quickly and independently of each other. The Siplace SX was developed as the placement platform for this concept. Thanks to its exchangeable gantries, users can add or remove placement performance at any time and within minutes. And independent of the performance, users can add more feeder capacity by adding more modules. Whether performance or flexibility, speed or feeder positions – with Capacity on Demand the manufacturer pays only for what he actually needs at the time.”

Why does your company position the new Siplace SX via this concept?

“First of all, because we developed the new Siplace SX for the order-oriented, high-mix electronics production of the future. The current crisis has taught everybody in the electronics industry that ‘business as usual’ is no longer an option. The same applies for placement solutions. Individual features no longer matter. What we need are strong solutions that combine hardware, software and services intelligently. Whether you are an OEM or a contract manufacturer – companies that form SMT lines without a concept by simply putting machines in a row have no future in our industry.”

What kind of electronics manufacturers do you address with the Siplace SX?

“All those who don’t know their order situations months in advance. I guess that virtually all manufacturers must struggle with this kind of uncertainty. We at Siplace, however, know: The current crisis may be especially tough, but sudden demand fluctuations are here to stay in the SMT industry. The Siplace SX with its Capacity on Demand allows our customers to get a handle on these fluctuations, to operate in an order-oriented manner, and to let their own production ‘breathe’ in line with changes in their business volume. This is the future of our industry.”