This year’s Apex event occurred amidst a revival of North American manufacturing, as companies begin moving their operations out of China. Many are taking advantage of this renewed interest and investment by innovating more than ever before. In the United States, the USD 39 billion (EUR ) investment in manufacturing incentives from the CHIPS Act is providing companies with the support needed to boost progress in the space. As demand for goods increases around the world – in the US, the Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.7 percent in January – companies in the electronics manufacturing sector are turning to digital transformation to keep up. By integrating software and new applications into the SMT line, they are finding ways to run processes more smoothly and efficiently.
Software solutions
At Apex 2023, we saw companies focusing on advanced technologies to help them navigate the future of manufacturing. We at Panasonic Connect demonstrated how software can help companies expand. Our manufacturing execution system PanaCIM, which can be integrated in both our existing and partner technology equipment, delivers a feature-rich manufacturing software suite that grows with the manufacturer. We also showcased our new software capability, APC-5M, which monitors machine performance to ensure it remains optimized.
When machines break down, the added downtime increases stress and costs for manufacturers. With our software solutions, manufacturers can make changes directly on the production line. This ensures that these lines can continue to run efficiently and produce goods on time.
Integrating tech into SMT lines
The company also emphasized the importance of integrating technology and software into SMT lines to speed up production. Our NPM-GP/L screen printing machine and Auto-Setting Feeder solutions were highlights of the event.
The NPM-GP/L is a screen-printing machine that can automatically implement production line changes with precise accuracy of ±3.8 µm. In addition to precision, the machine improves efficiency on production lines. The system shaves off nearly six minutes of time that it takes to change over the machine – approximately four minutes compared to the industry standard of ten minutes. With this automation, production line changes can happen within a cycle time of approximately 12 seconds.
The Auto-Setting Feeder is an automated component supply system which offers the flexibility of easily fitting tape reels from 8mm up to 104mm in width. It can automatically peel the cover on surface mount component tape between 4 mm and 104 mm wide – an industry first. The system auto-loads all feeder sizes in 15s, which maximizes line uptime and throughput.
Future-proofing production lines
Both technology and software solutions allow manufacturers to keep up with demand and future-proof their production lines by fixing issues in real-time. Our screen printer can immediately respond to customer supply and demand changes through autonomous updates, making autonomous factories a reality. The automation used in both this and the Auto-Setting Feeder machines also mean streamlined training for employees.
In today’s environment, companies can spend months training their workers. However, with worker retention proving to be a large industry challenge, the time spent training them may become wasted. By leveraging automation found in these new offerings, companies can focus on giving workers high-value tasks, and starting them immediately once they’re hired.
Automation not only makes manufacturing more efficient with improved business outcomes, but also has huge potential in enhancing the employee experience. This will be critical as manufacturers work to shape the next generation of its workforce.
From hardware and software to smart component and autonomous systems, solutions like these allow manufacturers to future-proof their production lines.
