Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/674146
12 SMT Magazine • May 2016 Donald Naugler: It all comes down to produc- tivity. It always is productivity and price, and you've got to perform in both areas. But we see a growing need, or a growing desire I should say, to start being more automated. We have a lot of our customers saying, "What do you have in the field of automation? How can I reduce the number of touches or even eliminate the touches by the operator?" So, we are working with a couple of the large companies both EMS as well as OEMs to adapt our equipment and take what has been kind of a minimal level of automation to the next level and try to, if not totally, eliminate the operator, minimize the number of touches. Our history really goes back to some- thing we used to call semi-automation. We focused hard on tak- ing out any variability that an operator could by Stephen Las Marias I-ConneCT007 Massachusetts-based VJ Electronix provides SMT rework systems and X-ray inspection so- lutions for the electronics assembly industry. Their systems are suitable for applications rang- ing from high-volume consumer products such as mobile phones, netbooks, set-top boxes, game consoles to ultra-precision, challenging applications found in aerospace, medical de- vices, and automotive electronics. In this interview during the recent IPC APEX EXPO in Las Vegas, Donald Naugler, pres- ident and general manager of VJ Electronix, discusses rework challenges and strategies to help customers reduce handling errors in their processes. He also talks about automation, and the impact of Industry 4.0 in the electronics as- sembly industry. Stephen Las Marias: Don, what are some of the challenges that your customers are experiencing in this industry? Strategies to Reduce Handling Errors in Your Rework Process FEatu RE i ntE Rvi Ew Donald naugler