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April 2016 • SMT Magazine 35 In a best-practice process preparation system, however, the machine optimization and line balancing is done centrally and automatically. Just press a button and a week's worth of work is performed as you drink a cup of coffee. In an increasing number of cases, the Valor program optimization uses the machine vendors own software to provide the most accurate and con - sistent performance. Others are optimized using Valor advanced optimization algorithms. Many iterative line balance cycles are performed auto- matically until the line is as perfect as it can be. SMT Setup/Change-over Optimization Much of the time lost in SMT production is changing-over the machines from one model to another. This is becoming an everyday oc- currence on every line in higher product mix environments. The major contributor to this changeover loss is the time that it takes to set up the materials. Clearly, reducing the number of material changes will reduce the changeover time. Making some or all of the feeder posi- tions common between products can reduce the changeover time to almost zero. The trade- off, however, is that for each individual prod- uct, it will not be possible to optimize the feed- ers as well as if any choice was available. The best optimization of several products together is the goal. The Valor Process Preparation tool can consider the optimization of many prod- ucts run in any combination to find the best possible result in even the highest product mix scenarios. When used in combination with the Valor Production Plan tool, which uniquely allows schedule optimization at the same time as cre- ating common feeder setups. Figure 9: Valor Production Plan works in concert with Valor Process Preparation for setup and change- over optimization across the factory. bEsT-PracTicE ProcEss PrEParaTion for Pcb assEmblY