Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/881969
84 SMT Magazine • October 2017 Eriksson: We're working with a number of cus- tomers where we are implementing OML be- tween machines and our software. The OML is growing continuously, and we've seen a gradual increase in interest. Las Marias: Patrik, is there anything else we should be talking about? Eriksson: One area that the manufacturers are having issues with is planning the very com- plex schedule in their factories. With short, smaller batches, and frequent changes, it's get- ting more and more challenging for the plan- ners to do their planning work. So, we have de- veloped a very unique electronics specific plan- ning tool, and we made it very specific for SMT and the back-end. It's very different from gener- ic planning tools and it is gaining a lot of inter- est at this moment. You can create changes eas- ily to your schedule, improve production per- formance on the machines, and minimize the downtime. Las Marias: And that's because the rate of the product line cycle currently is just six months or one year, then you have to change. Eriksson: One thing that our customers like about this tool is that before they start produc- tion, they know if the material is available to run the whole production. One common prob- lem that factories have is that they run out of the material halfway through, and then they need to re-plan the schedule and the line is stopped for many hours. This is a completely stand-alone product. It integrates with all our other modules, but it can run on its own. It im- ports data from your systems and machines to simulate the generated schedule. A product we've had on the market for quite some time is the Lean Material Management So- lution. That's another area where companies are seeing the most increase in difficulties. How can they reduce their inventories and still keep the factory running at optimal levels without over- stocking on materials? So, since we can have the knowledge about exact consumption of ma- terials on the shop floor, our Lean Material So- lution can enable a just-in-time delivery to the machines. Our customers basically eliminate the mate- rial that tends to sit next to the machines. One customer said we turned a waste delivery sys- tem into one that delivers fresh fruit. Always fresh product to the line. Las Marias: That's a good development. Thank you very much for your time, Patrik. Eriksson: Thank you. SMT THE BEST APPROACH TOWARDS INDUSTRY 4.0 ADOPTION Mitch Holtzer, director of Americas Reclaim Business of Al- pha Assembly Solutions, talks with Managing Editor Andy Shaughnessy about the solder dross reclamation process, and discusses his new role in leading Alpha's reclamation business. He also discusses the trends he's seeing in solder dross recla- mation globally. Watch the interview here. Alpha Talks on Solder Dross Reclamation