Irvine takes on complete SMT line

Universal Instruments has installed a complete line solution for Irvine Electronics.

Universal Instruments has installed a complete line solution for Irvine Electronics.

Lindsay Smith, Vice President of Operations at the California-based manufacturing services provider, said the Universal solution offered the optimum combination of features to raise throughput and enhance quality over predominantly short production runs, while also retaining high volume capability.

"The new Universal line will enable us to meet the current market challenges for a tier three contract manufacturer in Southern California", he explained.

"These include supporting multiple local OEM customers and limited customer forecasting driving a built-to-order environment, and the need for short manufacturing cycle times.

Pricing pressures are also driving down the price points that contract manufacturers can charge to recover capital investment costs".

Steve Ratner, Irvine's daily contact at Universal Instruments, said, "Lindsay and his team were very keen to achieve an optimal balance between outlay and line performance, and our ability to offer a best-in-class solution at key points in the line was critical to winning the business".

Wayne Warner, Irvine Electronics' manufacturing engineer, added, "Machine selection was predicated on the ability to provide exceptional repeatability and accuracy, to deliver true, 0201 placements at high speed.

The line also provides advanced package placements, from QFPs to micro BGAs to flip chips".

The equipment supplied includes a GSM1 placement machine, HSP 4796L chip shooter, DEK Horizon screen printer and Vitronics 820c reflow oven.

"Small production runs around 400 units form the majority of our business, and the GSM's fast setup time was a key factor influencing our decision to select Universal", said Lindsay Smith.

He has also specified the long bed version of the HSP 4796, which allows a full set of reels to be set up offline while the machine is operating and is thus suited to frequent product changeovers.

Irvine Electronics is an electronic manufacturing services provider, specialising in turnkey assembly of printed circuit boards and complete box builds.

It operates from a 4400m2 facility in Irvine, California, serving market segments including defence, network systems, medical and dental products, RF devices, and commercial/industrial electronics.

Selecting the most suitable manufacturing equipment is crucial to such enterprises, which must remain flexible, responsive and maintain the highest levels of product quality to compete successfully for high value-add contracts.

Explaining that now is a good time to make capital investments in preparation for future opportunities, Smith also added that he considered buying refurbished equipment as an alternative to a new line.

"A great deal of refurbished equipment is becoming available as larger manufacturers shed capacity, but high quality support is also important to our organisation, which has a small engineering team.

It thus made more sense to buy new equipment".

After considering a number of competing line solutions, the decision to choose the Universal Instruments configuration was driven by the outstanding performance of the GSM1 machine, the Vitronics 820c's compatibility with soldering temperatures for lead-free, and the 2D inspection capability of the Horizon printer.

"The GSM is well respected by many in the industry, and we were keen to have one in our new line", commented Smith.

"As far as lead free is concerned, we were able to position ourselves to offer this service, even though it is an additional cost option on some other ovens we considered.

We looked very hard at alternatives from all the major vendors, but the solution we chose offered the best combination of capability, flexibility and vendor support".

The line was installed over the course of 3 days at Irvine's factory in Alton Parkway, Irvine, California, beginning on Monday 5th August.

"The installation was driven by the Universal Instruments installation team", said Smith.

"By Wednesday, the line was operational and we were able to make fine adjustments in preparation for a customer open day the following week, where we planned to demonstrate the new line in front of 200 visiting customers".

Following the installation, Irvine's engineering team will be trained by Universal in the use, optimisation and maintenance of all equipment in the line, which also includes handling solutions including 29in destacker, shuttle gate, PTF conveyor and a 40in inspection conveyor.

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