Electronics Manufacturer Launches Highly Automated SMT Production in Grünberg

Kelsterbach, June 12th, 2025 – What do an operating room, an EV charging station, and an industrial robot have in common? They all rely on a 100 percent secure power supply. That’s where Bender GmbH & Co. KG comes in. The company develops electronic solutions for safety-critical applications. But with increasing product variety and shrinking batch sizes, alongside growing production volumes, Bender has responded by installing a second fully automated SMT line at its Grünberg site. The new line is based on FUJI EUROPE CORPORATION’s NXTR placement machines and increases Bender’s placement capacity by 30 percent—while maintaining high flexibility even with small batch sizes.

Bender, a family-owned company based in Hesse with a global footprint, produces intelligent and reliable solutions for electrical infrastructure. Its portfolio includes systems for insulation and fault monitoring, energy and charging management, IT solutions, as well as modern HMI and communication technologies. These solutions are used across a wide range of industries – from energy, manufacturing, and e-mobility to medical and critical infrastructure.

“The demands on our production have increased significantly in recent years. We are dealing with rising quantities and greater product variation, while batch sizes are shrinking, and regulatory requirements are tightening – all in the context of a skilled labor shortage and ambitious growth targets. To continue delivering reliably to our customers and future-proof our production, investing in a highly automated SMT line was a logical step,” explains Martin Urban, Head of Production at Bender.

Lower Production Costs and Greater Product Variety

At its Grünberg facility, Bender implemented a fully automated SMT production line featuring state-of-the-art placement solutions from FUJI EUROPE CORPORATION. Among the key components are eight NXTR A modules with Tray Unit RM for precise placement, one NXTR RM, two NXTR S modules, and two sFAB-D systems for THT placement. The latter help standardize formerly manual processes and significantly improve process reliability and efficiency.

“With the new line, we can increase our manufacturing efficiency by approximately 30 percent while remaining agile in response to varying batch sizes and product types. At the same time, we achieve measurably higher product quality. Optimizing resource usage reduces production costs and significantly lowers our environmental footprint -a vital step toward sustainable manufacturing,” adds Martin Urban.

Another milestone is the intelligent networking of all processes along the production line: Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) automatically supply placement machines, printers, X-ray systems, depaneling, and ICT cells. Semi-finished products and unpopulated PCBs are temporarily stored in automated magazine systems. This results in a fully digitized and highly efficient production environment.

Complete System Integration in Record Time – While Production Continued

The project involved establishing a complete SMT manufacturing setup within a year – from incoming goods and board placement to supplying final placement. This required adapting the existing building infrastructure and replacing outdated automation technology. Despite extensive renovations to 15-year-old structures and the relocation of placement areas to different parts of the facility, Bender was able to maintain uninterrupted production and deliveries throughout the process.

“The project began in December 2023 and was completed by November 2024. For us, the new SMT line represents not only a significant increase in capacity but also the creation of redundancy to support our existing operations. Both factors contribute to improved delivery reliability and competitiveness. At the same time, we are now manufacturing our electronic components fully automatically, in top quality, and in compliance with all applicable standards. We are well-prepared for future challenges,” summarizes Martin Urban.

Reduced Changeover Times, Increased Quality, and Enhanced Flexibility – Thanks to New Placement Machines

Kelsterbach, February 20th, 2025 – The EMS industry is subject to high volatility due to shorter product life cycles, increasing product variations, and the ongoing miniaturization of electronic components. To meet these challenges with maximum flexibility and scalability, EMS provider Limtronik has expanded its production capacity with a new SMD line. This line is based on NXT III placement systems and additional components by FUJI EUROPE CORPORATION GmbH (www.fuji-euro.de). As a result, Limtronik has significantly reduced changeover times, increased quality, and enhanced production flexibility.

Like many other companies in the electronics industry, Limtronik faces high dynamism and increasing complexity in manufacturing. “Electronic devices are becoming smaller, while performance, quality, and functionality continue to increase. The miniaturization of PCB structures and components requires placement accuracy of ±30 µm. At the same time, we need to remain highly flexible—sometimes producing small batches, other times handling large-volume orders,” explains Gerd Ohl, Managing Director of Limtronik GmbH.

With the new SMD line, Limtronik has significantly increased its placement capacity. The line includes six new FUJI NXT III placement machines. “This setup theoretically enables a placement performance of up to 122,500 components per hour. At the same time, there are sufficient feeder slots available to easily handle products with a large variety of components”, says Gerd Ohl.

The NXT III is ideal for placing multifunctional and high-performance electronics, particularly when high-density placement of tiny components is required. The machine features a modular, scalable architecture and supports automated processes. This allows Limtronik to execute projects quickly, even under changing conditions.

Faster Changeovers and Maintenance

With the NXT III, Limtronik has significantly reduced changeover times while increasing maintenance efficiency. Feeders and placement heads can be exchanged quickly and flexibly. Additionally, the intelligent setup concept, featuring guided instructions and automated feeder recognition, ensures an error-free changeover. This allows for quick product transitions—regardless of batch size or assembly complexity.

Maintenance has also been optimized through smart automation solutions. The Smart Nozzle Cleaner efficiently cleans, tests, and stores nozzles (placement pipettes), extending their lifespan and ensuring consistent placement quality. At the same time, nozzle nests for the next product are pre-configured, enabling a fast transition between different jobs. This technology not only enhances placement reliability but also significantly reduces production process times.

Process Control Through Monitoring and Traceability

In addition to the new SMD line, Limtronik operates three other lines with FUJI placement systems, all equipped with powerful monitoring and traceability technology. A barcode scanner identifies incoming PCBs using their 2D codes before they enter the first placement module. This enables product-dependent, automatic program adjustments and process interlocking in case of deviations.

Furthermore, Limtronik utilizes a board-skip feedforward function, which automatically prevents defective PCBs—identified as faulty by the SPI—from being placed. This prevents unnecessary placements, reduces scrap, and saves materials and production time. All collected traceability data can be transmitted to higher-level systems for further analysis.

“Limtronik is a highly experienced electronics manufacturer that leverages the advantages of the NXT concept, particularly regarding the ever-growing demand for flexible setup strategies and changing market requirements. The EMS provider is so well positioned that it can quickly adapt to shifting production volumes while maintaining exceptionally high quality,” explains Sascha Frieling, Manager Technology at FUJI EUROPE CORPORATION.

The management and the entire FUJI team are looking forward to be at your side in 2025 and wish everyone a successful new year. 💪

We have used the holidays to recharge our energy. We want to convert this into innovations over the next few weeks. A small outlook:

💪 New functions for your progress:

We are developing new technologies and features that will make your placement processes even faster, smarter and more sustainable.

🌍 Strengthening the electronics industry together:

We want to further expand our partnerships in the electronics industry. By pooling our strengths with other specialised companies, we gain even more innovative strength together and can develop holistic solutions that help electronics manufacturers to remain competitive and and strengthen Germany as a business location.

💡 Individual Solutions for individual requirements:

Whether highly complex placement processes or individual automation solutions – requirements are becoming increasingly specialised. We therefore rely on highly modular and customised solutions. In this way, we provide you with targeted support achieve your production goals quickly and precisely.

#HappyNewYear #FUJI

Increasing demand for security sensors necessitates expansion of placement capacities

Kelsterbach, May 14th, 2024 – ELESTA GmbH, a company within the PILZ Group, has expanded its placement capacity with machines from FUJI. Drivers are increasing demand and growing complexity in the sensor field. ELESTA develops and produces sensors for industrial automation, particularly in the area of functional safety. To ensure the high standards of its products, the company is expanding its production facility with a new placement line from the NXTR series consisting of five NXTR S placement modules from FUJI EUROPE CORPORATION GmbH ( www.fuji-euro.de).

ELESTA places various flat assemblies from rigid and semiflexible printed circuit boards, which are used in safety sensors. These sensors serve, among other things, for monitoring safety doors and access control of machinery and equipment. The portfolio ranges from magnetic and mechanical interlocks to Reed and RFID sensors to safety light curtains. Furthermore, ELESTA is globally active as an innovation leader in relays with forcibly guided contact sets according to IEC 61810-3.

“With the constantly growing demand for our sensors and the increased complexity of the products, accompanied by an increase in electronic components on the controllers, it became necessary to expand the placement capacity,” explains Dario Berni, Head of Production Sensors and SMD at ELESTA GmbH.

Therefore, the decision was made by the responsible parties to replace the existing FUJI placement line NXT II. It was replaced by a system consisting of five placement modules from the NXTR S series. The new placement machine offers better printed circuit board handling, more CPH (components per hour), higher flexibility regarding component size with fewer head types. Exchange heads, units, and even complete modules can be replaced without tools. In addition, predictive maintenance is possible with self-diagnosis. This minimizes unplanned production interruptions.

“With the introduction of the new placement system FUJI NXTR S, flat assemblies with very fine structures and high component density can be manufactured with high efficiency. Furthermore, production flexibility is increased, and throughput times are reduced. ELESTA is thus ideally equipped for the needs of the coming years,” says Dario Berni.

The automated and autonomous production is gaining momentum

Kelsterbach, April 3rd, 2024 – Companies have never had to adapt to changing market demands and scale production as rapidly as they do now. Automation is the lever to easily align processes with different product types or production quantities. This also applies to placement. FUJI EUROPE CORPORATION GmbH ( www.fuji-euro.de) will showcase components for the FUJI Smart Factory 2.0 at SMTconnect from June 11th to 13th in Nuremberg (Hall 4, Booth 4-321), including various placement machines and newly developed RH placement heads. The goals: zero placement errors, zero machine operators, zero machine stops.

At the exhibition, FUJI presents components of a Smart Factory for SMT and THT placement, which are interconnected in a production line according to the principles of Industry 4.0 via M2M communication with machines from other companies. In the FUJI Smart Factory 2.0, all production-relevant tasks, starting from material preparation and extending beyond printing and placement processes, are intelligently interconnected. The result is a 22 percent reduction in production times.

The R machine series optimizes production preparation and maintenance processes, while automating manual placement processes for comprehensive networking and self-optimized production. In SMT placement, the NXTR-S offers a modular design that allows for quick adjustments to changing production needs. Heads, units, and even entire modules can be replaced without the need for tools. Additionally, the AIMEXR is designed for uninterrupted operation and can accommodate up to 130 different part types, producing panels with dimensions of up to 1,068 x 610 mm.

The sFAB-D, a placement machine designed for automated placement production, streamlines the labor-intensive THT (Through-Hole Technology) placement process, significantly enhancing efficiency while ensuring high precision. This machine offers flexibility to accommodate various part sizes, shapes, and delivery methods, ranging from wired components to larger specialized parts like transformers.

Automation fosters flexibilization

In FUJI’s Smart Factory, automation is aimed at liberating manual tasks and simplifying processes, ultimately speeding them up. This objective also contributes to enhancing the flexibility of SMT manufacturing.

“The complexity, customization, and miniaturization in SMT manufacturing are on the rise.For placement, this means it must be flexible enough to adapt to various components and groups, without compromising precision,” explains Stefan Janssen, Managing Director of FUJI EUROPE CORPORATION GmbH

These challenges are supported by the new RH placement heads that FUJI is presenting at the trade show. Among other features, they offer the ability to adjust the clearance height of the placement heads using a so-called sub-Z-axis. With the help of the contact sensor on the head, it is checked whether the part has touched the circuit board. ‘This precision and adaptability increase flexibility in manufacturing and can be particularly useful when processing various components or assemblies that have different requirements for placement,’ says Stefan Janssen.”

The new RH placement heads that FUJI is unveiling at the trade show are compatible with the R machine series (NXTR-A/-S as well as AIMEXR). By combining a newly developed 2RV module with RH28 heads, W08t feeders, and MFU-63 feeder carts, the NXTR achieves a throughput of 120,000 cph (on a 795 mm module length). This represents a 39 percent improvement compared to the NXT III placement machine.

Stefan Janssen explains: “At SMTconnect, FUJI demonstrates further automation solutions that minimize manual tasks, thereby addressing the growing shortage of skilled labor. At the same time, alongside flexibility, high-speed, and high-precision placement, we are increasingly focusing our machines on energy efficiency in line with the urgent need for an industrial energy transition.”

Visitors can experience the NXTR-S in action firsthand via ‘Robust Processes and Technologies through Automation and Digitalization’ as part of the Future Packaging Line, located at booth 4-311 in Hall 4, hosted by Fraunhofer IZM.”