Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1493443
62 PCB007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2023 ware. I needed to learn the business, so I spent the first part of my career on the production floor running product in all areas and, even- tually, supervising many of the process areas. I also worked as the primary pro- cess engineer, with a few years in quality. In 2009, I was promoted to director of opera- tions. Multicircuits was incorporated in 1990 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with many of the assets purchased from Marquette Electronics. From those humble beginnings, we've evolved through the years from single- and double- sided product to the highly complex product we produce today. We are a high-mix, high- reliability PCB manufacturer with an efficient manufacturing process and dedicated work- force that allows us to deliver both quick turn and production orders with an OTD rate of 99.6% over the past seven years. Our markets include aerospace, medical, military, telecom- munications, and industrial. Jeff, what's your background? Talk to us about Technosystem and the Benmayor Group. Jeff Brandman: I started working in the Cana- dian PCB industry in 1997 for a company named TFE, which supplied consumable materials and manufacturing equipment to the PCB industry. e owner of the company, Tom Friedl, was a PCB industry veteran in his mid-70s, and he was looking for a young indi- vidual to take over his business. In 2001, I pur- chased the business and continued looking for new technologies to help my customers grow. In 2011, at the productronica show in Munich, Germany, I contracted with the Benmayor Group and started representing their PCB thermal laminate from Aismalibar; later, I also took on Technosystem automation. Eduardo, the president of the Benmayor Group, has always been very passionate about PCB auto- mation; he saw it as the future for European and North American PCB fabrication, and his passion inspired me to focus on Technosystem automation. Mike, please tell us about the idea of automating Multicircuits. How did that start? What was the goal? iel: Using my engineering background, I've always looked for ways to improve our pro- cesses by reducing waste and improving con- sistency, productivity, and ergonomics. I had my first glimpse of automation at an IPC show around 2008 or 2009. At the show, Technosys- tem had a robot that was feeding an LDI, and I was hooked. It took a few years, but in 2012, we purchased our first Technosystem robot along with an Orbotech Paragon LDI for our primary imaging. While there were automated imaging systems at the time, I believe we were the first in the United States to automate an LDI using a 6-axis robot. Initially, our goal for the automation was to improve handling. Our cores were getting thinner, and we needed a way to handle them effectively without creating defects. We also hoped to redistribute labor to other process areas that needed attention. It was a signif- icant investment, but we knew we needed to prioritize the long-term benefits over a short-term ROI. We simply needed a better process. e results of the installation, while not unexpected, were exceptional. We were able to increase our throughput by 80 to 100% while reducing handling scrap and exposure defects by 70%. Of course, the LDI was a significant improvement for our exposure, but the addi- tion of the automation was a key driver in achieving our goals. Mike Thiel