Smart Setup Station from FUJI enables quick and easy changeover operations
Smart Setup Station from FUJI enables quick and easy changeover operations
Changeover solution for placement processes to make electronics production more flexible and automated
Kelsterbach, September 24, 2021 – Manufacturing individual products at similarly low prices to mass production – that is a key requirement for factories. Rapid adaptation to new products and product variants as well as widely varying batch sizes and, at the same time, the requirement for fast deliveries lead to an increase in the frequency of changeovers. FUJI EUROPE CORPORATION GmbH (www.fuji-euro.de), a specialist for electronics equipment, has launched the Smart Setup Station to automate this process quickly and easily.
“In today’s competitive environment, production companies are required to maintain a similar level of quality, cost and execution as in mass production. However, in the case of high-mix production, where there is frequent product changeover, the frequency of changeover reduces production efficiency,” explains Stefan Janssen, member of the management board of FUJI EUROPE CORPORATION GmbH.
Manual offline changeover work usually time-consuming and inconvenient
In order to shorten the changeover time, the feeder set-up work in SMD assembly is carried out offline and a changeover method with feeder pallets has become established.
Stefan Janssen explains: “Offline changeover work is usually complex and time-consuming, from retrieving the parts to setting up the feeders. They also require appropriate testing. In addition, this is a process that is highly dependent on people, which means that the processing time varies depending on the skills of the workers.”
Automated changeover with the Smart Setup Station
When starting a conventional offline changeover, the parts used in the previous production are originally still present on the feeder pallet or MFU. First, it is necessary to remove the parts that are no longer needed for the application. It is very time-consuming to remove the feeders one by one while searching for the unneeded parts in the changeover list.
The Smart Setup Station from FUJI helps users in electronics manufacturing to better master the challenges of changeover work through automated processes. The Smart Setup Station automatically removes only those feeders that are no longer needed for the next production batch. It also displays the exact setup position of the feeder and the correct machine and module for the setup feeder pallet.
“With the support of the Smart Setup Station, we simplify the offline changeover by leaving the parts to be used unchanged and automatically removing the parts that are not required. Since manual operations are no longer required and there is no longer any need to check the changeover list as originally, the working time is reduced automatically. The result is more efficient processes and cost savings,” explains Stefan Janssen.