Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1518339
APRIL 2024 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 29 fussing around with them. ese LEDs needed to be through-hole as they had to stand off the PCB and push through the plastic enclosure's cutouts to align properly with the overlay and provide feedback to the end user. To make this easier, we created a "poka-yoke" device that held the LEDs in place while we soldered them. It made it impossible to get their height or their alignment incorrect. So, by the time we put the PCB into the enclosure, they fit perfectly without having to adjust their align- ment first. Explain the steps from receiving a box-build project's specifications to the final assembly and testing phase. How do you ensure that all components, such as PCBs, wiring harnesses, and mechanical enclosures, integrate seamlessly? Budvarson: We always start with the relation- ship. Our business development and techni- cal sales teams begin by meeting with the cus- tomer to gain a well-rounded understanding of the assembly as well as the customer's goals and timelines. From there, we gather docu- mentation, build a quote and assembly docs, create necessary fixtures, and plan the work according to the customer's delivery needs. We generally batch the various subassemblies and ensure they all meet quality requirements prior to beginning the box-build. As in the pre- vious example, a customer can visit us to see how things are working as we begin assembly and spend time close to the project. Denney: Box-build is a journey, not a destina- tion. Your initial look at the project will result in dozens of questions. ose will then lead to more and more questions until, finally, your customer goes away and finds somebody else who will do it for them. We don't bother with any of that nonsense. We look at what the cus- tomer is trying to accomplish and discuss building a small quantity of units first; it's typi- cally no more than 50 pieces. We are upfront with them that there will almost certainly need to be changes made to the design based on this initial build, and we make sure the customer is open to working together with us on this. We give our custom- ers a maximum price we'll charge them for the box-build, with an agreement that we'll learn from this to provide a more accurate quote. If it takes us longer than expected, we eat that cost. But if it takes us less time, we'll offer them credit on a future order for that value. Once we sit down to actually perform the build, we note down what does and doesn't work, and what needs to change. We may have to do this for a couple of revisions, depend- ing on how close the engineers got in their ini- tial design until we can finally provide a fully accurate quote from a process that we're happy with. Describe your experience with quality control in box-build assembly. What testing protocols do you implement to ensure the final product meets both the industry standards and customer expectations? Budvarson: First articles always receive 100% inspection to validate workmanship prior to shipment. For in-process inspection, we build appropriate inspection points according to each manufactured assembly. Assembly per- sonnel generally work in a cell formation, so each person inspects the work done by the prior person before moving on. We also look back at captured quality data regularly to iden- tify areas for improvement and training. Test is customer-directed and usually requires work- ing with the customer to create the fixture, program, and procedure to meet their individ- ual needs. Denney: IPC has standards for circuit boards and wiring harnesses, and we train and cer- tify our staff to follow these standards. We inspect all the subassemblies to make sure they meet the standards before installing them into the final assembly. Oentimes, the final prod- uct itself will have a built-in diagnostic mode where we can test all the product's functions before delivering it to our customer.