Nolan's Notes: The Next Killer App in Component Manufacturing
The Knowledge Base: Unlocking the Invisible—The Critical Role of X-ray Technology
Standard of Excellence: Turning Negative Customer Feedback Into Positive Outcomes
What You Need to Know About the Digital Factory
January 3, 2020 | Barry Matties, Publisher, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 1 minute
Barry Matties spoke with Oren Manor, director of business development for Mentor, A Siemens Business, during productronica about the many benefits of a digital factory and what’s keeping companies from becoming one. Oren also gives examples of big data analytics along with the move to a lot size of one.
Barry Matties: Hello, Oren. First, can you share some of the advantages of being digital?
Oren Manor: We did an analysis, and one major phone company has a 3.4 DPMO, which is extremely good; that’s three defects per million of opportunities. If you calculate the number of devices they are building and the number of components, that’s still about $1.5 billion worth of scrap a year. If you do the same analysis with the big 10 EMS companies, take what they do in a year, and calculate their numbers, you get to a potential scrap of about $1.5 billion. If you put them on a 100 DPMO, which means that even in industry-acceptable or high standards of quality, there’s a lot of scrap. People are using software; they have CAD and MES systems. They have been able to get to this level of quality, but it’s not enough. We need to push it to the next level. And this explains why digitalization here is critical. People say, “This is a Tier 1 problem.”
Now, we have a nice story with a customer called Roy; they’re a mid-sized manufacturer based in Northern Italy not too far from Milan in Biella. They have five SMT lines, and they’re both an OEM and an EMS, which I see more and more. They make products for their own brand and company, but they also contract for other customers because they have the assembly line and capacity. They don’t need all the capacity for their OEM business, so they try to make additional money. They came and said, “We have a bigger device. We want the material to be 100% autonomous in the factory. We don’t want any human being touching the feeder or moving boxes around. We want all of this to be fully automated.”
And with our material management system, we can do that.
To read this entire column, which appeared in the December 2019 issue of SMT007 Magazine, click here.
Share on:
Suggested Items
Libra Industries Boosts SMT and Electronics Manufacturing Capabilities in Dallas, Texas
05/06/2025 | Libra IndustriesLibra Industries is excited to announce the latest upgrades to its surface mount technology (SMT) capabilities at its Dallas, Texas facility.
AMI achieves 52 consecutive weeks of First Pass Yield Rates above 98.72%
05/06/2025 | Alternative Manufacturing, Inc.AMI, a leading provider of high-quality PCB assembly (PCBA) solutions, proudly announces the achievement of 52 consecutive weeks of first pass yields at test, maintaining an exceptional success rate of 98.72% or better. This remarkable accomplishment underscores the company's unwavering commitment to manufacturing excellence, quality assurance, and customer satisfaction.
LG Innotek to Build FC-BGA into 700 Million USD Business with State-of-the-art Dream Factory
05/01/2025 | PR NewswireLG unveiled the Dream Factory, a hub for the production of FC-BGAs (Flip Chip Ball Grid Arrays), the company's next-generation growth engine, to the media for the first time and announced it on the 30th April.
New IPC Standard Sets First Global Benchmark for E-Textile Wearable Reliability
04/29/2025 | IPCIPC announces the release of IPC-8981, Quality and Reliability of E-Textile Wearables. This first-of-its-kind standard sets baselines for testing and classifying e-textile wearables, addressing key challenges in product reliability, performance, and quality assurance.
A Day in the Life of an Apprentice at Arc-Tronics
04/29/2025 | Cory Blaylock, IPCWe're recognizing National Apprenticeship Week with this feature on Arc-Tronics, which launched its first-ever apprenticeship program in 2024 to emphasize the importance of workforce development and reflect its deep commitment to nurturing future talent. This program not only provides hands-on experience to apprentices but also ensures the company’s continued leadership in the industry.