Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/924542
JANUARY 2018 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 15 It's the same thing with 3D AXI. You can't use a manual X-ray system when you have a Class 3 board with 400 bot- tom-terminating compo- nents. There's no way any human being is go- ing to accurately look at all those without glazing over. You need automat- ed technology to do the heavy inspection on that type of work. You still have a human to do a sample to make sure you have compliant joints, but there's no way you can screen all those bot - tom-terminated joints manually ," says Turpin. Challenging Equipment Suppliers Do they ever make demands on their equip- ment suppliers to come up with something bet- ter for their processes? What happens when the y run into equipment limitations? Nargi-Toth says some of their equipment is "machine #1," which is when they have chal - lenged their suppliers to give the industry some- thing better. "I think many of the #1 machines that Orbotech has intr oduced have spent some time in Eltek," she says. "We had one of the first laser direct imaging machines they made, and the first direct imaging solder mask ma - chine they made. It is very important for our industry that these types of r elationships exist between fabricators and the supply base. We are constantly challenging our suppliers to give us something better than the equipment we just bought from them." But sometimes, current technologies have notable limitations. "We've tried to get bet - ter handling, say, in a DES line, and there are some limitations in available equipment. It may handle a 1-mil dielectric la yer, but it doesn't necessarily handle that 1-mil film when we remove 75% of the copper from it. So, I would say, from our perspective as a panel flex supplier, there are some limits in what's cur- rently available to meet our requirements," sa ys Nargi-Toth. Automation Vision How is automation, or the drive towards it, affecting the decision process in acquiring new equipment? "In the EMS world and certainly in the mili - tary/aero and the medical side, your raw ma- terial expense is going to be around 60–70% of y our revenue," says Turpin. "The number one expense, in our world, is raw materials. From an automation standpoint, you certainly want to be automated in terms of how you buy, plan and process your raw materials." While direct labor is always important, Turpin says it's even more important to have a robust process that can make sure you have virtually no scrap. "You've got these $25,000–$40,000-dol - lar-apiece PCBAs running through your facility at relatively low profit, low contribution mar- gin. You really can't afford to have any scrap. Y our focus is less on labor and more on qual- ity, reliability, and taking scrap down to zero. And, pr etty much, rework down to zero, too, because you can't afford to hold onto these components for very long. You're more look - ing for velocity than you are efficiency on the Figure 1: When investing in new equipment for the factory, manufacturers should follow a proven evaluation procedure. (Photo Courtesy: Eltek Ltd)