For the sake of fast changeovers

Mats Magnell, Mydata Automation

Some of the solutions for these issues include feeder trolleys and carts that work together with individual feeders. But these are often somewhat awkward and clumsy. Looking for a different way to handle the problems that many operators experience when using individual feeders, and recognizing that many of their machines are used in high-mix, high-volume environments, Mydata began working on a way to increase speed and flexibility by adapting its feeder technology.

The result is an innovative, flexible and highly intelligent feeder system called Agilis. It combines a new kind of two-bin magazine with revolutionary feeder technology that significantly reduces setup and changeover times. Agilis adds value to production lines by minimizing downtime, and reducing the overall cost per mounted component. As some beta customers are already noticing, the potential timesavings are enormous.

The feeder itself is no longer fixed to the magazine, as with previous models. It’s as small as a pen, and fits neatly in the hand. And the Agilis feeders is not so different from loading others,except that it takes much less time. All that the operator has to do is peel aside the cover tape 2 to 3cm and insert the tape into the feeder. With many other feeder brands, this task is complicated and time-consuming. It often takes a minute or even more to perform the same procedure. With Agilis, professional operators can complete this step in less than 10s.

One beta customer, Axxessit in Norway, has been using the Agilis system for over a year, employing five Mydata machines to manufacture telecom equipment. Two of these machines, now equipped with Agilis feeders, are used as prototypes, and run around the clock, performing at least ten changeovers a day. ”With 5 to 10 batches daily, and between 10 to 200 boards per series, we definitely have a high-mix environment. It’s amazing how much time we save with Agilis”, says process engineer Tor-Erik Grimsrud. ”Normally, it takes about 40min to set up for a new magazine load”, underlines colleague Kjell Aune, ”now it takes only 10min.”

Once inserted in the magazine, the loading system works like a plow to move aside the cover tape, and presents components to be picked by the mount heads. There is no more laborious unloading of cover tape in take-up reels since the cover is still attached to the carrier tape after the component is taken. The magazine automatically advances the tape, and empty tape is pushed out the back together with the cover tape, which is still attached. This means that no extra take-up reels are needed.

With Agilis, the operator can also reduce setup times and enhance plant productivity by keeping pre-loaded feeders on hand. Due to the small size, it’s easy to keep extra feeders with accompanying tape reels nearby. ”It’s not just that the feeder is faster to load. The whole system is faster”, resumes Tor-Erik Grimsrud. ”We’ve really seen the advantage of keeping feeders loaded with components, so that they’re ready and waiting for changeovers. This way, we don’t have to change a whole magazine with 16 feeders; we can just change a few feeders in the magazine.” And since the tape is dedicated to the feeder using the barcode functionality, it is virtually impossible to load incorrect parts.

Thanks to the tape peeling technique, a minimum waste of components during loading can be achieved. This is very useful when loading small tape pieces in a flexible subcontracting production environment. The intelligent magazine and bin system make all of this possible without ever turning off the machine – or even interrupting a run.

Mydata has eliminated the need for bulky trolleys and carts by developing a combined feeder and magazine concept that simplifies the complexities of the setup and changeover processes. As such, Agilis is much more than an innovation in feeder design. It is an entire system comprising of the following: revolutionary feeder design; bin system for easy handling of tape reels; 30% lighter and more robust magazines, and flexible large reel attachment. Together, not only do all parts of the system enhance flexibility, they lead to incredibly fast setups and changeovers.

Because of customers having placed an emphasis on lightweight ergonomic magazines in recent years, the Agilis magazine is 30% lighter and has an improved operator interface. As a result, it’s easy to pick up, move around and operate. And, like previous magazines, it takes up much less storage space than conventional carts or trolleys.

Not only does this approach minimize the demand for floor space, it also solves inventory problems. Inside each magazine there are two handy tape-reel bins. Using these two separate bins, Agilis feeders can be conveniently stored together with their tape reels. Each bin can be filled with loaded feeders and lifted in and out of the magazine – or stored on a shelf. Whenever a refill, changeover or setup is needed, operators have the option of either removing a bin from the magazine, or taking out the individual feeder and tape while the machine is still running. Bins come both for large 13-in and standard 7-in reels that can easily be combined in the magazine.

According to process specialist Tor-Erik, ”That’s the way we want to use it. By lifting out the bin, we take all the feeders out and put in new bins with preloaded feeders. It’s remarkable how much faster the whole process goes.” In addition, with the ergonomic handles, attractive light colors and streamlined shape, the magazine and bin system provides unsurpassed component handling. To get the most out of the feeders, customers can also take advantage of the large reel attachments for handling large-size tape reels. Beta customers using the large reel attachment have spoken highly of its stability. ”They’re much easier to adjust and place in different positions.”

Since the loading of reels and of feeders is a manual operation, the potential for error is large. Intelligent feeders offer reduced risk, because they can keep track of components, and inform the operator about their status. The intelligent feeders go a step further. They perform all these things, with the added benefit of intelligence for instant recognition by the machine. The ID stored on a chip in the feeder and on barcode enables the software system to instantly identify a feeder, its location and the component type loaded. To minimize the waste of components during loading, it also keeps track of the number of components left on the reel.

With Agilis, the feeder ID can be scanned into the operating software, TPSys, immediately after components enter the plant. Combined with MYLabel, the system automatically knows the feeder location, which components are loaded and how many are left on the reel. It doesn’t matter where the magazine or feeder is placed in the machine, the software will recognize the location. The circuitry inside each feeder tells the machine exactly where the feeder is positioned, and the barcode en-ables the feeder to be instantly recog-nized by every Mydata machine. ”Asidefrom speed and flexibility, our clientswant quality and accuracy”, says Johan Bergström, who was key in the development of Agilis. ”That’s where our focus on software came into play. The idea for the ID system with memory chip and barcode came to us within a week. It was more like an assumption than a separate idea.” Each magazine is equipped with an LED information panel that knows the exact status of the feeder and tape reel.

All together, this feeder is not only faster to load, but easier to use, and much smarter than the traditional system. These lead to faster production changeovers and lower cost per mounted component. The result is reduced cost per day and heightened productivity in total.

EPP 163

Für rasche Fertigungsübergänge von einer Baugruppe zur anderen müssen Bestücker umgerüstet werden. Das kann durchaus zeitaufwendig sein und den Einsatz solcher Automaten eher für andere Produktionsumgebungen prädestinieren. Aber für typische High-Mix-Umgebungen beötigt man rasch umstellbare Magazine und Feeder für Komponenten an flexiblen Bestückern, die Adaptierungen innerhalb weniger Minuten erlauben.

Les machines à implanter les composants doivent être rééquipées rapidement pour faire face à des changements de production rapides d’un module à l’autre. Cette opération peut être longue et prédestiner de tels automates plutôt à d’autres environnements de production. Mais pour les environnements High-Mix typiques, on a besoin de magasins et de chargeurs à changement rapide sur des machines flexibles qui peuvent être adaptées en quelques minutes.

Per dei rapidi passaggi di produzione da un gruppo costruttivo all’altro é necessario modificare gli applicatori. Questa operazione può richiedere molto tempo, predestinando dunque simili macchine ad altri settori della produzione. Per ambienti di produzione tipicamente High-Mix, però, si ha bisogno di magazzini e di feeder per componenti su applicatori flessibili rapidamente riconfigurabili e che permettono di effettuare l’adattamento in pochi minuti.