Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1415897
62 SMT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2021 Now let us consider a novel leasing option. What if manufacturers could update the SMT equipment every few years to match the chang- ing production requirements or change equip- ment simply because equipment suppliers have introduced more capable solutions? Compa- nies like SMT Renting offer a flexible lease con- cept with service and warranty. Not a tradition- al financial lease, like banks are offering, but a full operational lease with maximum flexibility, tailor-made towards electronic manufacturers. ey focus purely on the electronics manufac- turing industry, working closely with the top equipment vendors within the industry to pro- vide manufacturers the option to "stop & swap" equipment regularly—at attractive monthly rates. is gives several benefits to electron- ics manufacturers such as production flexibili- ty, increased working capital, and faster time to market. Consequently, many electronics man- ufacturers are changing their financial solution for SMT investments to leasing. Conclusion Overall, inspection systems and the excep- tional data they produce are making a huge contribution to the digital transformation of the factory floor and the drive to Industry 4.0. AI-engine and deep learning research and de- velopment continue to achieve this vision with a focus on next-generation cooperative efforts that expand process capabilities and factory performance. To this end, the company has es- tablished three additional R&D centers world- wide to facilitate a quantum leap in technolog- ical leadership and competitiveness, even pav- ing the way into new markets and industries beyond SMT. SMT007 Download your copy of The Printed Circuit As- sembers Guide to… SMT Inspection Today, Tomor- row, and Beyond. Attend the on-demand, free 12-part webinar series, "Converting Process Data Into Intelligence," with experts Joel Scutchfield and Ivan Aduna. Brent Fischthal is senior manager, Americas Marketing and Regional Sales, Koh Young America, Inc. There is much that inspection can offer the world of manufacturing, and in this book, we have focused on the current state and the near-term future. Right now, inspection plays an increasingly important role in making manufacturing smarter. Inspection allows us to deliver the quality we know is essential for the products being manufactured right now, and in the future. It is providing the data that allow com- panies to improve their own performance and ef- ficiency. Data from inspection is contributing to al- most every process on the SMT line, providing real insight into faults and their root cause. This inspec- tion data is also providing immediate feedback to other processes in the line, often in real time, mak- ing on-the-fly adjustments that reduce scrap, down- time, and even the use of consumables such as sol- der paste and cleaning materials. Inspection is pick- ing up the slack in terms of skill shortages, allowing low- er-skilled operators to man- age lines or parts of lines and, thanks to intuitive soft- ware, allowing fewer oper- ators to manage more ma- chines and lines. All in all, in- spection systems and the ex- ceptional data they produce are making a huge contribu- tion to the digital transformation of the factory floor and the drive to Industry 4.0. But what of the future beyond the short- and me- dium-term goals of digitally optimized factories? How far can inspection and data take us? Click here to download this free I-007eBook. Excerpt: The Printed Circuit Assembler's Guide to... SMT Inspection: Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond Chapter 7: Smarter Manufacturing Enabled by Inspection