Citation
(2013), "The right solution for a growing contract manufacturer", Soldering & Surface Mount Technology, Vol. 25 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ssmt.2013.21925cab.007
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
The right solution for a growing contract manufacturer
Article Type: Industry news From: Soldering & Surface Mount Technology, Volume 25, Issue 3
Based near the picturesque Cambridgeshire village of Hemingford Abbots, PCB assembler circuit solutions has seen steady year-on-year growth of its contract manufacturing business.
Growth has been so strong that additional surface mount placement capacity was required to augment its existing SMT equipment; however, a decision about which direction to take was needed before selecting the partner.
The management team comprising Owners Brett Milborn and Dick Greenwood, Internal Sales Manager Neil Monington and Manufacturing Manager Paul Edmondson all were involved throughout the machine evaluation process, and there were numerous potential solutions.
Initially, Europlacer proposed a combination of three of its XPii machines, which would have considerably increased output and also given a small footprint of less than 4 m, high feeder count of around 300×8 mm feeders and the ability to place 01005-50×50 mm devices.
After considering all the options available from the various machine suppliers, a decision was made that the Europlacer concept was the way that circuit solutions wanted to move. It was decided that a Europlacer XPii machine would be brought into the facility on a trial basis, to run in line with the existing equipment. At that time, circuit solutions employed a new General Manager – John Tutt. With many years’ experience within the SMT industry, Tutt was keen to see what the Europlacer equipment could offer CSL and its customer base.
An iineo I machine was purchased to be placed in line with the XPii machine, offering nearly 370×8 mm feeder positions, speeds up to 38,000 cph, intelligent feeders, PCB sizes up to 700×460 mm and the ability to place 01005 through to 70 mm2 devices.