Koh Young announces it has joined forces with Mentor, a Siemens business, to deliver an enhanced programming solution, which will benefit the printed circuit board assembly market. Building on the AI-powered Koh Young Auto Programming software (KAP), Mentor integrated its Valor Process Preparation Software to further simplify Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) programming and reduce production costs by saving time through the implementation of Mentor’s Open Product Model.
“The synergy between our companies has resulted in an outstanding solution that is designed to help reduce time to market and improve production quality across the line,” said Mr. JD Shin, Chief Sales Office for Koh Young Technology. “We are especially excited about this particular collaboration with Mentor because it was in direct response to the voice of the customer. The partnership highlights the benefits customers can realize when two suppliers work together towards a common goal. It was a win-win for everyone.”
The enhanced software eliminates the need for CAD and Gerber files, which saves time as the programmer no longer needs to locate, upload, and manipulate these product files. The new solution reduces programming time by blending several elements together that automatically creates the necessary AOI programming files.
One of the elements Koh Young integrated from Mentor includes the Valor Open Product Model (OPM). Introduced in 2018, OPM is an open data assembly format structured in XML, which focuses on the printed circuit board assembly model (PCBA) and the associated manufacturing process plan. OPM is a solution for the open exchange of process engineering information between disparate machines and processes. In the same way that ODB++ works for design data, OPM is the answer to the need for flexibility that Smart Industry 4.0 factories demand.
A second element that is now part of the software is the extensive Valor Parts Library (VPL) database. Comprised of over 35 million component manufacturers part numbers and package geometry definitions, Valor Process Preparation software uses this information to fully automate the creation of new parts and packages for use in inspection systems and mounters using its “Auto-Generation” rule methodology.
Combining a single assembly format file output like OPM and a standardized machine package library from VPL, the manufacturer minimizes program variations between machines like inspection systems and component mounters. This improved programming approach can eliminate human error and variation, while significantly reducing NPI programming time. Additionally, OPM is generalized so it is interoperable among various systems and easily enables moving production between lines and—more importantly—factories across the world.
