MYSMT News 2016 01

MYNews 2016.01 BNLX-UK – page 1

MYNewsAn SMT magazine from Mycronic

2016.01 BNLX-UK

PRODUCTIVITYto new heights


High-mix thinkingFor a higher volume world

JeT PRInTIng leTs YOU aDD sOlDeR PasTe 10 TIMes FasTeR. Stop waiting for painfully slow solder-paste dispensers. With modern “touch-free” jet printing technology, you can move 10 times faster on complex add-on work – with absolutely no risk of human error. Whether you’re mounting PCBs for the space industry, doing pin-and-paste for new mobile broadband appli-cations, or producing highly populated boards, you can always be sure of getting perfect solder joints. How? The secret lies in a combination of advanced robotics and software that enables you to add paste where you need it, with precise volume control. You can also achieve faster, more accurate low-temp paste application, avoiding the need to expose costly components to a second reflow. So why not put our high-mix thinking to work in your higher volume environment?

Mycronic, MYDATA, MYDATA automation and MY; MY100, MY100DX, MY100SX, MY100LX, MY100e, MY100HXe, MY100DXe, MY100SXe, MY100LXe, MY200, MY200HX, MY200DX, MY200SX, MY200LX, MY500, MY600 and MYSynergy; T3, T4, T5 and T6; HYDRA Speedmount, Midas, ISIC; Agilis, Agilis Linear Magazine (ALM), Agilis Linear Magazine Flex (ALM FLEX), Agilis Stick Magazine (ASM), Mycronic Tray Exchanger (TEX), Mycronic Tape Magazine (TM), Mycronic Tray Wagon Magazine (TWM); Mycronic Dip unit (DPU); Mycronic Standard vision System (SVS), Mycronic Dual Vision System (DVS), Mycronic Linescan Vision System (LVS), Mycronic HYDRA Vision System (HVS); Mycronic Assembly Process Management (APM) including; JPSys, TPSys, MYLabel, MYPlan, MYCenter, MYTrace, MYCam, FlowLine and Cad Conversion are registered trademarks or trademarks of Mycronic AB. Mycronic is ISO 9001:2008 certified.

MYCRONIC BNLX: Building Mµ, P.O. Box 8026, 5601 KA Eindhoven - The Netherlands VIsIt: High Tech Campus 10, 5656 AE Eindhoven - The Netherlands teL: +31 40 262 06 67, FAX: +31 40 262 06 68

MYCRONIC UK: Unit 2, Concept Park, Innovation Close, Poole Dorset, BH12 4QT - England teL: +44 1 202 723 585, FAX: +44 1 202 723 269

www.mycronic.com, Publisher: Paul Rooimans, Editor: Keith Wilson. This newsletter is produced three times a year with the intention of providing information about Mycronic, our services and our products. Responsible under Dutch Law - Paul Rooimans

4 Mycronic 4.0: fiction or reality? 8 Take your productivity to new heights10 MY600 for flexibility!12 Financial health and your production environment16 A solution for every need18 Mark Flaskett on Mark Flaskett20 MY600: the ultimate in agile production22 A new resource for existing customers24 Material handling made easy28 Integrated benefits30 Industry barometer for electronics manufacturing34 Smarter software for better business36 Training to unlock your staff’s potential!38 MYCare Training

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Contents 2016.01

MYNews 2016.01 BNLX-UK MYNews 2016.01 BNLX-UK – page 5

Mycronic 4.0:fiction or reality?While flying back from Russia to amsterdam, I’ve been thinking about the differences in the markets we cover, evaluating local challenges and looking at the big picture in relation to trends such as Industry 4.0, smart Industry and Vision 2020. My conclusion was that simply selling machines is now history – business today is all about ecosystems.

In all markets, whether we consider them to be mature or immature, developed or undeveloped, business owners are looking for ecosystems that can communicate vertically and horizontally, and that have significant on-board intelligence.

As we dig a little deeper below the surface of this trend, taking into account the buzz about Industry 4.0, we need to challenge ourselves by asking what is really required to ensure that we don’t make mistakes with long-lasting consequences when we purchase machines. You may remember my article, Be Careful What You Ask For, in a previous issue. This warned against questions like “What’s the maximum throughput?” which are likely to have misleading and ultimately unhelpful answers

In some cases, we are seeing machine vendors “upgrading” out-of-date hardware and technologies by adding a software shell and then claiming that the result is Industry 4.0 compliant. In other words, they are building on systems that don’t provide a good foundation for the future, without having a clear picture of the value they should be creating.

Trying to solve the problems of an out-of-date process with inherent limitations by monitoring the consequences of those limitations and then taking action is not the way to move forward. And, of course, the big question is whether this approach gives a result that really is Industry 4.0 compliant. This is, in fact, an impossible question to answer, because there are as yet no applicable standards. So who is right? Surely it shouldn’t be the company with the most convincing sales person.

Let’s come back to reality. What we all really want from these new initiatives and concepts is to maximize our bottom line. We’re looking for efficiency enhancements that will deliver more profitability and allow us to cope more effectively with eroding margins and price pressure.

At Mycronic, since our earliest days, we’ve always had a strong focus on software and on our mission, which is to enable our clients to generate maximum profitability from their SMT business with “batch size one” – in other words, any volume, any mix. So when we look at the initiatives relating to Industry 4.0 we have the feeling that there’s not much new under the sun.

Our machines are already fully software driven and configured, which means they have long lifetimes because they can be easily upgraded by installing new software. In addition, both our placement machines and our solder-jet printers have daily automatic calibration routines to eliminate drift, so why would we need to add more monitoring? The Mycronic philosophy has always been to consider everything from a proactive perspective. We believe that the machine should automatically take care of itself and, therefore, that there should be no need for monitoring and reaction!

At the last Productronica exhibition, we noticed that several vendors were introducing fast NPI interfaces for the first time, and were starting to call themselves Industry 4.0 compliant. To me, this is a rather bizarre and reductive approach to the Industry 4.0 concept!

We have always pushed the limits of flexibility in relation to batch size one. We started this in the mid 90s, and we continue to extend these limits by adding more capabilities and software functionality to our solutions instead of launching new machines every two years. We call this ‘incremental development’ and it adds a lot more value than just increasing speed – again, it’s all about productivity.

You can of course say, “That’s a good story Paul, but show me the money from the value

again, it’s all about productivity


you created.” And you are right to challenge me and the Mycronic team! The good news is that we have data we can share with you, now that we have applied our 360˚ Industry benchmark to a large number of potential deals, many of which we’ve converted into actual orders. This experience provides ample evidence of the effectiveness of the ecosystems we recommend.

Some examples of where we’re really making a difference:- Stock reduction of more than 50%- WIP reduction from 24 days to 4 days- NPI productivity tripled- Bottom line placements increased 200%- Bottom line profits doubled

We will be very happy to provide you with more details about these examples if you would like us to, but my real challenge to you is to let us look at your operations when you are thinking of making an investment in your factory. Ask yourself whether we could deliver benefits in your factory like the ones I’ve mentioned. We can potentially alert you to things you have overlooked and, with the aid of our 360˚ Industry Benchmark, we’ll be able to tell you the difference between your efficiency and the efficiency of similar companies.

I promise that we really CAN make a difference where many others can’t, whatever they may claim. Challenge us and let us open your eyes with our 360˚ Industry Benchmark so that we can release your full potential – potential that you may not even be aware of!

FACTS & FIGURES ABOUT OUR TERRITORY

Total installed base: 503 Pick and place machines, 80 Jetprinters and 77 SMD Towers, 22 AEGIS MES systems. 284 Mycronic clients.

RECENT NEW ORDERS Benchmark MY600 Curatech MY12 Daqri Labs Ltd 1x MY200SX14 / 2x 2000 Tower eM.Be MY12 GJD Manufacturing MY9 MBDA 1x MY200LX14 / 1x 2000 Tower Newtech MY600 Rommtech MY200 SX14 tbp MY600

Other Accounts MY200 DX14 MY200 SX10 MY200 SX14 MY200 LX14 3x 2000 Towers

I promise that we really CAN make a difference


Take your productivity to new heights The sMT industry has never been more complex. With more nPIs, more product variants and more changeovers than ever before. The result is record low productivity for many operations – often as little as 20%. Our answer to the industry’s need for higher productivity is Mycronic 4.0 - a complete, agile manufacturing solution that masters the complexity of modern electronics production.

TOMORROW’s InTellIgenT FaCTORY, TODaYFrom fast-changing production schedules to increasing numbers of jobs, today’s SMT manufacturers face challenges at every turn. On top of this, customers demand instant response, even as production levels peak. To seize new opportunities in this competi-tive environment, you need a solution that’s not only fast, but agile. Our answer to this need is Mycronic 4.0 – an intelligent factory enabling full visibility planning, complete material tracking, efficient changeovers, automated replenishment and intelligent storage solutions.

From our one-of-a-kind jet printing tech-nology, to our award-winning intelligent feeder systems, we’ve proven time and time again that productivity is about more than

just speed. It’s about using smarter mate-rial handling and information management to eliminate the bottlenecks of the future. By combining deeper knowledge of your production challenges with the integrated solutions needed to solve them, we make it possible to double or triple your utilization without adding additional staff.

So why wait for Industry 4.0 or Smart Factory to achieve the factory-wide produc-tivity of tomorrow? As a business partner to many of the world’s most advanced elec-tronics manufacturers, we’ve been systemat-ically solving these challenges for more than 30 years. With Mycronic 4.0, we’re bringing together our unmatched experience and solutions to transform your business, and our industry, today.

Key benefits:

• Full visibility planning • Complete material tracking • Efficient changeovers • Automated replenishment • Intelligent storage solutions


tion of solder jet technology was in reality very smooth. Much less time and effort was involved than we had anticipated and, on the few occasions we needed it, Mycronic pro-vided really excellent and responsive support.”

While not specifically looking for high throughput solutions – its speciality is high mix, high complexity boards – Axis Electronics was also agreeably impressed with the capacity of the MY600.

“It’s important to remember that the MY600 has integrated inspection and repair,” said Dan Feery, “whereas with our stencil printing lines, the inspection and repair functionality is a separate process. When you take this into account, the throughput capabilities of the two techniques are surprisingly similar. Certainly, in our applications, where we gen-erally deal with batch sizes from one board to a few hundred, the MY600 has always had ample capacity.”

At the time of writing, Axis Electronics is operating the MY600 as a standalone

machine, but having proved its value by delivering exceptional versatility combined with unimpeachable quality, the company plans to integrate it fully with the new Synergy line.

“The MY600 project is an excellent exam-ple of why we’ve continued to work with Mycronic over the last ten years,” said Matt Turner. “Mycronic produces superb equip-ment and it never stands still – it under-stands what its customers need, and it is

constantly developing new and innovative products that will make their lives easier and their businesses more profitable. Oh yes, it’s also true that the Mycronic team are very nice people to deal with!”

Mycronic produces superb equipment and it

never stands still

MY600 for flexibility!

Business success is highly desirable, but it does bring its challenges and, for CEMs, one of the most significant of these is how to best expand their production facilities. Axis Electronics, a Bedford-based CEM special-ising in the production of high reliability assemblies for critical applications, made a good start however when, almost a decade ago, it purchased a Mycronic pick-and-place machine.

The machine’s capacity for consistently delivering high quality results helped the company to grow so much that it became necessary to purchase a second Mycronic machine, which it combined with the first to form a Synergy line. Further business growth led to the installation of a second Synergy line in 2010 and, in June 2015, yet another Synergy line.

But that’s not all. At around the same time that Axis Electronics purchased the third Synergy line, it also invested in a Mycronic MY600 solder jet printer. The company thought long and hard before investing in this novel technology, as Engineering Director Matt Turner explains.

“Because of the critical nature of many of the assemblies we produce, we can’t simply go right ahead and adopt new production technologies, no matter how beneficial they may appear to be. We have to discuss the change with our customers, gain their agree-ment and, in some cases, go through new certification procedures. Buying the MY600 was, therefore, a really big decision but,

having examined and evaluated its capabili-ties, we were convinced that it was the right decision.”

The main factor that led Axis Electronics to consider adopting the MY600 is simply stated – when working with “difficult” com-ponents, solder-jet printing offers more options than stencils. With solder-jet print-ing it is possible, for example, to control the volume of paste applied on a pad-by-pad basis to cater for unusual types of compo-nents, something that is almost impossible to do with stencils. Solder-jet printing also has advantages when small numbers of prototypes must be produced quickly, as the cost of the stencil and the time taken to manufacture it are eliminated.

Taking all of this into account, Axis Electronics decided that adding a MY600 solder jet printer to its production facilities would be a major step forward, and would help the company maintain its preeminent position as one of the UK’s most trusted CEMs for critical assemblies. Nevertheless, when the machine was delivered and installed, the Axis Electronics production team approached it with some trepidation.

“We were really expecting that integrating jet printing into our production processes alongside the use of stencils was going to be a difficult and tedious task,” said Dan Feery, Process Engineer at Axis Electronics, “but we were in for a very pleasant surprise. The MY600 software platform is very easy to work with, which meant that the integra-

With a third synergy line added and a new MY600 solder-jet printer, axis electronics, a CeM specialising high reliability assemblies, is going from strength to strength.


Selecting the wrong equipment or software can have damaging consequences, such as low utilisation, low efficiency, quality issues and the need for more manual labour. It’s easy to see, for example, that if your new production line is only performing at 20% utilisation, this means that you’re only using 20% of your capital investment. The maths isn’t complicated! These consequences will unavoidably impact the financial situation of the company, leading to slower return on investment, higher total cost of owner-ship, increased labour costs, lower overall margins, etc.

This is why when you’re considering invest-ing in products and services from Mycronic, we’ll not only give you sound technical advice, we’ll also give you equally sound financial advice, to help make sure that your company can operate in a healthy financial environment.

To give you an insight into the type of

The last edition of MYnews included an article about combining partnership with innovation. The purpose of the article was to explore the values and benefits of partnerships over the long term as well as the short term, particularly in relation to investing in capital equipment. such an investment is always a strategic decision, and it is important the hardware and software purchased should be future-proof, ideally in line with Industry 4.0 objectives, taking into consideration related processes and equipment.

financial advice you can expect, we’d like to share with you some of our thoughts on partnering with our customers. We’re con-fident that an investment in our technology will pay for itself many times over, but we also understand that having a lot of capital tied up in fixed assets can seriously impact cashflow.

eXPansIOnLoans can help you to cover the cost of expanding your business without eating into your operational funds. This means you can continue to meet normal expenditure like staff costs, marketing, promotion, research and development, and so on.

InVenTORYNormally, you will need to invest in the materials needed to build a product before you can start generating revenue from that product. Once production starts, you will need to continually expand and replenish your inventory to keep up with demand

Twan AldenzeeDirector Strategic Accounts

UK, Ireland and Russia

Financial health and your production environment


and to provide enhanced options for your customers. The expense is greater still when your customers require repeat business on call off. This level of service does, however, offer considerable added value for the customer.

Taking a loan for your capital equipment will leave your company with the money it needs to invest in inventory, which means that you will be able to stay ahead of trends and customer demands without harming your cash flow.

CasH FlOWAlways a challenge for small and medium-sized businesses, cash flow can be a par-ticular problem if you have to deal with customers who don’t pay for services, or if you have unsold inventory that needs to be shifted to bring in new products. These issues are even more problematic when you

factor in the regular costs of your inventory, staff, utilities and rent or mortgage.To help its customers tackle all of these challenges and issues, Mycronic offers attractive financing solutions guaranteed by the Swedish Export Credit Guarantee Board (EKN).

EKN was set up in 1933 and commissioned by the Swedish government to support the export business of Swedish compa-nies. Offering its services in 133 countries around the world, EKN, in conjunction with Mycronic, provides attractive and secure financial solutions.

We also understand, however, that when a complete production line needs to include not only Mycronic equipment but also equipment from third parties, it’s essential that the financial solution be sufficiently flexible to cater for this. That’s why up to

20% of the total value of the transaction can be made up of non-Mycronic – and even non-Swedish – equipment without affecting its eligibility for EKN-guaranteed finance.

PaY as YOU eaRnOur understanding of the financial pres-sures our customers face has led Mycronic to introduce the concept of “pay as you earn”. We can help our customers to finance the purchase of new production equipment with long-term loans repayable over three, four or five years, depending on the amount borrowed.

A special feature of these loans is how they start. Since, in the initial phase, you will not be getting the full revenue from the line, Mycronic will accept a prepayment of 15% to 20%, with the balance payable in six-monthly instalments, as the revenue from your new equipment starts to stream in. On

our website (www.mycronic.com/finance) you can make a very easy three-step calcu-lation that will give you a very good over-view of the sort of finance solution we could provide for you.

Deciding on new production equipment involves more than just looking at techni-cal requirements, so I would like to invite you to challenge us with your questions and concerns. Then we can help to create a financially healthy production environment for you, just as a real partner should.

We can help our customers to finance the purchase of

new production equipment


HIgH CaPaCITY anD HIgH MIX – WITHOUT COMPROMIseCombine two MY200HX/MY200DX lines in a single workcell, and you have a full 180,000 cph placement capacity at your control. For continuous high-speed produc-tion this means a proactive, fully automated material flow, run by fewer operators. Better yet, Mycronic makes it easy to transition from high volume to one-off spare parts or prototypes, and back to larger batches

smaller devices. smarter interfaces. an endless array of product variants. In a world powered by fast-changing technologies, Mycronic’s electronics assembly solutions make manufacturers more flexible than ever before. Our passion is to create the cutting-edge manufacturing solutions that turn countless innovations into reality every day.

again. No re-programming, no re-tooling and no reconfiguring of vision camera parameters. Simply a seamless workflow from NPI to volume production.

And with all of this from a single vendor, it’s also possible to reduce training and maintenance costs while allowing for higher degrees of freedom in staffing and planning decisions.

THe all-In-One sOlUTIOnCombine a MY600 Jet Printer with a MY200SX pick.and-place machine, and you’ll never have to say no to another customer. Instead, you’ll be able to handle any package and place it on nearly any surface – for the entire lifespan of your machines. Although tech-nologies may change, as a start-up contract manu-facturer you’ll always be able to adapt.

Whether your components arrive in short tape strips, matrix trays or just a plastic bag, the flexible control software of the MY200 turns nearly anything into a component feeder. And with the stencil-free printing of the MY600, even last-second customer changes can be done on the spot, whatever technology this is a pair of machines that grows with your business.

FUllY aUTOMaTeD sHORT seRIes PRODUCTIOnAs batch sizes decrease, uptime doesn’t have to suffer. By combining software-driven solder paste application with high feeder capacity and the unique FlowLine concept, continuous operation is both easy and economical – down to small batch sizes, or even single boards.

Mycronic’s planning software makes it possible to analyze hundreds of work orders and organize them into family kits, perfectly sized to ensure hours of

non-stop production. With the help of proactive replenishment notifications, you’ll finally be able to close the efficiency gap between high-volume and short-series production.

With changeovers this easy, any job is possible. Batch sizes can be optimized for downstream operations including inspection, testing and box build. And instead of building stock inventory, you can build-to-order, thereby reducing working capital while removing the risk of old-revision products.

KeY beneFITs

• Zero changeover time with no operator intervention• Stencil-free, software-driven printing• Feeder capacity enough for family kitting and on-the-fly changeovers• On-the-fly verification of resistors, capacitors, diodes and transistors

KeY beneFITs

• Full component range in one machine• Fastest changeovers in the industry• Capable of pin-in-paste, PoP, QFN, board cavities and more• Stencil-free software-driven printing• On-the-spot board revisions• Handle short tape strips and non-standard carriers

All-in-one solution. MY600 in-line with a MY200sX.

Fully automated short series production. MY600 in-line with a MY200sX-14 synergy line.

High capacity workcell. two MY200HX, DX lines including the sMD tower for automated near-production buffer storage.

KeY beneFITs

• 180,000 cph within one workcell• On-the-fly changeovers• Near-production storage and automated replenishment• On-the-fly verification of resistors, capacitors, diodes and transistors• Full traceability

a solution for every need


Mark FlaskettNew Business

Development Director UK

Mark Flasketton Mark Flaskett

Our new new business Development Director for the UK tells us about his history in the electronics industry and his goals for the future.

“I joined the electronics manufacturing indus-try is 1996 and gained a lot of experience maintaining machines in a busy PCB assem-bly department. Subsequently I moved into production engineering where I learned about offering flexibility while remaining competitive in the challenging UK electron-ics manufacturing market.

I soon understood that the UK is not a high volume market when compared with other parts of the world where placement rates are king. The UK market, in contrast, requires great agility for customers to be able to change their requirements while remaining in control of critical factors like configuration and traceability. UK operations must have increased production availability to remain competitive in the EMS market.

Driven by a desire to develop my career and by my innate inquisitiveness, tenacity and relationship-building skills, I went on to gain experience in engineering and project man-agement before moving into the commercial sector. This phase of my career helped me to move from dealing solely with engineering process solutions to working with custom-ers at all business levels and understanding the business proposition identified from each customer’s needs. This ties in very well with the Mycronic focus on bringing value to its customers through the 360˚ Industry

Benchmark Approach, which has developed through the initiatives of Industry 4.0 to help businesses reach new productivity heights.

I believe that my experience brings real value to my business development role at Mycronic, since I can not only understand the business objectives of today’s custom-ers, but also the difficulties in their operat-ing environments, such as changeovers, stock control, change control and machine utilisation.

I am confident that I will be able to bring value to Mycronic customers at all levels through my practical knowledge of PCB assembly and my in-depth understanding of commercial pressures in the electronics manufacturing industry.

I have worked successfully for other corpo-rate EMS businesses with global footprints, where the value of the service offering was differentiated through clear value propo-sitions, built around an understanding of market trends and, most importantly, around customers’ business objectives.

For the future, I’m really excited about using my experience in the electronics manufac-turing industry to further strengthen the Mycronic UK team so as to drive forward the success of the company and of its customers.


You can jet paste at different board levels or into cavities.

3D CAVITIES PACKAGE-ON-PACKAGEPIN-IN-PASTEQFN

Floating QFNs are eliminated thanks to jet printing.

Jet printing is ideal for package-on-package (PoP).

Jet printing optimizes paste volumes for pin-in-paste.

Waiting for stencils is a thing of the past. With jet printing, it’s possible to prepare jobs in minutes instead of days. For customers handling two or three setups a day and 50 or more new stencils every year, it’s an investment that pays for itself even more quickly. but improved productivity is only part of the story of the MY600. Thanks to perfect solder joints and less rework, you can also rely on more satisfied customers.

MY600: The ultimate in agile production

Completely software-driven, the MY600 Jet Printer can easily apply precisely controlled solder paste volumes or SMA onto complex boards for perfect solder joints, every time. It offers ideal results for QFNs, pin-in-paste, package-on-package and other new ap-plications such as jetting into board cavities. And because the limitations and trade-offs of stencil printing are eliminated, you’re always in ultimate control of each solder application.

Now used in more than 35 countries world-wide, the MY600 Jet Printer is quickly changing the competitive landscape of the electronics industry.

PRInT a JOb In MInUTesAt the heart of the jet printing system is a flexible software solution that streamlines SMT production. Every job is prepared offline, thus eliminating interruptions in ongoing production. Using CAD or Gerber data, you can prepare and print a new job in minutes, making the MY600 the most flex-ible and unique solution in the industry.

sTOP WaITIng FOR sTenCIlsBecause it eliminates the need for stencils altogether, jet printing represents a grow-ing next-generation technology – and new way of doing business. Instead of waiting for stencils to arrive, you can focus on incom-ing customer orders, changes and revi-sions, with faster turnovers than ever before. Rather than wasting valuable time cleaning, storing, retrieving and ordering stencils, you can program and optimize each job without interrupting your production line. Put simply, it lets you take a customer’s order in the morning and deliver finished boards in the afternoon.

aCHIeVe PeRFeCT sOlDeR JOInTsWhen it comes to solder joints, the limits of stencils are more than apparent: larger com-ponents demand thick stencils, small com-ponents need thin stencils, and the result is a less-than-ideal compromise for almost every component. And to further compli-cate matters, all of these components must be mounted on increasingly dense boards, making high-precision joints more crucial than ever. With a MY600 Jet Printer, there’s no need to compromise on quality. As Klaus Appel, owner of Appel-Elektronik GmbH in Germany, explains: “Our latest product carries 69 components on a square centimeter. Jet printing allow the kind of paste control that makes this possible.”

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THICK STENCILOptimized for large components.

COMMON ISSUES WITH SCREEN PRINTING SOLVED WITH JET PRINTING

DRY JOINTGOOD JOINT

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THIN STENCILOptimized for small components.

STEPPED STENCILRequire a larger board area.

GOOD JOINTLEAN JOINT LARGER DISTANCE

Each component get theright amount of solder paste.

ALWAYS PERFECT JOINTS

With jet printing, the paste volume and shape are set individually for every solder joint.

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THICK STENCILOptimized for large components.

COMMON ISSUES WITH SCREEN PRINTING SOLVED WITH JET PRINTING

DRY JOINTGOOD JOINT

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THIN STENCILOptimized for small components.

STEPPED STENCILRequire a larger board area.

GOOD JOINTLEAN JOINT LARGER DISTANCE

Each component get theright amount of solder paste.

ALWAYS PERFECT JOINTS


I will be joining Mycronic in April 2016 after working in the PCB and electronics assem-bly industry for 25 years. Believe me, it wasn’t an easy decision for me to decide to jump the fence from contract manufactur-ing to supplying electronics manufacturing solutions but, the more I thought about it, the more I came to realise that working for Mycronic would be a natural move.

Why? One of my main roles in the past has been devising and delivering technical solu-tions for challenging projects, and I very much enjoy working with evolving tech-nology. That makes a role with Mycronic the perfect choice for me. Of course, the company already provides reliable solutions to hundreds of businesses around the world, but it is also an incredible progressive and forward-thinking company that is always at the forefront of new developments. Take solder-jet printing, for example; right now it’s delivering big benefits for a wide range of users but it’s still a relatively new devel-opment, and I believe it has enormous potential to do much, much more in the future.

Other experience in my career has included a mixture of technology, management and commercial roles, working for a smaller but very hi-tech company. This meant wearing many hats, often in the same working day, managing different types of projects from their inception right through to delivery, while dealing with all of the challenges that came up along the way.

I’m confident that this experience will help me to understand the issues that Mycronic

customers face, to challenge them to think differently by quantifying the value that the Mycronic solutions can bring to their organisations.

But there’s even more to it than that. I also strongly believe that my proven all-round experience will perfectly complement the Mycronic 4.0 concept, which is at the heart of the Mycronic 360˚ Industry Benchmark.

In essence, the benchmark takes a holis-tic overview of our customers’ operations, including not just the production line but also planning, testing, logistics and more. It measures performance against the pos-sibilities provided by the highly automated Mycronic 4.0 intelligent factory. In doing so, it identifies productivity gaps and bottle-necks, which can then be addressed, typi-cally leading to dramatic gains in efficiency and profitability.

This is what I had in my mind when I made that career jump to the world of electron-ics manufacturing solutions supply. I want to apply my experience to help businesses achieve ever-greater success and growth, and I believe that with Mycronic, I will be doing just that!

If you’re an existing Mycronic customer in the UK or Ireland, you’ll be hearing from me very soon but, if you’re keen to have a chat at the earliest opportunity, don’t hesitate to give me a call. Either way, I’m looking forward to talking to you, working with you, and to making your relationship with Mycronic even more convenient, exciting and, of course, profitable!

Darren Wallis Existing Accounts

Director UK

a new resource for existing customers

Darren Wallis is joining Mycronic as existing accounts Director for UK and Ireland. as he explains, he knows the business well and he’ll be using his experience to bring the benefits of Mycronic 4.0 to all of our customers.

MYNews 2016.01 BNLX-UK

Material handlingmade easy

aCCURaTe InVenTORY ManageMenTMycronic’s material handling systems ensure fast, accurate feeder loading and give you unparalleled stock accuracy. With just two bar-code scans you can load a reel, stick or tray into a magazine and all part information is automati-cally transferred to the machine. By tracking the quantity on each individual carrier, the system eliminates the quantity divergence associated with traditional stock systems that count only nominal consumption. In many cases the yearly stock take can be completely eliminated.

aUTOMaTIC RePlenIsHMenTMycronic’s MYCenter PRM (Proactive Replen-ishment Monitor) both improves uptime and ensures correct material delivery to your SMT assembly line. Together with the SMD Tower storage solution, the replenishment process becomes completely automated. Using a robotic arm to deliver component reels to op-erators, this solution almost completely elimi-nates the risk of incorrect material delivery.

FasTeR CHangeOVeRsUsing barcodes to track components, MYCenter reduces the risk of errors and speeds up setup and changeover times. It keeps track of quantity, batch code, current location and floor life – for each and every component. And the new Agilis Smart Bin system gives you intuitive paperless kitting guidance - right in front of you.

aUTOMaTeD MsD-COMPlIanT sTORageThe SMD Tower is a highly flexible, auto-mated and expandable buffer storage unit designed for near-production deployment. It ensures that the correct component remains stored in the correct place and in a con-trolled atmosphere, ready for a quick and smooth changeover of your SMT line.

When it comes to component tracking and stock accuracy, Mycronic solutions offer the industry’s most precise and error-free systems. From barcode scanning with e-label instructions, to compact, automated storage units, material handling has never been this simple and error-free.

Picture 1. stock accuracy when counting nominal consumption + average waste.

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ERP QuantityActual Quantity

Picture 2. stock accuracy with MYCenter.

Quantity

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the sMD tower, combined with MYCenter’s extensive material database, forms a highly automated kitting and replenishment aid, that enables highest possible uptime and utilization.


MYNews 2016.01 BNLX-UK

have had to be hunted for, one at a time, from space consuming and inflexible stor-age systems. The SMD Tower needs just one square meter of floor space to store up to 546 reels and can be integrated into existing material handling systems.

saY gOODbYe TO bOTTleneCKsBecause they’re tailored for high-mix production, Mycronic solutions offer hours of time savings with every changeover. At the end of the day, this means more jobs delivered, better responsiveness and happier customers.

MIllIOns OF COMPOnenTs. One InTellIgenT sTORage sOlUTIOn. lOOK InTO OUR sMD TOWeR FOR a beTTeR WaY. Whether you’re assembling PCBs for advanced smartphones or electronic systems for cars, maintaining seamless production is critical. It’s about more than just speed. You also need material handling solutions that enable the highest possible line utilization at the lowest possible cost. Full control. Easy MSD tracking. And smart storage of an endless array of indispensable components.

The answer is not adding more factory staff, storage space or trolleys, but embracing a smarter solution. Like our new SMD Storage System, which can handle thousands and thousands of part numbers without losing track of a single reel. So why not put our high-mix thinking to work in your higher volume environment?

High-mix thinkingFor a higher volume world

Task

Mycronic machine with agilis feeders,

MYCenter and sMD TowerTraditional

nC-controlled machine Time savings

Pick material from stock 8 min 35 min 27 min

Load feeders, insert in correct position 22 min 70 min 48 min

Verify feederbank prior to first run 0 min 18 min 18 min

Unload feeders 12 min 25 min 13 min

Return material to stock 9 min 18 min 9 min

Total 115 min*

* estimates based on total time savings when a traditional NC-controlled placement machine served by a manual warehouse is replaced by a Mycronic machine combined with an integrated material handling system consisting of Agilis feeders, sMD tower and MYCenter software.

Reduce rework by verifying the electrical properties of resistors, capacitors, diodes and transistors on-the-fly. For active polarized components, the orientation is also checked.

Reference board for changeover study:• Industrial electronics• 400 mount positions• 68 unique articles

nO MORe MIX-UPsRegardless of whether you request a single reel or tray, or automatically process a com-plete kitting list, the system records every movement and keeps track of all stored reels and component quantities.

A unique identification code ensures that the correct article is always provided or stored, making mix-ups impossible. Return-to-stor-age is just as quick and convenient.

COMPaCT neaR-PRODUCTIOn sTORageThe SMD Tower closes a gap in flexible SMD manufacturing, where up until now reels


Integrated benefits

In the last issue of MYNews I talked about my new role as business systems integration manager. Since then, to get an even better understanding of needs and challenges from a customer perspective, we have been visit-ing customers who already have some level of integration between their production systems. What we found confirmed once again the importance and value of integration.

Integration produced these benefits:• Savings on manual entry of the same data into multiple databases• Elimination of mistakes associated with entering incorrect data• More accurate quantity control• Faster and better organised logistic flow• A single software system that contains all of the correct information

To achieve these benefits, an integration plan is definitely needed. So how would Mycronic help you implement integration?

John RademakersSystems Integration

Manager

The first step would be an inventory of current systems and an evaluation of your company’s future requirements. During the inventory, we will create an overview of the areas where software integration will help you to reduce inefficiencies. The software functions will be shown in relation to the production workflow to give you a clear idea of where integration is needed.

We will discuss this workflow with your other software suppliers – for example, the suppli-ers of your ERP/MRP systems – to confirm the level of integration that is realistically achievable. This will be a technical discussion to find out which database fields can be con-nected, and how they can be connected.

After the inventory, we will create a functional plan showing how the required integration could be implemented. This plan will contain the following information:• Overview of current software system• Production flow with the current factory arrangements• Functions that need to be automated• Requirements for automation• Data fields & parameters required for integration• Possible exceptions to the workflow• Flowchart for the integration plan• New workflow for the factory

In short, the functional plan will contain all of the information needed to create the integra-tion you want. So why not give us the oppor-tunity to show you how we can use software integration to improve the efficiency of your factory?

software integration is the sure route to business improvement, says John Rademakers, systems Integration Manager at Mycronic.


CHRIs MUlVIHIll- eMs RaDIO FIRe & seCURITY sYsTeMs lTD -

Q4/2015 - We had a very strong finish to Q4 allowing us to complete the first half of our financial year on target. The forecast activity in our core fire detection market delivered to plan, and we experienced strong demand from our OEM customer base, which translated into higher than expected volume running through the factory. As forecast, a number of our CEM customers confirmed projects for 2016 and placed orders for Q4/Q1 delivery. We have a strong customer base for our personal attack products within the UK financial services market, and this delivered very good revenues in the quarter. We expected the market to remain

Our friends in electronics manufacturing give us their view on recent trends in our industry, and their thoughts about the future.

tough, but being agile enough to respond to customers’ requirements allowed us to succeed in what can often be a difficult quarter.

Q1/2016 - Q1 took longer to come to life after the year-end break than expected. The evidence is that after a slow start to the year, business volumes in the latter part of the quarter have recovered, driven as expected by the financial year-end in April. Customers increasingly expect that an OEM can and will have a similar response level to that of a distributor. This places an emphasis on having agile and responsive business forecasting, planning and execution processes supported by an equally responsive supply chain. Our investments in these areas have allowed us to absorb quite wide swings in demand this quarter whilst still responding to customers’ business requirements.

Q2/2016 - The market shows signs of an increase in the number of larger scale infrastructure projects being given the go ahead. This is always an important indicator for the UK economy as a whole, and we expect a good quarter accordingly. Strong sales of fire detection systems are expected as a result of customers proceeding with longer-term projects. A number of our SCM customer projects are scheduled to move into manufacture, so we are expecting a high level of factory activity from both our OEM and SCM business sales areas.

we are expecting a high level of factory activity

Industry barometer for electronics manufacturing

CHRIs JOHnsOn - JJs ManUFaCTURIng -(THe PaRagOn eleCTROnICs gROUP)

Q4 2015 was a frustrating period, with trading conditions remaining challenging, as we observed in our previous article for this publication. More specifically, conditions appear to have been particularly tough for a number of our mid-tier customers. In spite of this, Q4 was on budget, but it could have been so much better. At the time of writing we are approaching the end of Q1 and the frustrations are continuing. We remain close to achieving our increased budget but the new opportunities, whilst remaining tantalisingly within reach, are not ‘landing’ just yet.

Our expectation remains that the additional business will arrive, but later than predicted. However, while a number of our customers are experiencing challenges, the impact is compensated for by the

remainder performing at, or even above, their predictions. Whilst this ‘ebb and flow’ between customers is frustrating, and means we are not growing as fast as we would wish, our expertise and flexibility in supply chain management continues to enable us to dynamically balance all of the inbound materials and components. We seamlessly match these supplies to our production lines, even when demand can vary by 25% and more up or down, in a very short space of time. Our processes, systems and people all come together to enable us to manage what can be an exciting ‘ride’!

This constant change, and the range of variables, is clearly one of the frustrations of contract manufacturing - in that you are often at the mercy of the development, product lifetime and sales cycles of your customers. We also accept that it’s one of the reasons why OEMs choose to outsource their logistics and manufacturing activities, as any quality EMS partner manages these irregular patterns on their customers’ behalf, enabling the OEM to optimise their working capital, yet still satisfy their own customer’s requirements in terms of on-time in-full (OTIF) delivery performance.

We still expect that the predicted upturn will occur, as the projects and products that will deliver that growth are clearly identified. It is likely however, that this growth will now occur in the latter half of 2016 and in 2017.

We still expect that the predicted upturn will occur


We asked our customers to score business for Q4 2015 and Q1 of 2016, and give us their expectations for Q2 2016. These are the results, using a scale where 1 means terrible and 10 means fantastic.

gUIDO beRgMan- MaTas eleCTROnICs -

The year 2015 ended in exactly the way we expected. We had final growth of 24% compared with 2014. We experienced growth of 34% in 2014, which we owe to the extensive automation that Mycronic provided with its machines. By just looking at the SMT process, you can see that the logistics for a Mycronic line is the key to generating more throughput.

The start of 2016 has gone well. We see that the market is continuing to stabilize and is looking for high quality products and fast solutions. Demand for products related to IoT and Industry 4.0 is growing strongly.

123345678910SCORE

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

TOn PlOOY - TbP eleCTROnICs -

At the present time, the adverse dollar/euro exchange rate and the low oil and gas prices are leading to decreased business. In spite of this, however, we hold a positive view for the forthcoming quarters.

We are finding that the EMS business is now primarily focussing on sales support, where smart industry is key, instead of on financial considerations.

we hold a positive view for the coming quarters

THE SCORES Q4 (2015) Q1 (2016) Q2 (2016) (actual) (actual) (predicted)

Chris Mulvihill 9 7 9Chris Johnson 8 8 8Guido Bergman 8 8 7 Ton Plooy 7 7 8

Average 8 7.5 8

We owe our growth to the extensive automation which Mycronic provided with its machines


smarter software for better business

eRROR-FRee DaTa PRePaRaTIOn Within minutes, Mycronic’s MYCenter soft-ware converts Gerber, ASCII centroid and Bill-of-Materials information into ready-to-run machine programs. Once imported, a graphic rendering of the PCB, overlaying a Gerber background, is checked for errors and can be edited as required. Any changes to the program will generate immediate visual feedback. MYCenter’s intuitive “what you see is what you get” interface makes it easy to add new shapes and component handling rules to the machine library.

HanDlIng OF alTeRnaTIVe COMPO-nenTOur software fully supports Bill-of-Materials that include alternative components for a single mount position. Each alternative can be given a strict priority and an expiration date. Once defined, the pick-and-place ma-chine will automatically mount the correct alternative part, as specified and approved by the production engineer.

sTORe DaTa saFelY FOR DeCaDesMYTrace is a Windows-based traceability software, developed for secure, long-term storage of traceability data, and at the same time making the data available for easy

searching and reporting. Information about each component placement is safely stored, and a web-based search tool makes it pos-sible to identify all PCBs that are affected by factors such as faulty component batches.

eXTRaCT TRaCeabIlITY DaTa In seC-OnDs This fully automatic system allows electron-ics manufacturers to quickly and easily trace mounted components on printed circuit boards, saving both time and resources. MY-Trace is future-proof and modular, and stores data in an application-independent format that does not rely on the existence of any

Performance tracking is easy thanks to TPSys’ comprehensive reporting tools. You can generate customized reports on machine speed, production runs, error identification and utilization. View data from the factory floor during production, integrate it with your factory-wide tracking system or export to a spreadsheet program for further pro-cessing.

as the sMT production environment becomes more complex and fast-paced, comprehensive software solutions have quickly become a necessity. after all, improved utilization, efficiency and customer responsiveness all depend on a single set of reliable data. For these reasons, Mycronic is proud to offer the richest software suite in the industry, with integrated applications covering the entire chain of sMT assembly.

A true “what you see is what you get” interface makes it easy to program new boards.

particular database technology. This makes this traceability software unique – it gives the customer an unprecedented and unparal-leled level of data security.

eFFICIenT HanDlIng OF anY baTCH sIzeOur advanced software solutions let you easily perform job scheduling, feeder optimi-zation and line balancing for your entire facil-ity. You can prioritize minimal changeover time, maximum throughput, or a balance between the two as the software quickly calculates and predicts the assembly time, kitting and changeover procedures. By se-lecting the best changeover strategy based on part commonality and batch size, the MYPlan software can help to increase actual throughput by up to 30%, all while providing full visibility of material status. Never again will you start a job that can’t be completed due to missing components.

PaPeRless gUIDanCe anD PeRFOR-ManCe TRaCKIngAfter optimization, MYPlan generates a com-prehensive set of kitting instructions that provide operators with simple, step-by-step tasks to keep production running efficiently. You can also send the result electronically to the SMD Tower for automatic component delivery and paperless guidance.

the Gerber background functionality makes it easy to verify component rotation and package definition.


Michele PresuttoCustomer Support Manager

Mycronic

Training to unlock your staff’s potential!

We listen carefully to feedback from our customers, and recently this has told us that they want more hands-on courses that will help operators and engineers to achieve the full potential of their produc-tion lines. Our customers particularly said they were looking for guidance on how best to deal with the trend toward smaller batches, more changeovers and larger numbers of NPIs.

In response, we are releasing two new courses: Product Changeover Training and NPI Training. Both are hands-on courses that reflect today’s constantly changing produc-tion requirements.

The Changeover Training will deal with real changeovers, just like those you face in your own production environment. The course will show how offline feeder preparation to minimise changeover time is the key to responding to smaller batches.

After two days of intensive “changing over” on a real production line, your operators will undergo a changeover stress test, during which they will perform a complete change-over from one product to another. Our trainers will evaluate their performance, and issue a certificate in line with our operator standards.

The nPI Training shows your engineers and operators how to handle an NPI so that it has minimum impact on your produc-tion line. The course looks at the tools and software available to reduce on-line NPI time, stressing that the production line is not a programming tool and its availability for mounting components must be maximised.

Along with the Machine Calibration Training and Introduction to Electronics courses that we developed last year, we are continu-ing to add guides and training materials to MyKnowledge, our on-line knowledge portal. This portal gives engineers and operators access to a wide range of training material, including service menu guides, software function guides, programmer training packs and much more. If you don’t yet have a login for this portal, please send a login request to [email protected].

If you are a user of our All-In-Training package you have unlimited access to MyKnowledge as well as access for your engineers and opera-tors to all of our classroom training courses, including the new hands-on courses. And even if you don’t use our All-In-Training pack-age, the courses are still available to you.

For information about course dates and con-tent, please contact your local Mycronic office.

at Mycronic we understand that skilled and well-trained staff are the key to giving you the production boost you need to respond effectively and efficiently to your customers’ demands. That’s why we’re continually developing new training courses to address your real requirements and needs


Paul RooimansManaging Director UK & Benelux

Joanne YatesOffice Manager UK

Michel Marquesservice engineer

Sebastian v. HoutenInternal Marketing & sales UK Benelux

Jason Gross Director for eMeA Customer support

Constantia SchaapOffice ManagerBenelux

Michele PresuttoCustomer support Manager

Jeremy HartillDir. Financial services

Mark Flaskett New Business Development Director UK

Robert Houlistonsenior Application engineer

Sergey Ivanovservice engineer

Rebecca Maceservice AdministratorUK

Una Lydonservice Coordinator UK

Twan Aldenzeestrategic Account Director

David Cowellservice engineer

Wesley van Diesenservice engineer

Bas v. Broekhoventraining engineerBenelux and UK

Andrew Coe service engineer

Edwin de BlauwArea Manager Benelux, spain, Portugal & Italy

Darren Wallis existing Accounts Director UK

Daan v. HoogstratenCustomer support Manager Benelux

Brian Andrews service engineer

John Rademakerssystems Integration Manager

Sara ChandlerCustomer support Manager UK

Karin Beekmansservice CoordinatorBenelux

Alan Clarkeservice engineer

Kirill Panteleevservice engineer

Olga ZotovaMarcom & Business Intelligence Manager

Gennadiy MartynovApplication engineer

Steven Skeldingservice engineer

MYCRONIC Training Dates

UK 2016

19 - 21 AprilProgrammer Training (3 Days)

16 - 20 MayOperator Training (5 Days)

24 - 25 MayMaintenance Training (2 Days)

13 - 15 JuneProgrammer Training (3 Days)

21 - 22 JuneSoftware Training (2 Days)

13 - 14 JulyPackage Training (2 Days)

18 - 22 JulyOperator Training (5 Days)

9 - 10 AugustChangeover Training (2 Days)

16 - 18 AugustNPI Training (3 Days)

MYCareTraining

Mycronic Team MYCRONIC Training Dates

Benelux 2016

From basic to more advanced levels for ma-chine operators, programmers and service engineers, we can put the right training methods to work for you.

Part of our training offering includes class-room style tuition conducted at our bespoke learning facilities at the Mycronic offices in Poole, Dorset (the UK) and in Eindhoven (the Netherlands). We offer demonstra-tion areas with pick-and-place machines, jet printers and towers along with a training room with individual PC’s for candidates.

During the training both theoretical and practical exercises are used with an exami-nation at the end of each course. For can-didates who successfully pass the course, a MYCertificate is provided.

We are also pleased to be able to offer be-spoke training courses to suit your specific needs. Pricing will be dependent on the number of attendees and facilities available. Dates are subject to availability and mini-mum attendance levels.

19 - 21 AprilProgrammer Training (3 Days)

3 - 4 MaySoftware Training (2 Days)

23 - 27 MayOperator Training (5 Days)

7 - 8 JuneChangeover Training (2 Days)

21 - 23 JuneNPI Training (3 Days)

Benelux - United Kingdom - Russia

At Mycronic, we are committed to developing solutions that improve efficiency for your entire operation.We go beyond the assembly line and eliminate bottlenecks throughout the factory. With our 360˚ approach to SMT manufacturing, we can help bridge your performance gaps and bring real value to your business.

We call this Mycronic 4.0 - a highly automated, intelligent factory for just-in-time production. Let’s meet and discuss your production challenges, and how we create the factory of the future - already today.

We are looking forward to see you at: national electronics Week 201612th / 14th April - Birmingham.

Find outwhat happenswhen passionmeets innovation

MYSMT News 2016 01

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