Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1493443
64 PCB007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2023 How do you help cli- ents determine this "most bang for your buck?" Do you do process evaluations for your clients? Brandman: When we discuss automation with our customers, we ask them to focus on two areas: first, which area is pro- ducing the most amount of scrap due to han- dling, and second, which area is the greatest manpower bottleneck. Asking these questions helps us determine where we need to focus our efforts. Automation is a big word, and many people can be overwhelmed when planning how to retrofit an existing factory for automa- tion. We believe that when we focus on these two points, our focus areas become clear. Mike, deciding to start putting automation in your facility, especially over 10 years ago, was a courageous leap of faith. What finally pushed you to take that leap? iel: We wanted a complete system. We didn't just want to replace our old equipment to improve our capabilities while still running that equipment the same way we always had. I wanted to improve the whole process, includ- ing the handling and setup of the job. Interest- ingly, we were not able to achieve all our goals with the first LDI automation. Trying to get the equipment manufacturer to adjust and cre- ate automation protocols to achieve our com- plete vision just wasn't in the cards. The term "automation" may seem self- explanatory, but a lot more goes into it than most people realize. Can you explain automa- tion? What, exactly, do we mean by that? iel: When I think of automation, it's more than just handling equipment. Standard han- dling equipment has been around for a long time, and it's very effective at what it was cre- ated to do, which is eliminate the manual feed- ing and catching panels on a conveyorized line. However, there are limitations with standard loader/unloader solutions, such as limited flex- ibility (i.e., panel sizes and thicknesses). I was looking for a complete solution that would not only act as an effective loader/unloader, but also make decisions on process flow, eliminate setup, and improve handling by only trans- porting panels using the panel edge. Jeff, how do you define automation? Brandman: I define automation as the use of technology to perform tasks without the direct intervention of a human. is considers han- dling, soware, communication, etc. As Mike said, automation is a complex idea far beyond basic loaders and unloaders. Mike, was automation a project you deployed all at once or did you target one area at a time? iel: We knew that it would be a single-pro- cess-area-at-a-time project. We simply did not have the floor space, finances, or engineering resources to handle multiple projects at the same time. How did you handle the implementation of so many processes? iel: e implementations were a close collab- oration between Multicircuits, the equipment manufacturer, and Technosystem, the automa- tion experts. Automation is not a one size-fits- all approach. Every company has different sce- narios that need to be managed. Each company needs to work with the automation vendor to help determine their priorities and needs and what will work best in their environment. How long did all this take? iel: It's not something you do overnight. We have been on our automation journey for Jeff Brandman