Trends in the SMT Software Market

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Increasing customers' preference toward integrating SMT software with the manufacturing execution systems (MES), enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and other factory automation systems is likely to be observed in the forecast period.

By Keith Robinson

Decline in demand for manufacturing in various high-volume end-user industries urged manufacturers to focus on lean manufacturing, including eliminating non-value-added operations, redefining processes and optimizing process flow on the shop floor. Manufacturers have increased their investment in software since 2001 to achieve higher throughput, reduce rework and repair, balance the load of machines on the SMT line, and create better communication between equipment. Since the SMT equipment market is in the shakeout stage in the industry's lifecycle, equipment manufacturers have begun thinking about forming alliances with software providers to estimate kinematic models of pick-and-place equipment and optimize machines in a multi-vendor environment. Integration software is one of the fastest-growing segments in SMT software, with increasing numbers of independent software providers offering manufacturing solutions to top-tier original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and electronic manufacturing service (EMS) providers.

In 2003, pick-and-place equipment software accounted for 72.7% of the market, according to Frost & Sullivan. This segment's contribution to the total market was reduced after 2000 due to the global economic recession and a heavy decline in pick-and-place equipment sales. However, the SMT placement equipment market is beginning to pick up. The inspection software market is seeing steady growth, as the low-volume and high-reliability end-user markets were not affected as badly as were other high-volume markets. Therefore, demand for process control software in inspection equipment is growing steadily. This trend is expected to continue over the next seven years.

Pick-and-Place Software

The number of machine parameters that can be controlled using software is the highest in the pick-and-place category. The most vital of these include:

• X-Y motion
• Nozzle and rotary speed
• Feeder optimizer control
• Line balancing
• Printed wiring board (PWB) motion and squeezing time
• Various other minor controls, including angle, pressure and PWB size.

For a particular batch of printed circuit boards (PCB) on the SMT line, the software is fed with the PCB size, as well as the ideal recipe coordinates that provide the X-Y offset position of various components to be integrated on the board. The machine's kinematics model is estimated while integrating it with other machines in a multi-vendor environment. The pick-and-place software's application layer optimizes placement speed, while its upper layers communicate with other machines.

A common perception is that the third-party provider estimates of the kinematic description of a pick-and-place machine cannot be accurate because of the equipment's complexity. However, setting up an entire electronics assembly line with machines of identical make is impractical. To get the best machines for each function, the assemblers use multi-vendor machines and approach third-party software providers for integration solutions. Some machine vendors have incorporated layers that give detailed descriptions of their kinematic models, allowing third-party software providers to achieve best optimization.

Inspection Software

Inspection software basically performs image processing. The image of the ideal board is compared with the image of an incoming board on the line, and defects are analyzed for missing components, joints and other parts. If boards are inspected after solder paste dispensing, ideal images of the solder paste height and volume are compared to those of solder paste on the incoming board. Controllable parameters include image resolution, PCB movement, angle pressure and squeezing time. This software primarily is used for:

• Defect data collection and database population
• Statistical process control (SPC)
• Off-line programming to develop more customized software, as well as for process preparation
• Integration with SMT placement and soldering machines to allow the same machine to be used for various inspection stages.

Soldering Software

This software's main function is to control temperature profiles in the chambers of a reflow oven. The software is based on a set of databases that contain profile formula derived from those established by solder paste manufacturers when combined with the formula based on user-specific assembly data. All formula variables are controllable with the software.

Other Software

This category comprises lower-end software used on the SMT line, including that used on screen-printing and rework and repair equipment, as well as data preparation and translation software. In screen-printing and rework and repair equipment software, only basic process-oriented parameters are controllable.

The data translation software's basic function is to collect disparate data that cannot be directly read by the machine and convert it into a standardized format that the machine can interpret. This software collects data in various formats and integrates the shop floor with the materials and order management centers within the organization. This software reads the bill of materials (BOM) and other accounting data. Lack of standardization of BOM data is the primary driver for this software.

Integration Software

This software links machines on the line to ensure efficient communication between them and smooth process flow, performed by a third-party software provider to integrate various machines in a multi-vendor environment. Some Tier Three electronics manufacturers have older machine architectures that cannot communicate with new ones. Integrating these machines is a huge challenge. The price of integration software varies, based on the number of data formats it can support at one time. Globalization has increased the emphasis on the variety of data formats supported by integration software.

User Interfaces

The user interface segment is a high-growth area of the SMT software market. Globalization and relocation have increased the requirements of diverse user interfaces, as well as customizability of front-end software. Data collection formats used in various manufacturing locations are different, and some superficial differences can be seen within various user interfaces. This also depends on user organization requirements and levels of user friendliness incorporated into the interface. The price of the software also varies with the level of user friendliness it offers and the extent of multi-user support offered. Linguistic differences across the globe also should propel growth of the software in the forecast period. Specifically, Japanese, Chinese and Taiwanese software is expected to experience heavy growth.

Updates

The first category of updates includes the patches that enter the market on a bimonthly or quarterly basis. These are either bug fixes or patches that improve software performance and prevent it from frequent crashes, and are distributed through the software provider or the machine vendor's Website.

The second category is a major version of an update that improves the number of features supported by a particular software, such as increases in the number of data formats supported, the support of other vendors' machines, and the optimization performance. These are considered major, depending on the amount of engineering required to design the software. Such software is priced depending on the policy, through an annual maintenance contract (AMC) or a licensing fee to make it available for download.

Future Trends

SMT software is viewed by providers and customers more as a solution than just software. Increasing customers' preference toward integrating SMT software with the manufacturing execution systems (MES), enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and other factory automation systems is likely to be observed in the forecast period. Some machine vendors still consider SMT software as a product bundled with the machine. This outlook is anticipated to have two negative effects on the market. In the short term, revenues will be hit because of adoption of a complementary product approach in selling SMT software. In the long term, such companies are likely to be phased out because customers will prefer buying the entire solution from the same provider.

Accuracy of the placement machines is expected to increase in the forecast period, requiring a greater number of feedback loops within themselves and other machines. This increases the engineering required for designing the software and the number of controllable parameters on placement machines. This may also increase the price of the software. Inspection and soldering software are expected to increase in functionality with the advent of lead-free solder paste, rather than just image processing and solder paste dispensing machines. Some electronics manufacturers are separating lead-based and lead-free technologies to process batches for different industries. Some organizations are increasing their R&D fund allocations to improve inspection machines and reflow ovens. The software that runs on these machines may also increase in functionality and price. Such software is expected to gain increased importance in North America and Europe after 2004.

For more information, contact Julia Paulson, Frost & Sullivan, (210) 247-3870; E-mail: jpaulson@frost.com.