Step-by-step to the smart SMT factory

Anbieter zum Thema

ROHM Semiconductor GmbH

MEV Elektronik Service GmbH

Syslogic GmbH

Cartridge replacement instead of splicing

The SIPLACE BulkFeeder X is made up of three components: base unit, cartridge, and filling station. The filling station is used to refill the cartridges and to verify the process offline. The cartridge’s main components are the component container with its shutter mechanism and the glass pickup plate with its cover mechanism. To refill the cartridge, it is clamped into the filling station, which reads the cartridge’s unique ID via RFID. The operator supplies the components via a special 32-mm blister tape, with each blister pocket holding up to 250,000 loose components (01005).

The underside of each blister pocket features 2D barcodes with information about the component type, batch, quantity, etc. In connection with SIPLACE Setup Center, the filling station verifies the components, refills the cartridge with components from a user-defined number of blister pockets, and “marries” the component and cartridge data for subsequent identification on the machine.

The base unit is the mechanical and electrical base of the SIPLACE BulkFeeder X. It resembles the intelligent 24mm SIPLACE X feeder and supplies the data and power connection between machine and feeder. It also holds the ethernet interface for transmitting the image data from the camera that is integrated into the SIPLACE BulkFeeder X. The top of the base unit holds the mechanical interface for the cartridge, an RFID sensor, and the upward-looking vision system, which is located underneath the glass pickup plate.

Each SIPLACE BulkFeeder X comes with two interchangeable cartridges, which makes refills and setup changeovers very easy. The machine recognizes the component data automatically based on the cartridge’s RFID information. The cartridge can hold up to 1 million loose components (01005), which is the equivalent of 25 to 50 tape reels.

For many products, a single cartridge can hold the volume for an entire production shift with no need for switching and splicing tapes. Since components from size factor 0402 account for up to 40 percent of the placement volume in high-speed applications, the SIPLACE BulkFeeder X makes a huge difference in terms of production efficiency.

Saving 2,000 line stops per year

In tests at reference customers, SIPLACE engineers found out that installing bulk feeders on a line with four high-speed machines can free up a whole operator per shift. Eliminating the need for splicing also prevents roughly 2,000 line stops per year and increases the line’s availability by almost 27 hours. It furthermore eliminates several cubic meters of waste as well as the cost of supplying and removing reels and tape leftovers. Another advantage that is difficult to quantify is the reduced amount of dust being generated by reel friction and, as a result, the reduced cleaning effort required.

* Gabriela Reckewerth is Global Marketing Director at ASM Assembly Systems.

(ID:43634780)