Supply bottlenecks for printed circuit boards and assemblies have prompted Schubert System Elektronik GmbH to invest in its own production capacities. Together with Fuji Europe Corporation, an SMD line has been set up.
Based in Neuhausen ob Eck, south of the Upper Danube, the specialist for modular computer systems in the I4.0 environment - including sensor and monitoring systems with a focus on the mechanical engineering, food technology and medical technology sectors - has previously relied on suppliers and manufacturing service providers from the EMS world. With the support of Fuji, the company is producing assembled boards in-house for the first time, thus reducing its dependence on EMS service providers and the increasingly difficult conditions along the supply chain.
"Purchasing from Asia in particular has been very difficult since the start of the pandemic. Due to the ongoing supply bottlenecks and the resulting shortage of materials, we decided to produce some of our boards ourselves in future," says Javier Aller Fuentes, Head of Production at Schubert System Elektronik. The company will continue to procure the raw PCBs from external suppliers. Nevertheless, in-house electronics production will provide significant relief in the current procurement and chip crisis - because it will allow the company to procure at component level again and thus react more quickly to component shortages, Schubert told the PLUS editorial team when asked.
Fuji Europe was commissioned as general contractor to install the corresponding production line. Production has already started successfully. In addition to the production of medium series sizes, it also enables Schubert to carry out prototyping in-house. The press release jointly issued by Schubert and Fuji also mentioned that the company will manufacture PCBs itself in future. When asked, no further details were given about the future strategy regarding PCB sourcing.
Fuji realized the complete production line and supplied all necessary components such as loader, printer, SPI, placement machine, oven, AOI, warehouse and washing. The project included hardware and software from Fuji itself as well as products from other manufacturers. Jochen Krisch, Area Sales Manager at Fuji Europe Corporation in Kelsterbach: "Towards the end of 2021, we completed the line setup, which consisted of delivery and installation. The line was then commissioned a few weeks later. The official line acceptance took place recently. The first boards had already been successfully produced beforehand - and everything went perfectly."
Great flexibility in the high-mix area
The sItower Various 930 is used for the production line as a production supply store for up to 1300 SMD electronic component reels and two Fuji AIMEX III c with DynaHead. This placement machine is designed for increased flexibility in the high-mix area and is prepared for modern set-up concepts such as table exchange, fixed set-up and AB mode.
"The AIMEX III c enables both prototyping and the production of medium-sized series," explains Krisch. The system can be equipped with different placement heads in just a few seconds, which further increases the capacity of the machine and enables optimal alignment to the respective product to be manufactured.
With the production line designed and installed by Fuji, Schubert System Elektronik is positioning itself independently and for the future. It is no longer necessary to procure boards from external EMS service providers, which increases the production flow and prevents possible supply bottlenecks in times of crisis.
