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Thru_hole component placement

Views: 6461


ams

#39246

Thru_hole component placement | 21 January, 2006

Hello,

We are looking for some equipment for thru hole component placement. Could anyone give me an idea of what to keep in mind,typical costs and best brands?

Thank you,

Ams

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Rich M

#39306

Thru_hole component placement | 25 January, 2006

Universal PTH equipment is hands down the best.

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#39309

Thru_hole component placement | 25 January, 2006

I agree.

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Chunks

#39314

Thru_hole component placement | 26 January, 2006

Depends on what you're kind of thru-hole you're placing. Cutting, forming and placing TO-220s are a lot different than VCD components. Can't just slap any ol' name out der!

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PD

#39352

Thru_hole component placement | 27 January, 2006

Hi Ams,

I often cringe when I read replys like the ones you got. I will give 'chris' the benefit of the doubt in that he is sincere in his response. However, there are people posting here with agendas to sell specific equipment.

Without knowing what volume/speed you're looking for, the types of components you need to insert, the manufacturing environment [in-line,batch,mix,set-ups,etc], it really isn't possible to answer your question.

I have successfully used Panasonic, Universal, and Amistar equipment. Each has their strengths, weakness, and qwerks, but all work well. I have also heard good things about TDK, though I've never used them.

For great low volume machines, I would look into Amistar. No one can touch Panasonic for pure speed. Universal equipment is a good compromise of speed and flexiblity. However, the Universal equipment does require an aggresive maintenance program. Nothing wrong with that, but you have to have good maintenance. Panasonic is much more forgiving there, but you will pay through the nose for the equipment.

So, you see, each machine needs to be evaluted based on your specific needs. Also to be considered is the strength of your regional support staff. Factory Service technicians contribe significantly to the succuss that their customers see, or don't see. I am in the west US, so my experience may be quite a bit differnent than someone elsewhere in the world.

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PD

#39353

Thru_hole component placement | 27 January, 2006

oops, I mean 'Rich M', not 'Chris'!

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#39357

Thru_hole component placement | 27 January, 2006

I have no affiliation with Universal other than being a customer. We use the VCD/Radial 8 series machines. We run them 24 hours a day, 6 days a week. We spend approx. 30 minutes per machine per week maintaining them. I would recommend them to anybody who is going to use them for standard axial/radial insertions.

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Ams

#39359

Thru_hole component placement | 28 January, 2006

Guys,

I appreciate all your responses. Thanx a lot!!!

Ams

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#39439

Thru_hole component placement | 1 February, 2006

AMS,

Are you aware that you will have to purchase several types of insertion equipment for different part types? You will need an axial inserter, radaial and DIP inserter to cover the gamut of thru-hole insertion. Even then you may not cover oddball components such as switches,transformers or unusual lead pitch or large wire diameter components. Universal seems to be the industry leader in this field with some others like Panasonic,TDK with decent machines. There is a ton of Univeral thru-hole equipment out there for sale by many people.Universal even runs a seperate division for factory refurbed equipment. Depending on machine type,age and component stations the equipment may set you back anywhere from 20-70K per unit,possibly higher for newer and highly optioned systems. Depending on volume and component type you may just start with an axial inserter,generally the highest volume component. A DIP insterter and Axial inserter depending on component usage come next.

Another type of system you may look into but is not fully automatic but does well with batch builds and modest volumes is a component locator. These are semi-automatic machines that the show an operator where to insert parts manually and the leads are cut and clinched automatically. These systems cover the entire range of all thru-hole parts and can be utilized for full board bulids or supplementation to a auto insert system. They are widely used in mil spec applications due to the lower volumes seen but produce high quality results. Typical insert rates are 500-750/hr. depending on component type, lead prep etc. While there used to be several vendors of this type of equipment I beleive Contact Systems is the only company still making and supporting these systems. New units are in the 55K range but there are many used systems depending on model type out there from a few thousand to around 20-24K for newer ones. There are several thousand units in the field. While not fully automatic they are faster than hand assembly and slide lines with less manpower required to do full board builds especially with many board types.

Hope you find the right equipment fit for your production operation. Good luck.

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RDR

#39441

Thru_hole component placement | 1 February, 2006

I contacted Contact systems once about these machines and they wouldn't even give me the time of day!

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#39457

Thru_hole component placement | 1 February, 2006

Hello Russ, I am from Contact Systems. It is 4:16 EST. Seriously though, I won't try to guess what happened with your attempt to contact us. It certainly is never our intention to avoid potential customers. You can contact me personally if you need to at gpompea@contactsystems.com. As Ed mentioned, investment into fully automated through hole equipment at this point is not always the best choice. The CS400E is still a very popular machine for this reason. Regards, Greg Pompea

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#39490

Thru_hole component placement | 2 February, 2006

Royonic still seems to be in that business as well. I've used them in the past and while overall they were pretty robust, the tendency to spill bins was pretty high if people got lazy and let loose parts sit around on the magazines.

PITA to program too, but that was ~10 years ago. Hopefully they've streamlined things a bit.

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NEA Inc

#39509

Thru_hole component placement | 3 February, 2006

I am from NEA Inc and we provide Remanufactured through hole insertion equipment. Please feel free to email contactus@neainc.com and we will be happy to respond. Tell us what type of equipment that you are looking for. Alden

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