Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1545666
24 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2026 Across the line, machines, software, and material handling work together in a closed loop—optimizing flow, uptime, and performance. Frank: Our jet printer really tells the story of Mycronic's work with optimization. To make a change, you don't need to order a new stencil and wait for delivery. You just make the change in the program. Iterating in the NPI environment is much easier. Helleday: For example, if you want to write an arti- cle, you use Word, and it's easy to make changes to your text. It's the same with our jet printer. Instead of making a stencil, where you have to order another one to make a change, now you just adjust it in the file when you make an error. We're talking about days saved, not minutes. There is a lot happening in the optimization space. Even with data integration, there is still a process to ensure that the programming is both efficient to use and produces optimal output. What has Mycronic done recently to improve the programming process? Frank: Programming, along with material manage- ment, is probably the most important process when running high-mix production. We are investing heavily in this area to be even better. With automatic optical inspection (AOI) systems, for example, we have shown that with GenI™, where we step away from the traditional AOI library into an AI-based approach, drastically cuts programming time. That approach is unique on the market so far. Helleday: That development is on all levels. GenI is revolutionary. It's a whole new concept in that we don't make it easier to program libraries; we do away with libraries altogether. But on the other end of the spectrum, we want to make the jet printer, AOI, and pick-and-place work well together, even down to details like tracking which pin is labeled pin number one. Pin number one is here in this system, but pin number one is there in that system. That's just work, it's not a rev- olution. But customers need to think about these