You are here: Home > News & Events > Latest News
LAST-MINUTE AUTO SCREENING CAN SUCCESS
Highly flexible manufacturing techniques and unprecedented expertise lie at the heart of a screening can success story for Weymouth based Tecan Components. The company is providing a 'last-minute' bespoke design and delivery solution for a major International supplier of electronics systems to the automotive industry, saving money, time and blushes, due to an ordering oversight.
Following its normal rapid response to what initially appeared to be a routine quotation request, the company received an urgent order - immediate delivery of 300,000 pairs of small footprint screening cans, for automatic pick and place surface mounting onto a double-sided PCB.
Given that the most cost-effective traditional production method for a volume design such as this is punch and press, which takes time due to tooling manufacture, the company faced the problem of how to supply cost-efficient parts while gearing up for punch and press manufacturing - 'no problem', said Tecan.
Within days, the first parts were delivered, using the fastest technique available - photo-chemical machining (PCM), and on request, the first few were supplied flat for the end user to perform last-minute development and QA. Once accepted, the punch and press tooling was ordered along with arrangements for the final high-volume parts to be delivered taped and reeled - but this could take up to six weeks.
To ensure interim volume supplies, PCM production was stepped up, in-house forming was adopted and a contract supplier secured for next-day manual tape and reeling - this provides the fastest possible delivery, in batches of several thousand parts at a time for pick and place manufacture.
Using these techniques, the company can gradually increase volume to 25,000 pairs per week. When the punched and pressed parts are on stream, a seamless transition can ensue, allowing the delivery of low-cost parts at the optimum volume production ongoing rate of 30,000 pairs per week.
Although the design was effectively complete when ordered, Tecan was still able to offer pad layout and design enhancements, which if adopted, could bring re-flow yield benefits and tooling cost reductions for second-generation modules.
Given that the most cost-effective traditional production method for a volume design such as this is punch and press, which takes time due to tooling manufacture, the company faced the problem of how to supply cost-efficient parts while gearing up for punch and press manufacturing - 'no problem', said Tecan.
Within days, the first parts were delivered, using the fastest technique available - photo-chemical machining (PCM), and on request, the first few were supplied flat for the end user to perform last-minute development and QA. Once accepted, the punch and press tooling was ordered along with arrangements for the final high-volume parts to be delivered taped and reeled - but this could take up to six weeks.
To ensure interim volume supplies, PCM production was stepped up, in-house forming was adopted and a contract supplier secured for next-day manual tape and reeling - this provides the fastest possible delivery, in batches of several thousand parts at a time for pick and place manufacture.
Using these techniques, the company can gradually increase volume to 25,000 pairs per week. When the punched and pressed parts are on stream, a seamless transition can ensue, allowing the delivery of low-cost parts at the optimum volume production ongoing rate of 30,000 pairs per week.
Although the design was effectively complete when ordered, Tecan was still able to offer pad layout and design enhancements, which if adopted, could bring re-flow yield benefits and tooling cost reductions for second-generation modules.
Return to Article List or for media enquires please click here
