Info is more and more turning into important for fulfillment in trendy SMT manufacturing. To get essentially the most out of your manufacturing tools, you could gather knowledge throughout the board, course of it in a user-oriented method, and make it out there in the best place. Advances in SMT manufacturing are characterised by will increase in automation, standardization, and integration. Whereas the early days of electronics manufacturing have been marked by an strategy that featured a lot of guide assist and was insular and closed-off when it comes to info expertise, a robust pattern in the direction of automation has developed in recent times that’s pushed by excessive personnel prices and a scarcity of expert staff as a result of demographic components.
The people-free “lights out” manufacturing facility, nevertheless, turned out to not be a smart optimization purpose for financial causes alone as a result of automation lowers unit prices solely to a sure diploma. Over-automation, however, drives up prices. In follow, the Pareto precept, which states that 80 p.c of the outcomes are achieved with 20 p.c of the assets employed, applies right here as effectively. Every extra proportion level of enchancment requires a disproportionate enhance in assets. ASMPT acknowledged this early on and reached the primary stage with the Built-in Good Manufacturing unit, which targeted on maximizing the return on funding as an alternative of automation.
Interfaces as growth drivers
The introduction of standardized interfaces to enhance the manufacturing processes within the Built-in Good Manufacturing unit was an important issue for the growing integration of current {hardware} and software program options. Of explicit significance are:
• IPC-HERMES-9852 for the seamless machine-to-machine (M2M) communication
• IPC-2591 CFX for linking machines and autonomous storage and transport programs to higher-level programs corresponding to MES and ERP
The worldwide innovation and market chief makes use of these normal industrial interfaces for its open and versatile automation idea which simply integrates third-party programs, allows retrofits, and provides electronics producers the liberty to decide on how, when and to what extent they wish to automate their manufacturing. With this technique, electronics producers are exactly geared to the wants of customers and the market when it comes to their diploma of digitalization and automation. The strategy was subsequently complemented with software program options for personnel deployment, high quality assurance and materials logistics.
The Built-in Good Manufacturing unit already options direct machine-to-machine communication – for instance, the SPI system can set off offset corrections or cleansing cycles within the solder paste printer with out person intervention. The person manufacturing and high quality assurance phases, nevertheless, are nonetheless largely remoted from one another. As well as, an essential useful resource is hardly utilized in an integrative manner: the info that the quite a few cameras, sensors and readers on the person machines constantly produce.
In distinction to pure machine producers or pure software program builders, ASMPT as a system provider covers virtually your entire SMT manufacturing with its merchandise, has distinctive course of know-how, and is aware of from a few years of expertise which knowledge from the manufacturing ‘knowledge lake’ is actually related.
By advancing the Built-in Good Manufacturing unit into the clever manufacturing facility, ASMPT is now leveraging this treasure trove of information and persistently utilizing large knowledge to optimize the return on funding each in depth, i.e., within the type of extra detailed manufacturing course of evaluation and optimization, and throughout the board via the data-based integration of manufacturing areas corresponding to the corporate’s intralogistics.
It’s not simply the person course of step, the person machine, the person setup, the person product or the person materials requirement that’s being thought-about, however the SMT manufacturing in its totality. This new idea of integrative knowledge use within the clever manufacturing facility brings advantages on a number of ranges.
Course of optimization and fault analyses
The premise of any enchancment in SMT manufacturing is the continual assortment and presentation of key efficiency indicators (KPIs). These embrace, for instance, the road’s throughput fee, total tools effectivity (OEE), utilization, and stability. To make this doable, the clever manufacturing facility accumulates machine knowledge in a monitoring software that’s a part of ASMPT’s Works software program suite and makes it out there in a manner that’s role-specific and device-independent.
With their SPI and AOI programs, trendy manufacturing strains have already got extremely highly effective high quality assurance programs. Sadly, most of the faults they detect don’t originate the place they’re first found. Whereas these programs have been capable of reject defective merchandise, they typically didn’t assist in eliminating the underlying issues. Within the clever manufacturing facility, however, easy-to-use overarching dashboards rapidly reveal what led to those errors. The information integration extends past the road. By evaluating planning, reference and real-time manufacturing knowledge, manufacturing obstacles are recognized and may be eradicated – once more via complete analyses.
The M2M knowledge stream delivers one other plus in user-friendliness: Since faults which have been detected by WORKS’ multi-line evaluation capabilities seem on the show of the affected machine, the upkeep workers is aware of immediately the place they should take motion.
Materials stream based mostly on the 4R precept
Since offering the best materials in the best amount on the proper time in the best place has all the time been the purpose of intralogistics, the integrative use of information within the clever manufacturing facility has additionally revolutionized the stream of supplies. For instance, it’s now doable to constantly compute the fabric consumption on the road in actual time in freely definable time slices. The system combines and correlates knowledge on deliberate and precise materials consumption together with knowledge on materials at the moment alongside the road. Based mostly on this info, WORKS generates materials requests to the central and native storage websites together with time-controlled transportation orders. On this manner, space-consuming “emergency inventory” on the road may be prevented, and the fabric is obtainable on time and precisely the place it’s really wanted.
Materials buffering within the setup preparation space can be optimized simply and effectively with WORKS. As soon as a manufacturing order has been accomplished, the software program supplies the staff on the road with detailed directions as to which element reels have to be returned to the warehouse and which ought to stay within the setup preparation space as a result of they are going to be wanted once more for a number of subsequent orders. This protects time and pointless materials journey between the store ground and the central warehouse.
The factory-encompassing administration and coordination of autonomous storage and transport programs for all production-relevant supplies and instruments – from the receiving of supplies to the transport of completed merchandise – is now data-based as effectively.
PCB-induced program changeovers
An excellent sensible instance of the advantages of the integrative use of information is the setup changeover for a brand new product. Within the clever manufacturing facility, the road not must be emptied – this system changeover may be executed routinely by passing the info of the circuit board being processed from machine to machine through the standardized IPC-HERMES-9852 interface.
As quickly because the PCBs are unloaded from the journal at the beginning of the road, all related knowledge is shipped to the DEK TQ solder paste printer from ASMPT. This may be completed through labels and a barcode reader or instantly from the manufacturing planning system. The machine then compares the info with the knowledge saved within the planning system. If vital, it triggers an computerized program obtain and any setup modifications which may be required. As soon as printed, the circuit board is handed alongside to the Course of Lens SPI system together with its IPC-HERMES-9852 knowledge and subsequently to the SIPLACE placement machines. Every manufacturing station executes a brand new comparability between the loaded and the required program and makes any vital updates. Thanks to those PCB-induced program changeovers, a number of merchandise may be manufactured concurrently on a single line. Even the conveyors adapt routinely to the width of the circuit boards being transported. And in case of a household setup, these product changeovers may be executed with no operator help in any respect.
Human-machine interplay
The clever manufacturing facility does greater than management the machines based mostly on knowledge – it additionally helps crucial manufacturing useful resource of all: folks. Scarce specialists are not tied to a particular line however may be deployed throughout your entire store ground based mostly on their soles and {qualifications}. To do that, the state-of-the-art workers administration software in WORKS interfaces with the fabric stream planning system. If, for instance, guide assist is required for a setup change, a corresponding request seems on an operator’s machine routinely and with ample lead time. And if the duty may be carried out remotely, that is completed conveniently through a distant cockpit. On this manner, SMT strains may be saved operating constantly, making the entire manufacturing facility extra productive. With software program for all the manufacturing facility’s upkeep and restore duties, groups of technicians can simply stability on-demand upkeep and ongoing manufacturing duties, successfully managing all property from complete machines to particular person nozzles. When unexpected issues come up, an AI- and NLP-based digital assistant with an in depth data base helps root trigger analysis and troubleshooting – and better of all, you possibly can merely ask it questions utilizing your voice, identical to speaking with an skilled colleague.
“Due to standardized interfaces, what belongs collectively is now rising collectively within the clever manufacturing facility,” says Bernhard Fritz, Head of International Advertising and marketing at ASMPT SMT Options. “Materials stream and high quality administration, planning and the manufacturing facility ground, man and machine – all manufacturing components are merging into an integrative complete. And the overarching enchancment purpose is all the time the absolute best utilization of current capacities – and above all, the utmost return on funding.”
