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ESCATEC has strengthened its surface-mount technology (SMT) capabilities in the UK with the addition of two new ASMPT SX pick-and-place modules at ESCATEC Mechatronics Ltd (EUK) in Lutterworth. The investment will enhance production efficiency and flexibility while strengthening ESCATEC's ability to support increasingly sophisticated medical manufacturing programmes in the UK.
For customers, this latest investment means greater SMT flexibility, scalability and throughput at EUK, including one line dedicated to rapid-turnaround new product introduction (NPI) projects and prototyping activities. This enables customers to progress faster from early-stage design and development to production readiness, while giving EUK the capacity to support ongoing manufacturing programmes as requirements evolve.
"These best-in-class ASMPT modules significantly enhance our SMT capabilities and will enable us to support more advanced medical related projects in the UK. They also strengthen EUK's ability to work seamlessly with other ESCATEC facilities worldwide to scale medical and other high-reliability manufacturing programmes as customer requirements evolve," said ESCATEC CEO Charles-Alexandre Albin.
The new ASMPT SX modules feature 210 8mm feeder slots mounted on quick-change feeder carts, a waffle pack changer with a non-stop refilling station, automatic pin support, and advanced software for material management, process control and production monitoring. The modules have also been pre-wired for a second gantry, enabling a straightforward and cost-effective capacity upgrade in the future.
This SMT investment forms part of ESCATEC's broader strategy to expand EUK's medical manufacturing capabilities and follows the facility's recent achievement of ISO 13485 certification. As part of this roadmap, EUK is also developing a dedicated 100-square-metre control room scheduled to become operational in late August. The new control room will provide a tightly controlled manufacturing environment to support new customer programmes and further strengthens EUK's role within ESCATEC's global medical manufacturing network.
