Heraeus selects ASM’s mid-speed E by Siplace platform

"Among other sectors, we have numerous customers in the automotive, lighting, RF and handheld markets, so being able to reliably and repeatably place small components such as 01005s, while also being adaptable to different product requirements, is critically important for the evaluation work that goes on in our lab," says James Wertin, Heraeus Manager of Technical Sales and Application Support, who oversees day-to-day lab operations. He continues, “E by Siplace is the best of both worlds: it has advanced capability and superb flexibility, and is surprisingly economical for a platform with such broad functionality. The system can do everything we need it to and then some. Plus, the ASM brand is synonymous with quality, which is important for customers." The system was installed earlier this year at the Heraeus Applications Lab which offers a fully operational SMT manufacturing line, allowing production duplication to facilitate NPI work and process optimization. For materials development, the Heraeus lab provides benchmarking and characterisation capabilities to enable R&D collaboration with other Heraeus facilities around the world. The customer product range seen within the lab presents a unique scenario, as PCBs for applications ranging from lighting to mobile phones to automotive are being populated. "Because this environment is quite different than a traditional manufacturing facility, the programming simplicity of E by Siplace was also a key consideration in our selection," notes Wertin. "The line is manned by an engineer with applications expertise, but not a traditional equipment operator, making the intuitive E PRO software essential. This, combined with the fact that it is really a one machine solution for all of our customers’ applications, made E by Siplace the obvious choice for our lab’s SMT line."