Circuits Assembly - September 2008 - (Page 22)

Talking Heads Local sales support is essential in these regions, particularly because there are so many different cultures. We have built an excellent group of local agents/service providers through the region, and now have our own representative in Russia (Assemrus). It’s not time to write off manufacturing in America and the rest of Europe, though. We are selling pick-and-place machines here, too. If you have high rework costs, you have to locate in a low-wage economy to make manufacturing pay, but even then quality can still suffer; you can’t build quality into products by selection or rework. In our opinion, if the Automatic In-line Wire Bond Inspection High accuracy inspection of wire bond connections Viscom’s in-line automatic optical inspection (AOI) system S6053BO guarantees reliable defect detection on typical bond connections. With its modular camera technology and standard resolutions of 8.3µm or 5.6µm, the system inspects over 1,000 aluminum or gold wire connections per minute as well as SMD components, solder joints and die damages. For wire diameters down to 17µm, the new VHR camera module with resolutions < 3µm is now available. Viscom’s field-proven S6053BO AOI system is able to reliably inspect features such as ball or wedge position and completeness, loop-height, spacing, shape and geometry and ensures highest quality in zero defect environments. See us at IPC Midwest, September 24-25, Booth #715 total supply chain is doing its job well, Europe and the Americas can also keep a healthy manufacturing sector. Indeed, we have recently been seeing trends for electronics manufacturing to return close to the European and American end-user markets because of fast-rising logistics/transport costs. CA: Assembléon has won the CirCuits Assembly Service Excellence Award five times in a row. How do recognition and customer feedback figure into your continuous improvement methods? JM: Well, customers are the start of any improvement process, and the SEA to us represents high-level feedback about what the industry and our customers want. We have worked hard to make the pick-and-place cycle a “closed loop”; our parallel placement design means we can check component location from pick right through to place. We are also closing the wider business “loop” to feed back customer requirements, so we can improve machine design and support. The most significant contribution to our winning the award, we believe, is our Installed Base Solutions program. This separates the three basic services we provide, and we tailor them to each customer. Performance Services optimize the output, functions and flexibility of the machines. Knowledge Services give training and support tools for running and maintaining production lines effectively and efficiently. Technical Services help reduce running costs, minimize unscheduled downtime and maximize efficiency. Central to our approach is not just to sell equipment that gives our customers a competitive advantage; we also ensure our customers stay competitive into the future. Where technically possible, we can even help extend the economic lifecycle of our customers’ whole SMT production lines. Finally, I mentioned the recently increasing logistics/transport costs. The energy costs of manufacturing electronic equipment are increasing more widely, and the equipment’s environmental effects becoming more significant. We have made lifecycle calculations that show the most significant environmental effect of a pick-and-place machine is the energy it consumes over its life. So, we have for some time been working to give our machines the lowest possible energy consumption per output. The low accelerations and decelerations that control our placement process also significantly reduce energy consumption. The motors don’t have to make sudden movements and have lower masses to drive, with more precise vacuum control also reducing energy use. Our machines are compact, which reduces the factory floor space that has to be treated by heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. And low defects per million rates mean much less scrap, and a much smaller rework department for customers to power. n circuitsassembly.com Wire Bond 6053 7.5 x 4.5 inch IPC.indd 1 22 Circuits Assembly SEPTEMBER 2008 8/15/2008 11:38:36 AM http://www.viscom.com http://www.viscom.com http://circuitsassembly.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Circuits Assembly - September 2008

Circuits Assembly - September 2008 Contents Caveat Lector Industry News Market Watch Talking Heads Focus on Business Global Sourcing On the Forefront Screen Printing Better Manufacturing Reflow Soldering with a SnCu Eutectic Pb-Free Alloy Improving OEE in High Mix Facilities Effectively Managing RF Design in Utility Metering Applications Solder Joint Reliability of Different BGAs Reworked Using Low Melting Point Pb-Free Alloys Tech Tips Wave Soldering Pb-Free Lessons Learned Materials World Process Doctor Equipment Advances Product Spotlight Ad Index Assembly Insider Technical Abstracts

Circuits Assembly - September 2008

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