Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1543032
FEBRUARY 2026 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 49 S M A RT AU TO M AT I O N Even the best organized facilities deal with these challenges due to the process being inherently manual. Upstream delays become downstream head- aches, which become downtime and product defects. Step One: Materials Automation Enhanced storage solutions, whether fully auto- mated storage towers, pick-to-light shelves, or even barcode-enforced shelving, reduce common risks, such as incorrect or missing components, time consuming kitting, manual tracking errors, FIFO inconsistencies, and MSD compliance lapses. If your materials process isn't stable, no amount of automation at the line will operate to its full potential. You can't optimize placement when the right parts are delayed or perhaps never make it to the feeder. Feeder Setup and Verification Once materials are staged, the next logical steps are feeder setup and verification. It's where auto- mation pays off. Verification errors can slip through silently, as a mislabeled reel or outdated compo- nent won't necessarily fail at placement, but rather at AOI, ICT, or worse, in the field. Verification eliminates these failures before they start by confirming correct part-to-feeder assign- ments, validating reel labels through barcoding, flagging wrong parts upstream at receiving, and allowing setups to be completed offline. This automation protects yield, as well as oper- ators from the frustration of troubleshooting prob- lems they haven't caused and don't immediately know how to solve. How Materials and Verification Work Together Automating creates a clear workflow: • Materials automation: Ensures the right parts are available, sorted, documented, and tracked • Verification automation: Ensures those parts are loaded correctly, assigned correctly, and validated before the line starts building They eliminate the two biggest setup variables in SMT: Did we get the right parts, and did we load them correctly? Answering "yes" to both means setup times shrink, errors drop, and operators can focus on running the line instead of fixing it. Now, that Ferrari of a placement machine can fully real- ize its potential. Outperforming Line Level Upgrades for ROI Automating materials and verification offers bene- fits that include lower capital investment, larger opportunity for labor allocation and reduction, fewer production level disruptions, immediate reductions in scrap and rework, improved traceability, and better changeover consistency. Perhaps most importantly, these areas deliver the fastest payback because they fix problems that occur every time. Whether you're high-volume/ low-mix, low-volume/high-mix, a CM, or an OEM, these problems are consistent across the electron- ics manufacturing industry. You might upgrade your placement machine once every decade, but you kit and verify multiple times a day. That's where the real ROI is realized. Conclusion The biggest gains in SMT automation aren't always in the form of the SMT line, but from fixing the upstream processes that affect how the SMT line performs. While not the flashiest investment, mate- rials and verification are often the most impactful first step. You will reduce errors, speed up change- overs, and prepare the operation for deeper auto- mation later. Fix the beginning of the process, and the rest of the line finally gets the chance to perform the way it was intended. SMT007 Josh Casper is president of Horizon Sales. To read past columns, click here.