Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/935136
60 SMT007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2018 scan across the length of a board may suffice Place • Improve operator's response time to a machine request for assistance • Purchase larger reel sizes, splice small reels into larger reels, multiply feeders' positions • Segregate panels with X-outs so you only search for bad marks when necessary • Have extra feeders loaded and ready, so that many systems continuously report which feeder will run out next Reflow • Automate handling, loading, and unloading. Cicor's Approach to Miniaturization: Cost of Function, and More Cicor is a Swiss PCB manufacturer and an electron- ics manufacturing services (EMS) provider, offering turn- key solutions and HDI work to their customer base, which currently includes four of the five biggest hearing aid manufacturers in the world. Karl Heinz-Fritz is the company's VP of technology, wherein he is responsible for technology development, dealing with all of his company's product groups. Given his background in electronics, particularly in substrate manufacturing, PCBs, thin film circuits, thick film circuits, as well as the micro-assembly of these boards, a big part of his job is to elaborate solutions together with customers. "And that is what I like the most about this job: making contact with customers, trying to find solutions, and trying to offer alternatives if something is not possible or feasible. I don't like to say, 'No, that's not possible.' This is also what I'm encouraging my people to do, to try to offer options to help our customers to make products more stable, more reliable. Design for manufacturability is a big part of our business," says Heinz-Fritz. To read more about I-Connect007's Barry Matties' inter- view with Heinz-Fritz, including their newest product line, which can shrink the size of a circuit by up to 40%, and the importance of measuring the cost of functionality, click here. In General • Reducing operator assist time up and downline of placement will allow faster response to feeder replenishment • Prioritize operator response for the bottle neck in your line • Locate machines to reduce operator travel distance • Increase conveyor speeds The numbers and calculations used here are greatly simplified. You can always create a simple spreadsheet with the assist vari- ables you identify in your process for a better understanding of the impact on your through- put. SMT007 Ken Horky is a process engineer at Peterson Manufacturing.