How EMS Providers Use Manufacturing Quality Management Systems

At APEX this year, we met up with Bruce Isbell, senior strategic marketing manager; Michael Dreyer, sales manager in the manufacturing team; and Tal Shachar, senior software engineer, at Valor Computerized Systems’ booth.

Shachar, who works out of Yavne, Israel, introduced us to Ronit Shalev, marketing and sales manager and Uzi Rozenberg, the entrepreneur owner and chairman of U.S.R. Electronic Systems (1987) Ltd., an Israel-based EMS provider offering outsource and turnkey services internationally to high-tech communications, video, security, medical, industrial and cosmetics sectors. U.S.R. implemented Valor’s vCheck quality management software to trace defects along with work-in-process (WIP), reduce costs, and attract new customers based on its quality monitoring and improvement capabilities.

“We’re a privately owned EMS company with approximately 700 employees specializing in turnkey solutions. For example, we are producing medical equipment, cardiologic monitoring equipment, portable ultrasound devices, and respiratory equipment for GE HealthCare,” said Shalev.

Because U.S.R. manufactures boards for medical and military OEMs, quality verification and tracing capabilities are important. “When we were asked to be a beta site for Valor’s vCheck quality management software, we decided to accept the challenge,” continued Shalev.

U.S.R. implemented Valor’s vCheck software to minimize the probability of errors and drive the manufacturing process to optimal performance by balancing quality, throughput, and cost. vCheck’s multi-dimensional quality system is designed to increase profitability by making all aspects of quality testing and inspection visible to any decision maker. It functions as a stand-alone application or as part of a larger manufacturing execution system (MES) suite, monitoring quality for manual and automated inspection and test. vCheck handles WIP tracking at the PCB and box-build levels, and offers repair-loop management and tracking, knowledge-based guidance of failure diagnosis, quality reporting and analysis, enforced process routing, and automated alarms.

“Before implementing vCheck, we did manual data entry with handwritten notes that were incomplete and error-prone, not to mention time-consuming,” said Shalev. “Handling quality data had become a burden,” she added. “After we began using vCheck, reports and analysis were easy to collect and analyze.”

One problem that U.S.R. had with a customer’s design was completely invisible to management for some time because the defect was continuously repaired by operators as if it was part of a standard process. vCheck created visibility and transparency to all the defects at each specific reference designator and at the exact place in the process. The root of the problem was a connector located too close to the board edge. U.S.R. engineers isolated the design issue by using Valor DfM tools and suggested that the customer change the design. That accomplished, confidence in U.S.R.’s manufacturing skills and in vCheck’s ability to track down the root cause of the problem increased.

“We added new customers because of vCheck and have made several technological stretches,” said Shalev. “There are many reasons that we use a quality management software tool,” she added. “It can help create new business, cut engineering time, reduce rework, and provide quick response to a customer’s questions.”

U.S.R. has weekly quality review meetings with customers to discuss real-time reports on quality data from all PCB manufacturing perspectives including DPM analysis for looking at defects per product, day, month, or year. Defect analysis presents defects by category, defect, type of technology, and which side of the board shows the defect (top or bottom).
“Once you collect the data and have the quality report, what you do with it is the important thing, and that’s what we discuss in our weekly meetings,” Shalev said. “Within minutes, U.S.R. is able to generate work order traceability status in a professional chart or graph and interactively drill into details. Before vCheck, collecting this data and building reports was a real nightmare and could take hours or even days.”

Using vCheck starts with board-level registration as barcodes and laser-marked unique part identifiers are compared to the work order and placed in the database. For boards without identification, the engineer can attach one on-site. Next, test and inspection data are assembled for all areas: ICT, AOI, WIP tracking, routing control, X-ray, flying probe, manual data collection, functional test and manual inspection. Customized reports show yield, DPMO, first pass and second pass yield, and DPM analysis in a multi-language available report. Repair loop management and tracking with guidance from knowledge-based failure corrections makes certain that defects are corrected before allowing the board to pass through the manufacturing process.

“When we look at where we should spend our time to make improvements with the greatest impact, the reports are key,” said Shalev.

The quality management system fully integrates into U.S.R.’s manufacturing process, collecting data from test and repair stations. Using the consolidated data, problems are easier to pinpoint and automatic suggestions of solutions from the software’s database can provide shorter paths to problem corrections. Through weekly contact with customers regarding quality improvement, relationships and communication are improved as well. Shalev concluded, “Eddie Guez, the CEO of U.S.R. who has been with the company for 19 years and was himself in the quality/engineering field before that, decided to invest in vCheck. We are now seeing ROI as we offer more potential to aid our customers’ success by adding more value to our service, and create a better position and differentiation for ourselves in a very competitive industry.”

Gail Flower, editor-at-large

The APEX Question: How Much Money Can I Save?

Cost is the main theme at APEX this year, which is no surprise. The electronics manufacturing industry doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and everyone is seeing the decline in global spending and production. Suppliers are designing systems for assemblers that are both low investment up front — we’ve seen entry-level machines showcased at the booths more than new high-end ones — and low cost of ownership (COO), meaning the operational costs cut out inefficiencies or long downtimes, high energy use, and other undesirable side effects of electronics manufacturing. Shopfloor management software that enables truly lean production is getting a lot of attention at APEX. As one exhibitor put it, attendees are asking “How much is the machine? And how much will it cost me to run it?” With capital equipment spending dwindling, vendors must get the answers to both of those questions right.

Sunstone Circuits and partners National Instruments, Digi-Key, and Screaming Circuits gathered at the show to discuss their ECOsystem product, which brings PCBs from design through sourcing and manufacturing in one cohesive supply chain. Design for manufacturing (DfM) was the theme at JTAG Technologies’ booth as well, where they discussed the possibilities of utilizing boundary scan from first prototype through PCB test through in-field service to cut down prototype iterations, make service less invasive, and increase yield. JTAG refers to this as DfTALES, which means design for test, assembly, logistics, engineering, and service.

The manufacturing execution software (MES) suite from Valor also incorporates DfM, along with machine integration and inventory management to detect and call out inefficient or out-of-spec processes. Valor just surpassed the 800 customer mark globally. Juki debuted a shop-floor management software program, Intelligent Shop-floor Solutions (IS), to complement its component placement and selective soldering machines at the show. Aegis released the third revision to its Version 7 manufacturing operations software (MOS), called R3. This also is designed to cut costs through maintaining peak efficiency and streamlining operations in everything from screen print to thru-hole insertion to box build. Without a main computer interface, and with operators interacting with the MOS suite verbally, R3 targets a less skilled, less trained workforce on the line, cutting out that monetary burden.

Aegis’s R3 system was recently selected by Sanmina-SCI to go into about 20 facilities globally. Sanmina has installed the system in a handful of assembly plants and approved it for company-wide deployment. Maximizing the effectiveness of equipment and people saves users from investing in new machines, which likely isn’t an option for many assemblers in 2009.

Equipment providers can found innovative ways to cut costs as well. Aqueous Technologies, which recently acquired the Austin American Technologies MicroJet defluxers, pointed out that the in-line defluxers stagger the force, or energy, of the wash to remove flux intelligently rather than blasting it with cleaning solution indiscriminately. This means the machine requires a smaller motor, less energy draw on the factory floor, and therefore a smaller footprint. Aqueous also redesigned its Zero-Ion cleanliness tester and in doing so reduced the purchase price.

Inspection system manufacturer Koh Young brought its lower-priced machines to the show, KY8030 series, which typically target manufacturers in China. With a primarily North American attendance base at APEX, this seems like a shift to more cost-conscious purchasing at domestic manufacturers.

Essemtec showed a full suite of screen printers, component placement systems and reflow oven at APEX, but they were also promoting the company’s stability, with a fully owned manufacturing plant in Switzerland and no debt/good credit. One has to believe this reassuring tone is prompted by the bankruptcies and shaky footing of major companies all over the world, such as the “Big 3” U.S. auto makers.

Siemens introduced the Siplace CPP MultiStar placement head, which switches on-the-fly between high-speed and pick-and-place modes. It effectively eliminates the need for both a chipshooter and an end-of-line pick-and-place machine, performing the tasks of both. Placement “silos” that lack this range slow the production line down and have the added burdens of machine downtime, underutilization, maintenance, etc. The MultiStar head’s flexibility brings it beyond the silo model, yet maintains the accuracy found in dedicated machines.

Solder recovery systems supplier EVS International highlighted the COO advantage of investing in a dross recovery system. Users can cut solder purchasing by 40% in some cases, representing a huge savings in consumables. The system also brings dross management in-house, eliminating a step in the EMS/OEM supply chain that was not controllable by the manufacturers.

CeTaQ Americas, which manufactures machine calibration equipment, emphasized the importance of running in-spec and at top efficiency in an era of tight profit margins. Keeping a paste printing machine at its best level of performance will extend the system’s usefulness and lifetime, delaying investment in new capital equipment. CeTaQ offers all of its equipment as a service as well as for purchase.

Inovaxe also highlighted lean as a way to save money and reduce costs at the assembly house. Inventory management is central to this philosophy. The company showcased its software as a service (SaaS) options, which allow users to track incoming and in-process inventory, eliminate spoilage, and protect sensitive components like moisture-sensitive devices (MSDs). In 2009, manufacturers must find ways to cut out non-value-added time, making each job as profitable as possible.

Human effort can be the largest consumer of non-value-add time, and Europlacer highlighted its camera-based footprint programmer on the inneo placement platform as an example of technology replacing human effort. Parts profiles are obtained via a camera and programming in the inneo system, freeing up operators who would otherwise be drawing in the parts. This also enables more job changeover and more job runs with less downtime.

Cost is by no means the only story coming out of APEX this year. Emerging markets, such as photovoltaics manufacturing, are becoming a complementary focus for some assemblers, and equipment and materials providers are supporting this change. Counterfeit electronics are a hugely important topic, and many new products, from advanced labels by Polyonics Inc. to XRF analyzers by RMD, are coming out to combat the problem. Inspection remains an evolving realm, with some players exiting and others getting more involved in this sector. And the industry can still have fun in bad economic times, as evidenced by the informally dubbed APEX band, which gathered toward the close of Day 1 to play a few songs.

SMT will continue to cover the trends from the show floor at APEX on our Website and in our e-newsletters and issues following the show.

Meredith Courtemanche, managing editor

PCB Design for Manufacturing: Soup to Nuts

Sunstone Circuits and National Instruments announced a collaboration this week, with National Instruments joining Sunstone’s “ECOsystem design environment” for PCB design. Sunstone is aiming for a design approach that brings customers from disparate CAD files, mechanical layouts, bills of materials (BOMs), and the like into one sleek supply chain that integrates module design, parts ordering, physical planning, and more.

National Instruments adds a new gear to the machine. Customers using NI Multisim and NI Ultiboard can order prototype PCBs via the Sunstone ECOsystem, and Sunstone is hoping more off-the-shelf hardware providers will follow suit. Electronics assemblers are stretched to the limit for resources and resource management, Terry Heilman, president and CEO of Sunstone, explained, and automating the process, eliminating human error and time-wasting activities, is the way to bring PCB design and prototyping into manageable and valuable work schedules. The full news story about National and Sunstone’s collaboration is available on smtonline.com.

Small design problems snowball, classically, causing massive problems at the manufacturing stage. Design for manufacture (DfM) is one of the most important tools prototype/new product designers can use to stay on time and on budget. Consider a disconnect between mechanical and electrical design. At the design phase, with DfM, component height tolerances are established and the finished assembly fits properly in its case when manufactured. Without DfM, one component may be too tall for the PCB’s case, for example. A new component must be substituted, BOMs changed, new parts ordered, etc.

By adding National Instruments to the ECOsystem, Sunstone is amassing companies that specialize in certain areas — National for PCB assemblies, Digi-Key for component sourcing, Screaming Circuits for PCB build — and properly networking them to serve the electronics designer and manufacturer most efficiently and transparently. Fewer people and less time, less waste, lower investment are all goals for the ECOsystem users.

Recently, I was part of a team that launched SMT’s newest sister publication, PVWorld. We launched the Website on schedule, not without any bumps and baubles and retracing our steps. The element that kept work flowing was a close interaction with the website designers, content managers, and other online gurus that instructed us and knew how to resolve every issue that came up. Can it work? Can the new product introduction (NPI) supply chain progress smoothly like a well-oiled machine? It may not happen every time — certain parts are not available through certain distributors, last-minute changes from above may push designers back a step or two, freak snowstorms may hold up a delivery truck on its way to the EMS provider — some wrenches in the gears cannot be helped. But the ECOsystem concept represents an ideal that Sunstone is pushed toward achieving, adding partners at a fast clip, including the most recent National. The ECOsystem works like a consortium product, with all companies contributing toward the goal of DfM.

Meredith Courtemanche, managing editor