Production runs of smaller series with shorter lead times – these are advantages of the next generation of scalable placement machines that improve the competitiveness of electronics producers. Traditionally, the production platforms for long series and large volumes have had difficulties in keeping up with tight lead times and shortened series. Electronics producers who rely, for instance, on NXT’s possibilities, and who are also knowledgeable of the market, can shorten the time substantially. This is where the Scandinavian and Baltic electronics producers such as Hansa in Litvia have a head start over China, India and other traditional low production cost countries. Seppo Mäkelä, Fuji Product Manager at Cyncrona, puts it in a case study (see page 23).
Automatic Optical Inspection (AOI) guarantees consistant quality in serial production. We present you an application story of Viscom’s S6055 AOI System and Schlafhorst Electronics (see page 44). In our cover story we will take a closer look at the comparative costs and the return of investment (ROI) of AOI and AXI. Peter Edelstein (Teradyne) explains that the long-term economic benefits of both test systems include many more factors than just their initial purchase price (see page 16).
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