Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1527952
OCTOBER 2024 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 57 Traditionally, it has been considered a dirty job, and with some safety implications work- ing with all those chemicals. Yes, and it's important to point out that it is not the goal of our automation to get rid of the operator. A robot is a good solution, for example, for loading or unloading the DES line, the oxide lines, and the pre-clean lines. at doesn't eliminate the need for an oper- ator or technician, but it requires them to do less "busy work," for lack of a better term. When you bring a robot into a facility, it may frighten some employees, but robotic automa- tion should make that operator's job easier or the lines that they oversee more productive. e owners and leadership that I work with aren't looking to get rid of a position or an employee. is automation is now freeing up that employee—that valuable labor resource— to be more fully utilized on the factory floor. It is a solution that creates a safer worker environ- ment, eliminates the need for so much manual handling around chemical processes, and pro- vides new opportunities for those employees. e SAM automation is unique. It's one of the few pieces of equipment I've seen that lit- erally comes right out of the box, plugs into power and air, and it's off running exactly as it should be. Our soware has a "teach mode" program, eliminating integration costs, which is huge for customers. Our customers can plug it in, conduct soware training for a couple of days, get familiar with the soware and the user interface, and how to handle the robot. It has an average time of five minutes to do the job setup. It eliminates the need for us to fly out to a cus- tomer site and do lengthy in-person training. That is a big cost saving for your customers. Jesse, a lot of domestic shops here in the U.S. and in Europe are space-constrained, mak- ing expansion tough. DIS just went through an expansion and moved to a larger building. Are there solutions for customers who need to make improvements but can't move into a bigger space, or can't move right now? I'm glad you brought that up. at was one of the biggest factors when we talked to custom- ers. ey wanted automation, but some Euro- pean automation is just too big. We were very thoughtful in our design of SAM. It addresses two of the most significant issues for custom- ers: needing a small footprint and eliminating the integration costs. I appreciate the way DIS does business and your culture. I think your recent expansion is a testament to that. Jesse, how long have you been doing this? I've been in the industry for about 12 years, and I've been working with DIS for seven years. Some might say I'm still a baby in the industry but that is changing as well, for the good. Those have been a critical 12 years. I've been fortunate to see the industry from a global standpoint and each region or area has its own mini culture and its unique way of doing business. When it comes to the U.S. mar- ket, there has been a complete mind shi from " ey wanted automation, but some European automation is just too big. "