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Solution for competition

Automation in the board EOL area
Solution for competition

The insertion of odd-form or so-called exotic components, which cannot be handled by SMT placement machines, presents challenge to automation in the final board assembly stage. Sophisticated procedures have to be handled with high throughput to keep up with production cycles. End-of-line (EOL) automation as it is provided by IPTE’s SpeedMounter has a high potential for more productivity.

Dirk Geiger, IPTE/Germany

It almost goes without saying: electronic manufacturers in Europe can only exist on a profitable base, in the mid and long-term, by a high degree of automation. At the frontend of board assembly (mainly paste print, placement and reflow soldering) an efficient automation solution was provided by the introduction of surface-mount technology many years ago. It’sno surprise: SMT is now the well-proven standard assembly method in the worldwide electronics manufacturing community. Almost full automation could be achieved in this stage of board assembly.
High potential in the backend
Unfortunately, such a large degree of „standardizing“ has not taken place in the board-assembly backend or end-of-line (EOL) automation. There have been no real principles of standardization established by the industry yet. However, the high complexity of these tasks and the high costs acquainted with at this very stage of assembly offer a high potential of further advancements in production efficiency, provided a high degree of flexible automation can be attained.
Industry standards have to be established in the backend area of board assembly, too. For the insertion of odd-form parts, automation solutions have to be created for a wealth of different component packages and for their feeder mechanisms as well. Advanced technologies will provide further possibilities for cost minimization in the assembly backend. Solutions for more automation in regard to shorter tact time, smaller batch sizes and even higher production quality are needed – and they are already available on the market.
Reasons to automate
Because of the extremely high requirements of the sophisticated processes in odd-form insertion, manual work can still be a viable alternative. Nevertheless, there is every reason to believe that there are various arguments clearly pointing to a higher degree of automation. First, a machine can ideally perform all kinds of recurring tasks under the requirements of a high and constant level of work reliability, leading to higher product quality. Second, an outstanding productivity gain will be realized through more automation. For example, the available floor space can be optimally used, and not only during a single work shift, but completely around the clock.
Very often, the idea to automate a process step is not only a question of production efficiency. If a seamless record of quality data from the production flow is needed, which is, for example, a prerequisite in some industries, usually this can only be attained by a highly automated process. In principle, productivity should be increased, its costs minimized and high assembly performance attained by automation measures.
How easily placement cycle times can be minimized, is being demonstrated by the collect&place principle. It has been a standard technique in SMT lines for a long time, but is still unique in the EOL automation stage. By the very common pick&place technique used in odd-form insertion, (whereas in a serial procedure one single part after the other will be picked and inserted or placed), the many added moments for board transport, tool change and part inspection drastically reduce the achievable insertion/placement throughput. By transition from this serial to the parallel method of collect&place, where many parts will be collected first and then placed or inserted in one go, remarkably higher assembly rates can be reached, since head movements and other travel operations as well as superfluous machine utilization are drastically reduced. For example, the rotational head of the IPTE SpeedMounter can accumulate up to 12 parts according to the collect&place technique, and then put them accurately and fast into position in one stroke. Depending on the assembly situation, a real tact time of less than 2.6s per part can be realized easily. With optimization measures, even cycle times of less than 2s per part might be achieved.
In the past, only a manually operated assembly line has offered optimum flexibility, but modern assembly equipment can now straightforwardly replace manual workstations. Various feeder mechanisms are available as options for different packages such as loose batches, reels or trays. Such a modular concept, accompanied by the appropriate control software, meets the customers‘ demand for quick and efficient product changeovers. The high repeatability and consistent quality of routine operation provided by a machine, combined with a seamless documentation of work procedures and its costs, can never be achieved so easily by manual workstations.
A versatile solution
The following example will provide an idea, what solutions are possible by the utilization of modern machines in EOL automation: IPTE now offers for its special assembly insertion/placement machine, the SpeedMounter, a versatile insertion control system. This system can be simply programmed via a GUI (graphical user interface), and can quickly and easily be adopted to various requirements without any mechanical set-up. The system checks not only many various kinds of components on different types of boards, but can also verify the insertion operation and the snap-in function of every placement position. Many different tools for the odd-form assembly procedure are available, including those for insertion control, clinching, PCB support or polarity check. For working on the PCB underside, a XY-slide carriage moves along of the entirely specified board format.
Verification during insertion
During the insertion of the leaded components, a flexible control system monitors this operation, in order to verify if the pins have been properly put in the PCB holes. Bent leads will be recognized immediately, and the defective parts declared. This way, the automated EOL process is continually controlled, and manufacturing quality is high. The verification routine is based on measurement of two-leaded components, but for insertion monitoring of multiple leaded parts, the system can simply probe two diagonally positioned leads of this kind of component and thus check for its presence. This system can also be applied in case of parts with snap-in insertion.
Full travel in five system axes offers the users the ability to control the presence of parts in every position (X, Y, theta). Therefore, defective parts can be confidently identified during the insertion process, and costly rework of finished board assemblies will be remarkably minimized. Because of the flexible concept of the system, various procedures can be programmed according to the task. This feature enables an efficient insertion and control of odd-form components in a flexible manufacturing environment, even for small batches.
By means of this integrated control system, customers may reduce inventory, logistics, maintenance, training, service and documentation to an absolute minimum. Just by an easy-to-provide change of the insertion program, the monitoring and control tasks can follow a product changeover without problems. In combination with a barcode-reader system, even batch-size-one can ideally be realized without any loss of manufacturing efficiency, since the correct program will be downloaded automatically. This could be of special interest in case of manufacturing in three-shift operation or by assembly according to strict customer demand.
The clinching module
In a similar way as to the insertion control system, the clinching tool can be moved to any needed position by the XY-slide carriage. The five programmable axes allow the addressing of any needed position quickly and efficiently by simply switching over to the appropriate program. Clinching operations from the inner to the outer direction, various operation positions and angles then just become a matter of programming.
Neither for insertion nor for clinching, a comprehensive mechanical set-up of the tools is necessary. One of the key factors for success is the ability to react flexibly to fast changing requirements, in order to stay competitive and to provide customers with their requested solution without delay. With this EOL configuration, there is no need either for set-up resources, nor for technical specialists to accomplish the change from one product to the other. Based on this modular insertion system, a complete manufacturing line can be configured which exactly meets different user requirements. For this, only affordable off-the-shelf modules will be used. They are well-proven and offer the great advantage of a standardized spare part stock, of uniform service, training and system documentation.
Planning by a competent partner
Up to now, most of the manufacturing steps in the end-of-line process are focused on manual interaction. Therefore, the cost of EOL automation could be drastically reduced by strategies such as design-to-manufacture (DTM), and the involvement of EOL experts in an early stage of product and line design. For example, with an ingeniously provided forming of leads (similar to snap-in actions), clinching of through-hole components can well be avoided, and time for manufacturing and costs then drastically minimized. Moreover, the more the single machine modules are eventually matched to each other, the better will be the manufacturing result at the end of the line. Besides a superior system concept and profound consultancy, a system provider with high expertise offers its customers the advantage of outstanding competence for all interests of service, which in turn helps to increase productivity and up-time of a line. In such case, the user benefits from the advantages of EOL automation right from the beginning, and can take full advantage of the inherent line potential.
Zusammenfassung
Automatisierung der Baugruppenmontage hat hohen Stellenwert in der europäischen Industrie, bestens erreicht mit dem SMT-Prozeß. Doch am Ende der Linie, dort wo Exoten oder Odd-Form-Parts zumeist manuell bestückt werden, wartet noch ein großes Potential auf Erschließung.
Résumé
L’automatisation du montage des modules occupe une place très importante dans l’industrie européenne et atteint son summum avec le processus SMT. Mais un important potentiel est encore inexploité en fin de ligne, là où des composants exotiques ou de forme non conventionnelle sont implantés essentiellement à la main.
Sommario
L’automazione delle linee di montaggio dei componenti di costruzione ha un elevato valore posizionale nell’industria europea, ottimamente acquisito grazie al processo SMT. Ma alla fine della linea, là dove avviene maggiormente la connessione manuale di componenti esotici o di Odd-Form-Parts, domina ancora un grande potenziale di sfruttamento.
Current Issue
Titelbild EPP EUROPE Electronics Production and Test 11
Issue
11.2023
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