Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Production Line

Manufacturing Line 101: The basics of Assembly Line Machines Machines

A typical assembly line contains, at a minimum, the following items:

Board Loader
Blank PCBs are stacked here for use with the screen printer. This is preferable to manual insertion due to a higher speed capability.

Screen Printer
Solder paste is applied to a blank board through a screen and wiper. Paste may be RoHS (Lead Free), or SnPb (Leaded), with no-clean or other fluxes. Typically, No Clean satisfies most customer requirements. Lead and Lead Free is visually segregated by use of different color schemes on the stencil, blade, and paste itself.

High Speed Placement
Also known as a ‘chip-shooter’, the smallest and most plentiful parts are placed first. This operation is quite fast! A modest machine operating at capacity can place over 50,000 parts per hour!

High Flexibility Placement
All remaining IC’s, connectors, BGA’s, or odd sized parts are placed by a high-end placement machine. These flex placers may accept reels, tubes, trays, any form parts may come (but not bulk!).

Convection Reflow Oven
Thermal profile is key to success! Using a high amount of reflow zones, Aimtron can put more boards through at a faster rate, while preventing any thermal shock.

Conveyors:
Between all machines are transport conveyors. They can  signal each other to pass a board to the next station when ready.

Post-Line operations include Automated Optical Inspection, and Reporting.

Aimtron takes great care to prevent problems from occurring on the line. It is a lean concept to prevent errors at their source. Our combination of experience, passion, and procedure helps us reduce overhead cost to you, and waste in the process.

Are you ready to experience the Aimtron difference?

How Does Aimtron Manage Projects?

Aimtron strives to make the manufacturing process hassle-free, as much as possible.

We rely on key pillars to make this happen:

Communication

- You can work directly with our Leadership for all of your concers
- We update you on material status and project completion as you desire
- Instant visibility on an Assembly’s current Work Center and Completion

Job Completion

Superior Quality System

- Intranet serves up documents directly to their point of use.
- Documentation is broadcast from Engineering, and controlled.
- PAPERLESS Production! Truly paperless, and we can prove our system!
- Control Plan authored for all assemblies

Control Plan Instructions

Advanced Material Resource Planning

- Real Time Awareness of material status by Job Number

MRP Awareness

Overall,

Our quality system is well understood by all Associates, and is flexible enough to accommodate any assembly or project. We are happy to provide details about how your requirements are protected and realized.

Contact us today to find out how we can help you!

Employee Of The Month – Kinjal Patel

Kinjal

Aimtron strives to recognize the multiple talents of our employees. This month, we would like to recognize Kinjal Patel for outstanding achievements related to several projects for key clients.

Educated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Kinjal has been working in the EMS / CEM industry, commanding a diversified array of skills in all aspects of the production line.

Knowledgeable in key skills from CAD to machine maintenance, Kinjal has proved to be a reliable member of Aimtron’s team. Additionally, she exhibits leadership skills  through training and mentoring her peers.

CAD Station

Recently, Kinjal lead her team through a complicated prototype build in record time. The assembly consisted of 203 unique feeders, placing over 1200 SMT components. The order was set up, built, and shipped to the end client in two days. All of this was accomplished within our Quality Management System, including labor recording, material movements, and error reporting.

Beyond the manufacturing line, Kinjal is point-person, communicating directly with several key clients on issues such as CAD data, component issues, and part inventory transactions.

In today’s market place, it is important to have reliable people that can lead in several areas. Kinjal has helped Aimtron be successful, and will continue to grow with the company.

Equipment Showcase: Wave Soldering Process

Aimtron brings the latest state-of-the art technology and processes to our clients.

Today, we will show our Wave Soldering work center.

There are a number of fine machines on the new and used market. We chose to buy a brand new Vitronics Delta Series to cover this critical portion of our infrastructure.

Buying new allows us to take advantage of training, years of warranty, and the piece of mind knowing the exact solder chemistry in the solder pot. What does this mean for you? Control of the process, and predictable results.

Vitronics Delta Wave

To maintain an environmentally friendly and safe work environment, Aimtron invested in special filtering. We can ensure a contaminate free atmosphere inside, while having a neutral impact on the environment outside.

Profile is key

Although wave soldering has been with our industry for decades and well understood, we do not take this process for granted.

When an assembly arrives at Wave, there may be a substantial value added in components. We ensure the process does not harm the assembly by carefully checking the heat profile, flux specifications, height, and a number of critical dimensions.

Double sided assemblies may be safely processed with wave solder pallets.

Superior process ensures superior results. Contact Aimtron today to find out how we can help you achieve your goals.

Feature, Ad campaign to hit US Tech Magazine

This month’s issue of US Tech magazine (March) will feature an article about Aimtron.

March-USTech Magazine Aimtron

I have been reading US Tech faithfully for at least three years running, and from time to time, drew inspiration from some of the companies profiled. It’s a very proud moment to make the pages with our own feature.

In addition to the article, adds will be released over the course of the year.

We will be showcasing a different aspect of our services, and perhaps most important, we will start with our Process.

What will we come up with for April?

- Jason Duerr, Director of Engineering

ISO 9001:2008

Aimtron is very pleased to announce our certification for ISO 13485: 2003 as well as 9001:2008. Our path to achievement began on 1 September 09, and completed  on 7 January 2010. Aimtron can compete with confidence within markets requiring this level of competence.

ISO13485:2003 is a significant step to competing in today’s medical device market. Our processes and procedures provide Clients with confidence that we can achieve the highest levels of quality for critical applications.

13485

9001