Elesta, the Swiss specialist for force-guided safety relays and sensors, was due to replace an assembly line: The company, which is part of the Pilz Group, has remained loyal to Fuji Europe and has replaced the previous NXT II with an NXTR S. It offers better PCB handling, higher component throughput and more flexibility.
The company, based in Bad Ragaz, just south of Liechtenstein, was founded in 1952 as Elesta Elektrotechnik AG and has developed a number of innovations, including light-optical sensors, measuring and control systems and relays. In 1997, this division was taken over as Elesta relays by the safety technology specialist PILZ from the AG, and since then has manufactured relays with positively driven contact sets in accordance with IEC 61810-3. These basic components of safety technology are used in safety circuits in combination with light curtains, interlock switches and emergency stop switches to control outputs.
The second mainstay of the Pilz subsidiary, which was renamed Elesta in 2013, is sensors for industrial automation, which are also primarily used in the area of functional safety. Among other things, they are used to monitor safety gates and monitor access to plant and machinery. The portfolio ranges from magnetic and mechanical guard locking devices to reed and RFID sensors and safety light curtains.
Elesta also assembles various flat modules from rigid and semi-flexible PCBs, which are used in the safety sensors. According to Dario Berni, Head of Production Sensors and SMD in Bad Ragaz, the steadily growing demand for the sensors and the increased complexity of the products with the accompanying increase in electronic components on the control units made it necessary to expand the assembly capacity. Those responsible therefore decided to replace the existing Fuji NXT II placement system with a NXTR S series system consisting of five placement modules.
The new placement machine offers better PCB handling, more CPH (components per hour), greater flexibility in terms of component size with fewer placement head types. One advantage of this series is that interchangeable heads, units and even complete modules can be replaced without tools. Self-diagnosis also enables predictive maintenance. This minimizes unplanned production interruptions. According to Dario Berni, the introduction of the new pick and place system means that PCBs with very fine structures and high component density can be produced with high efficiency. It also increases production flexibility and shortens throughput times.
The new placement system and its possibilities are embedded in the lean development process implemented at Elesta: the development team not only covers a wide range of possible applications for sensor technology - from safety engineering and embedded programming to all the usual disciplines of electronics development based on the V-model defined in ISO/IEC 12207:2008. Product development also includes the development and implementation of production processes, including product and production FMEA, which means a complete service for customers that covers the entire product life cycle from product design through production to product discontinuation.
