In a recent interview with SMT Magazine's Publisher's Executive Council, DEK USA President Richard Heimsch shares his expertise and insights, and describes how DEK has become and remained a leader in the industry.
Q: Please review your company's position in the surface-mount industry.
Heimsch: Over the course of the last decade, DEK has become a world leader in pre-placement surface-mount technology. That leadership has been demonstrated by establishing new measures in screenprinter performance and reliability, creative use of advanced technologies and a fresh integrity in reaching for new levels of customer satisfaction. Organisationally, we have developed a horizontal and decentralised structure designed specifically to address what we see as the significant needs of an extremely globalised market.
The prime driver in achieving this position has been our dedication to the principle of measurement - we measure every aspect of machine performance and corporate activity on a continual basis. Measurement is a vital tool; it is the critical first step in establishing control of the process. This has been the key factor in developing screenprinting as an advanced, precise and dependable manufacturing operation.
Q: How has the globalisation of surface-mount markets affected your technology and business strategies?
Heimsch: The effect can be summarised in two words: consistency and connectivity. As multinational manufacturers seek to replicate manufacturing operations around the world, it becomes critical to duplicate equipment performance precisely, line to line, site to site, country to country.
DEK's responses include technology to ensure uniform machine operation in any location, a worldwide network for consistent equipment training courses and sophisticated connectivity capabilities. Machine-to-machine file transfer, local area networking and remote access via the Internet all support the globalisation of manufacturing.
In terms of strategy, our group of companies has been structured to provide a seamless international presence. With strategically located technology and training centres, DEK is always physically close to our customers. At the same time, through our website and other electronic communications tools, customers in any location can reach anyone at our company, from an applications engineer to a consumables order desk, at any time.
Q: Two years ago, DEK's ProFlow DirEKt Imaging technology engineered revolutionary advancements in screenprinting. In technical and business terms, explain the impact of this technology on the surface-mount industry.
Heimsch: Technically, ProFlow DirEKt Imaging increased throughput and brought new levels of precision, repeatability, cleanliness and control to the pre-placement process. It represented an improved approach to a very old and established imaging technique.
ProFlow's most dramatic contribution to the industry, however, is just beginning to take effect. DirEKt Imaging is an enabling technology for a host of advanced applications, including adhesive deposition, high-volume substrate and wafer bumping, encapsulation and underfill. With this technology we have new opportunities to provide most cost-conscious equipment and applications solutions to manufacturers throughout the industry, not just in the assembly sector. Our open architecture philosophy, as well as our decision from day one to openly license the technology to any and all interested parties, will enhance the accelerated pace of ongoing development.
Q: What are the significant technological advances in your company's pipeline today?
Heimsch: Among other things, we are focusing on new ways to access and analyse process data to enhance productivity even further. Toward that end, we are using software tools and interconnectivity strategies to combine our high-performance production equipment with powerful, PC-based analysis tools in industry-standard networks. This allows manufacturing engineers to gather and interpret massive amounts of process data, then exploit the power of the network to implement universal improvements rapidly. This supports the production consistency that is critical in a global marketplace.
Q: How has the Internet and e-commerce affected the industry?
Heimsch: The ready accessibility of data has made the supply chain transparent. Whether there is a question about machine performance, a need for applications expertise, a delivery schedule to set up or any of a host of other matters to settle, information flows rapidly and openly up and down the supply chain, and not just back and forth from customer to vendor. This flat value chain requires the development of worldwide networks of best-in-class organisations that link horizontally with others as specific circumstances arise to provide competitive value-added answers.
Q: How will surface-mount printing be affected by the widespread use of BGAs, CSPs and flipchip technologies?
Heimsch: The new packaging technologies continue the trend, started by fine-pitch SMT, of requiring greater precision in solder paste pattern deposition. Our equipment is fully capable of meeting the technical demands of new component types, while our extensive software capabilities provide the rigorous process control needed to ensure a high level of productivity when assembling products with advanced packages.
Q: What is the status of surface-mount standards development? Has SMEMA accomplished its mandate?
Heimsch: SMEMA's original mandate had certainly been accomplished by 1997, but significant standards development projects still existed that required broader organisation scope to advance further. With the merger of SMEMA into the IPC in 1998, that has been able to take place, particularly in the important realm of communications protocol. For example, last year, the standard recipe file format (SRFF) was published. As proponents of open architecture, this of course is a project that DEK promotes and supports at every opportunity.
Q: What has driven developments in surface-mount equipment capabilities? In materials characteristics?
Heimsch: The primary drivers continue to be higher productivity and lower cost. Every manufacturer strives to build products more efficiently, more quickly, with fewer defects and less downtime - and, of course, at lower cost. Concurrently, the continuing influx of new, advanced packaging technologies requires new levels of assembly capability.
In response, developments in equipment have followed both tracks. Machines must support the highest levels of productivity, perform at ever-increasing reliability levels and be equipped to 'future-proof' their owners. At the same time, equipment costs must be controlled to provide true value to the manufacturer.
Q: What is the key consideration in the development of equipment/materials/components that sets your company apart from competitors?
Heimsch: I believe two key factors set DEK apart. First, there is the particular manner in which we interact with our customers to understand and define their requirements. Among other things, this is an ongoing pro-cess, not a pre-sale or pre-buy-off effort. In fact, it is often said that the job starts when the machine ships. Applications support, training and service are critical elements of our customer relationships.
Second, the process knowledge base that we have amassed over more than 30 years enables us to provide a unique perspective from which to contribute to the solutions to new requirements. Whether those solutions take the form of new equipment, new interconnectivity technologies or immediate answers to applications questions, we have the specialist expertise to develop it and the means to implement it.
Q: What steps has your company implemented to address the environmental issues that affect the global PCB assembly industry?
Heimsch: In our manufacturing facility, we have implemented a policy to ensure that our production procedures comply with and, wherever possible, exceed regulations. We have extended this policy to our suppliers as well, working with them to improve their environmental performance. The environmental impact of all new products is now an important factor at the design stage.
Q: How would you characterise business today?
Heimsch: The technical maturation of the SMT process has combined with the global economic model to exert unprecedented pressure on the costs associated with all facets of PCB assembly.
Q: Where is the surface-mount industry headed over the next few years?
Heimsch: The ever-widening scope of outsourcing, from the capacity production offload of a few years ago through today's contract manufacturing (CM) industry assuming design, distribution and order-taking functions, has significantly redefined the business of electronics manufacturing. Traditional definitions and interface points between customers and suppliers have changed dramatically in the past several years, and those lines are bound to blur further. The transition from leaded device to area-array packaging promises an equally significant impact on the manufacturing technology, including blurring the tradition lines between component and substrate.
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