Energy-efficient production with new SMT line almost doubles throughput
HEITEC AG's Electronics division is investing extensively in the expansion of its central production site in Eckental. Increased production capacities and newly created storage areas are a response to the high demand, creating a good basis for continuous growth. By increasing the volume output by a factor of around two within SMD assembly, supply bottlenecks can be avoided and orders can continue to be processed quickly and flexibly. Additional storage capacity ensures component availability and facilitates supply chain management. Another important focus is on expanding test capacities. HEITEC is further expanding its range of on-site services with a new X-ray inspection system. As the complete range of services, from development and production through to housing technology, is united under one roof in Eckental, the new facilities are seamlessly integrated into the business processes and the advantages of "short paths" such as innovation dynamics, integrated project planning and emission savings can be utilised synergistically.
Expansion of production: More throughput with lower energy consumption
The existing production capacities have been supplemented by an additional fully integrated SMT line with a state-of-the-art vapour phase soldering system and the total production area has been increased by around a third. The new line is particularly energy-efficient and guarantees environmentally friendly soldering without shielding gases. By using vapour phase soldering combined with vacuum, a constant temperature distribution can be achieved regardless of the product profile, which not only leads to almost 100% error-free assembly, but also consumes less energy overall. In addition, the new process enables maximum flexibility in handling and reduces the use of resources.
New system for X-ray inspection enables precise testing
In addition to the production capacities, HEITEC has dedicated itself to the expansion of testing capacities, as timely defect detection saves costs, ensures process reliability and is an important factor in the fulfilment of critical quality standards. However, testing by conventional means is difficult, especially with high packing density and miniaturised electronics. Connections and soldering, especially for components with concealed solder joints such as BGAs (ball grid arrays), cannot always be inspected fully and non-destructively for a thorough fault analysis, whereas this is not a problem in X-ray mode.
The new X-ray system for manual and automatic 2D and 3D assembly inspection therefore significantly expands the inspection spectrum compared to optical inspection. The process can be networked with the manufacturing process and used in all product phases. Areas of application include assembly checks, material inspections, void inspections, THT (through-hole technology) measurements or HIP (hot isostatic pressing) inspections. Numerous tools and high-precision visualisation of the test results, which are automatically documented, are available for analysis. Undetected faults can be costly, which is why this method has proven advantages, especially for high safety requirements and markets with strict quality standards.
