PRO Design Electronic in Bruckmühl is a full-service solution provider from the idea to the finished product. Its customers come predominantly from high-quality markets, such as the automotive, medical technology, aerospace and semiconductor industries. In addition to providing production services, the company offers its own family of “proFPGA” prototyping products. They do not just manufacture for others, but also focus on product development and layout. Over more than 30 years, the company has become known for its expertise in highly complex product designs that meet the highest technical requirements. To be ready for the future and to meet its rising order volume, the company decided last year to add a new production SMT line to its factory. At the end of the evaluation process, ASM came out as the winner. The new DEK NeoHorizon printer and the three new Siplace SX machines impressed the decision-makers with their high precision and reliability thanks to the state-of-the-art Siplace vision system. Quick with simple programming, the ease with which new components can be described, high feeder capacities and simple programming via a clear, German-language user interface were additional factors in favor of ASM. The SMT line also features a new Rehm oven with vacuum technology for shrinkage-free soldering.
High-mix production handles various components and FPGA chips
With the company’s specialization in complex products designs, the jobs PRO Design Electronic runs in its internal SMT production and tend to be characterized by a high degree of component diversity and density. 400 different products are manufactured on two SMT lines, including circuit boards with up to 4,500 components and 200 different component types. Components of size 01005 are nothing special, and BGA pitches can be as small as 350 µ. All of this is no problem for the printer and the placement machines. Since the installation of the new SMT line, the companies printing quality has increased significantly, and the new printer is much more flexible than the old equipment. “Our production is incredibly diverse. Our own products as well as those of our customers demand versatility and precision. Some of our jobs involve very expensive components, which is why the SMT line is not allowed to make mistakes. In addition, we need high feeder capacities, because our frequent setup changeovers require us to be quick and flexible. ASM’s line concept convinced us completely. The three Siplace SX machines provide roughly 360 feeder slots,” explains EMS provider CEO Gunnar Scholl. “High-volume components stay on the line, and fast setup changeovers can be executed with great flexibly thanks to the random setup capability of the company. Even 01005 components as well as exotic and unwieldy shapes can be handled with ease. We can even get the stencils for our more complex boards from ASM. They meet all of our needs to the fullest.”
