Precise and gentle pacemakers
High-performance assembly systems for the electronics industry are considered
trend indicators for assembly applications.
I
n addition to traditional Pick & Place
applications, they cover an ever-
growing range of parts, ensure zero
defect strategies, and in some cases even
flexibly adapt to changes in demand
without the need for user intervention.
A high-speed application of the LEM for
the production of electronic components
highlights the potentials wherever they
are hidden, and shows how the path
to pneumatic-free applications can be
paved.
"Our previous systems for producing
these sensors achieve cycle times of
around nine seconds.
With the new system, we already achieve
six seconds. For future generations, it
will be as few as five", reports Frédéric
Cattaneo, Team Leader for Systems
Construction at LEM in Geneva.
That's 44% more output – with seamless
component monitoring and significantly
higher flexibility compared to today.
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Instead of one variant, the system
can produce two different component
variants without the need for manual
intervention. Around 3 million
components are expected to leave the
automated system per year in the future
in 24/7 operation. The market leader
for solutions for measuring electrical
parameters is systematically using the
full potentials of assembly automation.
In this connection process stability has
top priority. New technologies are always
used if they can be reliably controlled.
As is the case with all high-performance
assembly systems, the considerations
are focused on three key issues: the
costs of procurement and operation,
cycle time, and process stability. All
three of these factors must be optimised
simultaneously to ensure an effective
and competitive assembly process. There
are good reasons for the fact that LEM
has recourse to the system program for
the modular high-performance assembly
from SCHUNK.
The system program covers all
conceivable requirements: gripping,
rotating or translatory movements,
pneumatic or electrical, modular or
compact – over 10,000 application
variants are possible, whereby a highly
precise reproducibility is ensured at all
times.
It also includes the necessary
peripherals, including standardized pillar
assembly systems, adapter plates, and
planning tools. Highly efficient Pick &
Place units, cross slides, rotary gripping
modules, gantry systems or complete
functional modules can be built with a
minimum of engineering and assembly
effort.
Force control for bending and pressing in
The team at LEM painstakingly analyzes
the offered advantages of the various
components. While at a time-critical
bending station and for grippers
pneumatic components have been used
until today, LEM has converted the force-