Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1508761
28 SMT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2023 To get a front-line perspective on test and inspection, we spoke with Raj Vora, manufac- turing engineer, and Darren Carlson, opera- tions manager, at San Diego-based VAS Engi- neering, a company that has been paying care- ful attention to operational efficiencies. "All roads lead to Rome," they say, so it seems any operational efficiency work ultimately leads back to data and analysis. In this conversation, Raj and Darren share how test and inspection equipment is vital to the efficiency of the entire manufacturing structure. Nolan Johnson: When you consider your overall business operations, where does test and inspection fit, and what challenges do you see in inspection? Raj Vora: Inspection is the bane of our exis- tence, yet it's so crucial to the whole opera- tion. We run in-line AOI on every single board on all three lines. If there's any add-on work— whole mechanical assembly, for example—we do a 100% final manual inspection as well. One of the challenges is the false calls on some of our machines in SMT. We are trying to alleviate that issue by replacing all our inspec- tion equipment. Barry Matties: What is the strategy when you're looking at equipment? How are you looking to the future to influence the deci- sions you're making today? Vora: One big piece of the puzzle we want to solve is MES soware. Real-time feedback is 'Testing' a Strategy Feature Interview by the I-Connect007 Editorial Team