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Yamaha Robotics SMT Section is a trusted supplier of surface-mount assembly solutions, with six generations of high-speed precision mounters in action on the RSG Elotech production lines. In this article, we look at some of the highlights of the enduring connection between our two companies.
Three Yamaha YSM20 mounters in-line place up to 285,000 cph
With major customers in sectors such as automotive and industrial electronics, RSG Elotech is adept at dealing with complex assembly challenges and demands for flawless product quality, immense flexibility, and fast turnaround time. While helping those customers deal with rapid technological change, electrification is revolutionising automotive design and Industrie 4.0 is driving advanced cyber-physical systems into factory automation, the Company is also an accomplished manufacturer of advanced energy-saving technologies such as high-efficiency LED lighting. Diligently investing in cutting-edge capabilities has been central to its success.
Placing the 2.3 million surface-mount components that are handled on the nine highly automated production lines every day demands high speed, high accuracy, and high reliability. Not one ingredient can be missing. “Fortunately, we benefit from close links with Yamaha Robotics, a chosen partner whose dependable, inline mounters have brought outstanding speed and capabilities, with solid reliability, to our production activities,” comments Frank Lauterbach, RSG Elotech’s Technical Manager.
Long-Term Connection
The connection with Yamaha Robotics is long established. In fact, there are currently six generations of Yamaha inline mounters currently serving the production lines at RSG Elotech’s factory in Bad Lobenstein. Early machines, from Yamaha’s YV and YV II series, continue to deliver high productivity and are now working alongside the latest YS and high-speed modular YSM machines. “We have 24 Yamaha mounters in action right now,” confirms Frank Lauterbach, “And we enjoy excellent support for each one through Yamaha’s European service team.”
Ralf Bierschenk, Chief Engineer at Yamaha Robotics comments, “We know that our customers need to maximise the return on each investment they make with us. That means supporting older machines to ensure years of dependable service, as well as helping unleash the maximum performance of the latest models.”
The current portfolio of Yamaha YSM mounters offers scalability from the one-beam/one-head YSM10R to the Z:TAR YSM40R, which combines four beams and four heads with advanced motion control and high-speed cameras giving the ability to place up to 200,000 cph. Additional Yamaha innovations such as simplified Auto-Loading Feeders (ALF) and the non-stop feeder-carriage exchange system are easy to use and save time at changeovers, and the Auto Tray Sequencer (ATS) boosts productivity by enabling non-stop loading of components in trays.
Yamaha’s Factory Tools 4.0 software suite helps owners to setup and program the machines and monitor performance. The latest version includes the new Yamaha Dashboard, which embeds world-class data-analytics knowhow from Tableau Software to show performance graphically and assist with continuous improvement. Live production analytics let users manage their lines in real-time, while historical analysis tools help easily visualise important metrics such as down time, setup time, pickup errors, and causes of stoppages.
The large feeder capacity of the Yamaha mounters enhances flexibility and efficiency
Custom Line for LED Assembly
Yamaha and RSG Elotech extended their co-operation even further by successfully engineering a special SMT line taking advantage of Yamaha YS12/YS12F mounters to handle PCBs up to 1800mm long. Conceived primarily to assemble large arrays of surface-mount LEDs, this unique line strengthens the Company’s position in energy-saving lighting and building-automation markets by enabling high productivity and fast turnaround times.
“Our engineering group worked with the team at RSG Elotech to create special solutions for board transport and indexing, which are integrated with the standard mounter platform,” explains Ralf Bierschenk. “In addition, we integrated Yamaha’s automated BIN-code management software to assist with programming. It simplifies the notoriously complex challenge of correcting for differences in LED brightness and helps the production team manage their inventory of LEDs efficiently.”
He concludes, “Delivering this project has further strengthened the collaboration between our two companies, which has become an enduring success.“
For more information, please visit the website at https://smt.yamaha-motor-im.de/.
