This year we have given our printed circuit assembly operation a makeover that has increased throughput and flexibility.

To boost capacity in our component placement process we installed two additional surface-mount assembly machines. Previously, with only one machine, our factory engineers had to spend a lot of time setting up the specific components for each product, no matter how simple or complex it was. Installing the feeders for those components is an exacting and time-consuming task. Now, the increased capacity has enabled commonly-used component feeders to be permanently mounted on two in-line machines. These machines can easily switch from making one popular product to another, simply by loading a different software file. The third machine handles jobs requiring specialised setup. This allows our factory staff to focus on more complex (and interesting) products such as panel master boards, while the machines do the routine work.

Another big change has been the introduction of selective wave soldering for “through-hole” components. Selective wave soldering permits fully-automated soldering when there are components on both sides of the printed circuit board. Previously, through-hole components on those boards were hand-soldered. Selective wave soldering is more repeatable than traditional hand soldering. “You set up the soldering parameters for each job,” said Process Engineer Stephen Mills, “and it’s set for life.”

The upgrade programme is already proving its worth. Setup times are down and we are responding faster to changes in market demand.

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