Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1467744
MAY 2022 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 31 Reckert: e more isolated the cir- cuit board facility is, the more open- minded they are to automating, to hav- ing more process controls in place on th e wet process machines to do things more proactively. Quite honestly, at least in my personal assessment— which a lot of people agree with—if the vendors are close to the actual cus- tomer base, like in California or Chi- cago, then the customers are accus- tomed to getting daily visits from the chemical vendors. Some chemical vendors have staff based in the circuit board shops and they do the work for the customer con- trolling the processes. It's the same thing with servicing machinery. If a machine is down in Southern California, then we need to jump, whereas if the facility is more remote, they know they have to do first-tier service themselves. ey have no other choice, basically, if they want to get the issue rapidly addressed. So, you've got a regionality there when it comes to this topic. With new factories, you can do the full fac- tory layout with automation. It does depend on the level of automation. You can have batch automation, as you said a moment ago, just to have a loader/unloader. And those loader/ unloaders may not even be intelligent when it comes to different batches being loaded. And that's what is meant when integrating automa- tion into existing facilities on that level is pretty much impossible. Matties: Is there an ROI factor that some of these companies wouldn't see or necessarily be able to reconcile? Happy Holden: You have to separate the sys- tem information and data from the mecha- nization. A loader/unloader is a very simple form of mechanization, but there are eight to 10 levels of investment before you get to Alex's vision at GreenSource. People need to assess where their need is. If they can't get people, is the need for somebody to load a machine and then unload it? Or do they need people with years of experience who are going to look at blueprints? Johnson: Torsten, am I hearing that the tech- nical aspect—increased capabilities or smaller feature sizes—is taking a back seat to getting the work through the shop because you don't have the staff you need? Small footprint robot arm automation. First-level automation with accumulators.