-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- pcb007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueThe Growing Industry
In this issue of PCB007 Magazine, we talk with leading economic experts, advocacy specialists in Washington, D.C., and PCB company leadership to get a well-rounded picture of what’s happening in the industry today. Don’t miss it.
The Sustainability Issue
Sustainability is one of the most widely used terms in business today, especially for electronics and manufacturing but what does it mean to you? We explore the environmental, business, and economic impacts.
The Fabricator’s Guide to IPC APEX EXPO
This issue previews many of the important events taking place at this year's show and highlights some changes and opportunities. So, buckle up. We are counting down to IPC APEX EXPO 2024.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - pcb007 Magazine
Chemcut’s Robotic Solution
May 24, 2022 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamEstimated reading time: 3 minutes
The I-Connect007 Editorial Staff spoke with Chemcut’s Jerry Reitz, and Atlantic Microtool’s Bruce Siemering and Neil Robinson about recent robotic automation advances, a specific robotic solution from Automata, and the changing factors tipping toward robotic automation in the current market.
Nolan Johnson: While robotics in the PCB fab area have been on the cusp for quite some time, it seems they haven’t taken off. Chemcut has been working with Atlantic Microtool and Automata on a possible solution. What motivated you to partner on robotic handlers now?
Jerry Reitz: By no means is this a large, industrialized robot. We believe that it is a fit for most of our customer’s applications, from small shops with smaller budgets and limited space to large facilities looking for a plug and play solution for large volume production.
Andy Shaughnessy: Who’s the manufacturer?
Bruce Siemering: The robot arm is manufactured for Chemcut by a robotics company out of the United Kingdom. Atlantic Microtool, which is owned by me and Neil Robinson made the initial contact and introduction to Chemcut.
We wanted to solve this problem where somebody is running a conveyorized line, and they’re loading a metal panel or a circuit board every 30 seconds, and they’re just standing there, or they’re running around to the other side to unload. It’s a mundane job that would be a perfect fit for this robot.
As we were looking for a robot, we noticed the ones we found were a little more difficult to program because the software was intimidating. One of the attractive features of this robotic handler we offer is that the software works on top of Python, which is a common software that runs automation.
It’s very easy to use and it’s not intimidating. When we first sent a robot to Chemcut one of their engineers, Dan Dietz, had it up and running in an hour or two. You can pull it out of the box, follow the instructions, and program it pretty rapidly to pick something up and move it to a conveyor. There’s not a very complex tool path with it.
Neil Robinson: When we’ve done demonstrations in the field, we show up at a customer site and within 45 minutes, we are actively loading product onto any conveyorized line. Not only is the setup simple, but it’s very simple to operate. Anybody who works in a manufacturing facility could be taught to program this robot within a couple of hours, unlike other industrial robots that have equally sophisticated software that require certain expertise to program. As Bruce pointed out, the software used to program this robot is a very user-friendly shell that sits on top of Python. Through graphics on the screen, two buttons that reside on the robot, and a mouse, you can create pretty sophisticated programs to load and unload equipment. The robot also has several digital inputs and outputs for sending and receiving commands from other equipment and devices.
Johnson: Is the handler so specialized that it only works well in a board fab application, or can it be used for other purposes?
Robinson: This robot wasn’t originally designed for the chemical milling or PCB industries. Actually, most of the early applications were in laboratory automation. We’ve taken that robot and adapted it to chemical milling and the printed circuit board industries with the use of specialized suction grippers. The robot can also be equipped with other tooling to handle many different applications, but primarily we are focused on the conveyorized equipment that Chemcut offers.
Johnson: With such an easy setup and operation, are your customers buying into the idea?
Robinson: Yes, overall, there are 300 to 400 units in the field with the first chemical milling installation in the United Kingdom. That unit has been in operation for a couple of years and the robot is holding up very well to that chemical environment.
To read this entire conversation, which appeared in the May 2022 issue of PCB007 Magazine, click here.
Suggested Items
Europlacer Presents New Range of iineo SMT Placement Machines.
05/01/2024 | EuroplacerFor more than 15 years, the Europlacer iineo placement machines have made their mark on the SMT industry with unique features and unrivalled flexibility. Today, Europlacer announces the launch of the second generation iineo.
Incap US Hosts Annual Food Drive
04/30/2024 | IncapIncap US recently concluded its annual food drive, a tradition aimed at supporting the Greater Washington County Food Bank. This year marked the fourth year of the initiative, and we couldn’t be prouder of the collective effort that was made to its success.
Scanfil Uses Employee Engagement Survey to Improve
04/30/2024 | ScanfilOnce a year Scanfil arranges Employee Engagement Survey (EES) in order to get valuable insight from its employees. In EES all employees are invited to share their opinion, bring ideas for improvements, and contribute to making Scanfil a better place to work.
epoxySet Introduces EO-20E – Versatile, Electrically Conductive Epoxy
04/29/2024 | epoxySetepoxySet produces EPOXIOHM EO-20E an industry established, reliable electrically conductive epoxy designed for solder replacement, chip bonding and other intricate electronic and optoelectronic assemblies. This creamy paste has a an easy to use 1:1 mix ratio with a 48 hour work time.
The Right Approach: I Hear the Train A Comin'
04/25/2024 | Steve Williams -- Column: The Right ApproachTraining is often an afterthought in many organizations, and the longer a company has been in business, the more this seems to apply. Over the past couple of decades, it has been amazing to observe that the biggest offenders of this are the companies that overuse the sound bite, “Our most important assets are our people.” When you dig into the process and peel back the onion, their commitment to training is not commensurate with that statement.