Category Archives: Hot Wires

Mike Buetow’s thoughts on the industry

Surface Mount Technology vs. Workstation Design

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In today’s modern SMT assembly facilities, the design and flexibility of the workstation is critical to maintain quality, workflow and ergonomics. Unlike the old, static, welded frame workbenches and workstations of the past that were never moved or reconfigured, the modern workstations now incorporate a modular, flexible, adaptable design, with a wide variety of options,  that allows the end-user tremendous flexibility in reconfiguring the furniture to meet an ever changing production environment.

Circuit board assembly used to be a fully mechanical process with through-hole components relying on bent leads to secure them to the board before manually applying solder.  Component preparation was also a manual or semiautomated process to form, straighten or cut leads to facilitate assembly. Today, fully automated equipment handles most of those same operations, including x-ray inspection and inline circuit inspection.  As a result, the role of the workstation has evolved to accommodate a production staff that is highly trained to perform multiple high level functions, often at the same workstation.  Productivity is more important than ever to maintain a competitive edge over off-shore manufacturers, so the workstation must be designed to adapt and change as production requirements change. No longer is it acceptable to simply scrap that old workstation and start over just because it no longer meets your current needs. A workstation design that permits quick and easy reconfiguration is the only viable option in today’s competitive environment. Carefully researching the workstation systems on the market, while planning for future needs, will result in substantial cost savings over both the short- and long-term while providing considerable ergonomic advantages.

Workstations that are considered “state-of-the-art” can and will provide more than just a worksurface.  Examples of  features should include: ESD protection, height adjustability, easily add casters for mobile applications,  cleanroom certification, Shelving (solid or wire), overhead task lighting, tool and equipment stands, test equipment carts, mobile maintenance stations,  Overhead mounting options for electric tools, LCD monitor arms, tote bin bars, tool trollies, Material transfer technology (ball transfer, conveyors, Flow racking) and rack mount/enclosures must be part of the overall package for continued adaptability in your changing environment.

 

In a typical SMT assembly facility, these modular workstations can be found in a variety of areas, such as: Machine Programming centers, Solder paste / metrology set-up, Post Process assembly of non-wets and odd form components, In-line inspection, box build assembly, Rework & repair, Product packaging, Quality control, Supervisory or management areas.  With a wide variety of module sizes available, nearly any possible configuration can be provided to meet the often limited footprint available in today’s modern assembly facility.

As SMT assembly trends continue to evolve into the age of nano-electronics, how is the job function of  your people and equipment going to change in the future?  Lean manufacturing, as well as state and federal legislation, may also have an effect on the end users requirements for workstation designs of the future.   While we don’t have the answers to those questions yet, we can be certain that workstation manufacturers will be working closely with the SMT industry to insure the designs will change as the industry dictates.

Robots Get Off the Bench

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Benchmark’s fascination with robots is paying off not just on the assembly line but with attracting new customers, too.

The EMS company yesterday announced a deal with KeyMe, a maker of automated key-cutting kiosks that will be first deployed in 7-Eleven stores across the New York City area.

The technology itself is neat: The kiosks enable customers to scan and store a digital copy of their keys to enable the creation of a spare copy at a later time eliminating the need for a physical key in order to make a copy.

KeyMe was very clear that Benchmark’s experience with robotics played a role in winning the program. “[Benchmark’s] extensive knowledge in automation, robotics and precision cutting enabled us to develop this revolutionary product, solving an age old problem and ensuring that consumers never get locked out again,” said CEO Greg Marsh.

Benchmark has been installing a series of interactive, programmable robots called “Baxter” designed by Rethink Robotics to perform simple tasks. The human-like machine has two arms, a head and an animated face that can display a range of emotions or thoughts ranging from “I understand” to  confusion. Benchmark uses them for packaging, testing and sorting.

While Baxter isn’t ready for the precision of the SMT line, at $22,000 per unit, he is very affordable. Benchmark not only uses the Baxter series, the EMS company builds them too.

Now, it would appear, Benchmark has gone the next step to leverage that knowledge toward building a new, industrial customer base. As its dependence on IBM wanes, this is an important development.

Change Coming to Jabil, But Where?

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Jabil is cutting staff, but where?

The EMS company’s management this week acknowledged an ongoing restructuring — to the tune of $188 million in charges — but declined to address specific actions. “We intend to realign our manufacturing capacity and cost base to appropriately size our manufacturing footprint with current market conditions and our customers’ geographic needs. We have begun consultation with employees during the third fiscal quarter and out of respect for those employees, we shall not be providing details as to specific sites or locations under consideration at this time.”

Under repeated questioning from analysts on a conference call, CFO Forbes Alexandar did suggest that the restructuring would include plant closures. Discussing when the charges would hit, he said, “[I]t’s really to do with the timing of when we can, essentially, start closing sites or releasing employees and transferring business.”

Obviously, this information will come out, likely sooner rather than later. But it can’t help that while Jabil is trimming, Flextronics’ shuttering of several sites this year has been effectively drowned out by the announcement of a massive new operation outside of Dallas, where it will build the new Moto X smartphone. Jabil also does business with Google (which owns the former Motorola handset business), but my understanding is these tend to be prototypes, while Google performs the volume and final assembly in Fremont, CA.

 

 

 

Wistron On the Move

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We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: EMS companies don’t sit still.

Notebook ODMs, faced with falling demand and profits, are not going gently into the good night. Flextronics dumped the PC ODM business a couple years ago to concentrate on higher margin, higher growth markets. Sanmina did the same. Now Wistron is pushing into medical as well. Others are sure to follow.

 

Printing Money

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Per a new report from IDTechEx, printed electronics are expected to really take off … some day.

The latest data from the research firm targets an attractive 15.3% CAGR over the next decade, mostly driven by OLEDs. That will push the overall market from just north of $16 billion today to $76.8 billion in 2023, IDTechEx says.

But what I found interesting was the market for conductive inks (see the table below). This is an area that is, in my opinion, the Holy Grail for electronics. Get it right, and we will solve all sorts of design, weight, cost and manufacturability issues.

Believing Foxconn Means Suspending Belief

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The Foxconn makeover is in full swing, with the latest this piece from the New York Times that supposes that the world’s largest ODM is worried that Apple — yes, Apple — might be bringing it down.

When Apple was subsequently criticized for low wages and poor working conditions at his factories in China, it was Mr. Gou’s company, the Foxconn Technology Group, and not Apple, that caught the most heat.

What this conveniently ignores, of course, is that no matter how demanding and dictatorial Steve Jobs could be, those weren’t Apple employees jumping to their deaths from their Cupertino offices.

Such unpleasantries aside, what the story also reveals is that Foxconn does not intend to go head to head with its customers. There’s ample evidence to the contrary already, of course, not the least of which are the Foxconn retail stores popping up all over China, not to mention the litany of ODM phones and other consumer electronics it design and makes.

To paraphrase an old saw, believe what I say, not what I do.

 

 

 

 

 

‘Innovate or Die’

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While not directly related to printed circuit boards, this piece from Time Magazine on the Japan’s Uniqlo shows how one entrepreneur had the vision and courage to cast off decades of cultural aversion to risk to build one of the largest clothing companies in the world.

Founder Tadashi Yanai, now 64, took over his parent’s small-town clothing business and, realizing it would end up in bankruptcy without change, remade the entire company.

“Innovate or die,” Yanai reminds us. It’s a lesson that’s absolutely true in PCBs as well.

Broken Signal

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Lots of mainstream media hand-wringing over reports that Apple has returned a large number (5 million? 800 million? a gazillion?) iPhones to Foxconn for repairs.

Two things are on display here. One, that calling the companies involved for clarification or comment doesn’t appear to be part of the playbook. And two, the mainstream business press doesn’t totally grasp the Apple-Foxconn electronics manufacturing model, especially the part about repairs/returns.