ASM Assembly Systems: Following An Integrated Smart Factory Approach
The Surface Mount Technology (SMT) market is scheduled for exponential growth. This upward climb is being fuelled by concepts such as smart factory, IoT or industry 4.0 within digital transformation that will reshape the work processes, production and business models in the electronics manufacturing domain. Electronics manufacturers today expect equipment suppliers to provide complete, networked, intelligent and flexibly controllable line solutions and factory solutions. It is all about connectivity, amalgamation and exchange of data. Integration, interfaces and software for a continuous data flow are becoming increasingly important. For a perfectly integrated production environment and better decision-making, there are three key aspects to be considered: availability of quality data, accessibility of robust analytical tools, and capability to conduct a thorough search, locate any pain points and fix the issues permanently.Dominating this market and one of the key players within this domain is ASM Assembly Systems, incepted in 1984, that acts as a partner to the electronics industry with its powerful SMT Solutions. “Today, we are the first SMT solutions provider in the market to offer electronics manufacturers an Integrated Smart Factory concept with open standard interfaces for integrated data communication from the shop floor to the cloud,” reveals Vasanth Kumar, ASM General Manager India.
Successfully Accomplishing Customers’ Goals
On his on-going endeavours of aiming for complete customer satisfaction, Vasanth recounts the very successful cooperation with Velankani Electronics Private Limited in Bangalore. The company is guided by Founder and CEO, Kiron Shah, where he and his team develop high-quality, low-cost mass market products such as setup boxes and smart meters under the company’s own Prysm brand. The Bangalore factory operates with stateof-the-art production technology, wide-ranging automation, advanced process integration, and a high degree of vertical integration. The electronics manufacturer was on the lookout for a solution provider that could meet its list of requirements which were among others paperless material management, optimized material flows and short distances, automatic tower storage systems for material replenishment next to the lines, operator guidance via Line Monitor and intelligent feeders, DFM (design for manufacturability) improvements, special tool designs for placing THT components and reduction of manual operations through automation and robotics.
The company partnered with ASM to accomplish its goals and the results/KPIs are mentioned below:
• Minimization of manual assists at the line
• Number of operators per line reduced from five to three
• Target: One operator per line
• Significant reduction of material-related line stops and setup errors
• Massive increases in output
• Increase from 10,000 to 17,000 units
• Continuous improvement of line configurations and processes
With more than three decades of rich industry experience, ASM commands this market with its portfolio of solutions, skilled personnel and its global presence, including subsidiaries, development centers and production sites around the world. The company’s DEK brand stands for best-in-class printers for the SMT and semiconductor industries and its SIPLACE brand is one of the technology leaders in SMT placement equipment. Apart from offering SMT solutions to the electronics industry, ASM is also recognized as the world's largest manufacturer of backend equipment for semiconductor production. “We also integrate third party equipment. Regardless of whether a customer wants to network and control the components of a line, several lines and other production areas of a factory or his worldwide locations in a global value chain - we are at his side as a solution partner,” adds Vasanth.
Guenter Lauber, CEO
Assuring Continual Innovation
ASM takes pride in its worldwide SMT Centers of Competence (CoC) that forms the backbone for the ASM Support Network. The Centers strive towards providing optimized support and work on developing new technologies and smart processes. Customers can test complete solutions, evaluate the production of new or especially critical products under realistic conditions and optimize workflows with the help of ASM experts. All this connects ASM production experts, distributors, and customers.
When inquired on ASM’s future plans, Vasanth concludes, “We will continue investing massively in the development of innovative hardware and software. Everything is aligned to the implementation of the Integrated Smart Factory. During implementation and integration, our customers will increasingly need help, advice and orientation towards best practices. This is the reason why we are expanding our Smart Factory Services with remote support, with teams that support customers in networking their production lines and integrating their processes, and with online training and virtual reality.”
Guenter Lauber, CEO
Assuring Continual Innovation
ASM takes pride in its worldwide SMT Centers of Competence (CoC) that forms the backbone for the ASM Support Network. The Centers strive towards providing optimized support and work on developing new technologies and smart processes. Customers can test complete solutions, evaluate the production of new or especially critical products under realistic conditions and optimize workflows with the help of ASM experts. All this connects ASM production experts, distributors, and customers.
We are the first manufacturer in the world to offer electronics manufacturers an Integrated Smart Factory concept with open standard interfaces for integrated data communication from the shop floor to the cloud
When inquired on ASM’s future plans, Vasanth concludes, “We will continue investing massively in the development of innovative hardware and software. Everything is aligned to the implementation of the Integrated Smart Factory. During implementation and integration, our customers will increasingly need help, advice and orientation towards best practices. This is the reason why we are expanding our Smart Factory Services with remote support, with teams that support customers in networking their production lines and integrating their processes, and with online training and virtual reality.”
