Technology Focus

“Modularity guarantees fast error recovery and minimum unscheduled downtime”
Jereon de Groot, Director of Product Marketing and Business Support, Assembleon Asia Pacific, gets technical on placement machine development.



EM Asia: Please comment on modularity and customization in the placement machine business.

de Groot: We look at modularity in a number of ways. From an application point of view, modularity allows the customer to change the machine configuration and adapt the platform to a new application by changing only a few modules. If the component range needs to increase, a component alignment camera can be added to the system, and by replacing large robots with smaller robots, the output on the same footprint can be increased in steps of 5Kcph.

From a service and uptime point of view, modularity guarantees customers fast error recovery and minimum unscheduled downtime. It allows the customer to replace a module, get the machine up and running in less than 20 minutes, and repair the module off line.

Customers will always require some degree of customization. Of course, it is possible for machine manufacturers to make the 'machine that can handle it all' but the tradeoff is that it would not be outstanding in any area. That is the reason why we have modules like transport systems to offer options for handling ceramics, flexfoil, FR4 and auerboats.


EM Asia: What challenges do manufacturers of placement machines face?

de Groot: Looking at developments in various applications areas, one trend that will definitely have an effect on placement machines is miniaturization of modules like VCOs, Tuners, Bluetooth, cameras, etc. These applications will require 01005 placement, force control and highoutput with no penalty in terms of cost per placement.

For a number of application areas like mobile phones where computers, consumer electronics and telecommunications merge, we see a demand for more and more output. Customers in those areas prefer to have less machines in line and higher output. In short, higher efficiency.


EM Asia: How would you break down production trends in Asia Pacific?

de Groot: Traditionally, mostly low end high volume production was outsourced to China. What we typically see today is that this is still true in some application areas.

Generally, core technology remains in OEM countries–mostly Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Some applications like digital camcorders, modules, high end cellphones and others remain outside of China. On the other hand, the Chinese OEMs and Taiwanese ODMs in China are rapidly catching up and looking at higher end applications.