In November 2019, EMS service provider elektron systeme put a new placement line into operation. After using the entire line for just over a year and a half, Harald Weiß, Technical Managing Director of elektron systeme, draws a positive balance.
"As a user of an existing ASM Siplace production line, it made sense for us to expand our production capacities with another ASM line," says Weiß, looking back. The management therefore opted for a 3-module SX line, including a NeoHorizon03iX DEK stencil printer and a VisionXP+ nitro reflow soldering system from Rehm. The assembly transport as well as the loading and unloading of the line is carried out with modules from Asys. "For us as a medium-sized EMS service provider, this is a major investment. Whether we would have made this investment if we had known what would happen with corona in 2020 is questionable. However, it is undisputed that the line has helped us to supply our customers quickly and reliably during the coronavirus period," says Michael Walter, Commercial Director at elektron systeme. The order situation at elektron systeme is good and so the new production line was quickly able to prove how efficient it is. "The new system and the training on it were not the bottleneck during the coronavirus period. Rather, it was the component supply that caused headaches from time to time," recalls Walter. elektron systeme not only assembles printed circuit boards in SMD and THT technology on 2300 m² of production space, but also produces complete electronic device units.
The Siplace SX placement system is a placement platform for highly flexible electronics production. With the three placement heads, all current component shapes and sizes from 0201 metric can be covered. The placement machine can place a maximum of 86,500 components per hour. These are provided with up to 120 8 mm feeders. Components can also be placed using belts, trays, bars and bowls. Special and THT components can also be reliably fed. Due to the longboard option used, the maximum PCB size is 1525 × 560 mm.
The NeoHorizon 03iX stencil printer has a modular design and can be upgraded or retrofitted with various clamping and transport options, sensor and camera systems or the latest version of the DEK ProFlow ATx print head system, depending on the requirements of the electronics manufacturer. With core cycle times of 8 seconds and a repeat accuracy of up to 25 µm @ >2 Cpk, these printers meet high demands in terms of speed, efficiency and accuracy. Furthermore, the printer is particularly operator and service-friendly, as all interventions for operation and maintenance can be carried out from the front of the machine. It is designed for a wide range of production philosophies, whether high-speed production, highly flexible assembly of the smallest batch sizes, pin-in-paste, the smallest components and finest apertures, stepped stencils, regular use of underside cleaning, PCBs for special substrates or a wide variety of paste types.
The line is rounded off by the VisionXP+ nitro reflow soldering system from Rehm. The reflow oven is equipped with a medium support, an O2 analyzer, nitrogen control and an external water re-cooling system. With a particular focus on energy efficiency, reducing emissions and operating costs, the VisionXP+ nitro has integrated EC motors that enable customers to save energy. This sustainability aspect was a key deciding factor for the management of the EMS service provider. "It is important for us to use a production line that allows us to react to all changes in the market and our customers. This is the case with the new line and it is also reassuring, as we have seen in the last 12 months how quickly market conditions can change," says Walter.
