Following 25 years of innovation and a successful anniversary year, Asys will be taking the opportunity offered by SMT 2018 to set out its vision for the future. This year’s focus is on the intelligent factory, with a particular emphasis on material logistics. The company hits the mark with its all-embracing logistics concept: the handling of the entire automated flow of materials from warehouse to production line.
In the field of material logistics, the company connects machinery, production centers, transport routes, and software, and automates the supply of materials. Various different material flows will be presented live at the show: the DryTower, material stations, magazine warehouse, and line are interconnected using an AIV (Autonomous Intelligent Vehicle) and the route taken by the material is illustrated clearly.
Using software to link machinery and logistics
With its magazine warehouse, the company responds to advanced requirements and offers a product that implements magazine handling and storage on a demand-oriented basis. In addition, emphasis was placed on modular logistics components. To ensure that an AIV can be used for a wide range of tasks, a large selection of attachments can be used to transport trays, magazines, or containers. The company’s product range for material logistics is divided into four categories: basic equipment, transport, storage, and software.
The AIVs are coordinated by fleet management software. The top-level “Material Manager” software gathers information from all systems in the production environment and uses the data to make the right decisions. The entire flow of materials in production is coordinated and visualized virtually; the production manager always has a full overview of all running processes.
Alert optimization for operator support
There are also innovations to assist the work of operators in the Pulse world. In addition to the option of assigning individual machine responsibilities to operators with the “User2Machine” app, the company now offers another app to further reduce the flow of information to the operator. Using the “Alert Manager”, line managers can define when a message is received by the operator: should a warning be displayed straight away, or should the operator not be informed until a fault interrupts operation? The alert display can also be adjusted – it is also possible to customize the message text or the vibration period of the clock. This makes it easier to channel the flow of information to employees and set individual priorities.
Solutions for dry storage and humidity control
Totech has been part of the company since last year, its products expanding the existing process and cleanroom technology portfolio. Their dry cabinets are designed to enable dehumidification to under 0.5 % rel. humidity with a short re-drying time, thus exceeding the requirements of the IPC/JEDEC J-STD-033C standard. They are not only ideal as a solution for reliable, unlimited storage, but can also extract moisture from the air in a gentle manner. As a result, the floor life time is reset, without any oxidation processes – all at ambient temperatures.
The dry cabinets are available in a wide range of sizes and configurations and they all feature certified performance monitoring mechanisms. At the trade fair, Totech will be showing the XSDR reset cabinets, which individually monitor the floor life time of various component batches and can also reset them.
The company’s process and cleanroom technology presents its Considus high-end dry storage cabinet. Combined with a drying unit, these nitrogen cabinets offer the fast re-drying times. They are available with a storage volume of 1,200, 1,800, or 2,400 liters, or tailored to meet customer requirements.
A smart focus – machinery and options for the intelligent factory
When it comes to printing systems, Ekra sets new standards with smart modules. Using a modular camera unit (MCU), the machine automatically detects installed options. Smart modules such as APS (automatic pin setting) and iPAGs can therefore be flexibly, clearly, and easily integrated into various production printing systems. It enables maximum accuracy and greater throughput with a new solution in the X5 Professional system. The new version of Optilign handles multiple substrates and prints them all at once.
The interaction of man, machine, and cobot is demonstrated with the depaneling systems. At the trade fair, the “OK/NOK sorting” job is simulated and reliably handled by the cobot. In addition, the Divisio team will demonstrate mobile operation of depaneling systems. Using the new Simplex remote tablet, for example, setup tasks can be carried out on a decentralized basis, significantly reducing setup times. In the field of laser depaneling systems, an end-to-end product range is offered to meet all requirements relating to PCB separation. Whether flexible or solid PCBs – UV, green, and CO2 lasers are used to separate circuit boards with pinpoint precision and a repeating accuracy of ±5 µm @ 4 sigma.
At the trade fair, Vego PCB handling will be premiering a retrofit for the AES 03D and AMS 03D line loader/unloader that adds the ability to fully automatically change PCB magazines using an AIV. What has been successfully practiced on the “Speed” systems for many years is now also possible with the “03D” system type. This allows customers to easily upgrade their existing machinery for robot handling.
The Insignum team is showing a laser performance testing tool. With this, operators can respond to parameter changes without delay – process stability is ensured and downtimes are avoided. A new flying stopper that reliably stops PCBs with chips is also presented. After precise alignment, the marking is placed on the PCB as required. The Simplex options will also be demonstrated on the marking systems: The software enables offline job management. In addition, operators can create a product library that is then available to all systems. This renders product-specific setup tasks for each individual machine obsolete.
Strong in special-purpose machinery
Once the populated PCB has been separated, the Inventus assembly systems take over for further processing. Various degrees of automation and a wide range of different processes can be implemented in line with customer requirements. The company also offers comprehensive technical advice, focusing on feasibility, system design, and third-party technology integration. Even after commissioning, the company supports the project with training, maintenance, and modifications.
SMT Hybrid Packaging, Booth 4A-324
