Today's advanced electronics manufacturing environment depends on state of the art equipment for the manufacturing process. In this climate of high speed/accuracy robotics, qualified equipment service engineers are extremely valuable.
Circuits Inc. was formed in 1995 by process/automation engineers who had advanced into manufacturing management. The goal is to supply this highly technical environment with equally qualified equipment/process specialists. We embrace the challenge of projects with short fuses; the pressure situations of this high volume/high value, age in electronics manufacturing. In 1998 Automated Equipment Services Inc. a subsidiary of Circuits, Inc. was formed to assume the current equipment related business of Circuits, Inc. This new company focuses solely on assembly equipment maintenance, refurbishment, installation, OEM support and automation design and implementation.
Specifically, the partners and associates at Automated Equipment Services Inc. currently have a combined experience in the electronics industry of over 50 years, with a minimum of six years each. Extensive automation engineering, process engineering and equipment maintenance expertise and strengths encompasses high speed robotics for SMT/hybrid PCB manufacturing, and very fine pitch assembly (0.0035" trace and space). Additionally, Automated Equipment Services Inc. capability extends to all peripheral equipment such as screen printers, dispensing equipment, PCB handling equipment, (conveyors, magazine loaders/unloaders, FIFO stackers, inspection stations, etc.), reflow ovens (IR and convection), cleaning systems, wave solder systems, etc.
Our staff has a broad background with various types of equipment. Hence a thorough hands-on knowledge of high speed servos, gray scale vision inspection/recognition, and intricate mechanical timing and tolerance limitations, are encountered daily. This experience is valuable for full integration of the production line, such as product handling equipment, and various process specific equipment. Common issues involve communication between adjacent equipment from various manufacturers. SMEMA communication protocol requires a very specific convention, however, various manufacturers interpret this convention differently. Hence, transfer of product from one piece of automated equipment to the next may not occur as expected. Being familiar with many different types of production equipment, Automated Equipment Services Inc. can take responsibility for complete/functional SMEMA communications between adjacent equipment from various manufacturers.
Automated Equipment Services Inc. employs only degreed engineers or associates with equivalent engineering experience. As an engineering driven company, Automated Equipment Services Inc. not only repairs high speed robotics and state of the art equipment, we are automation/robotics designers. Automated Equipment Services Inc. has successfully integrated complex systems from functional test equipment for PCB assemblies to automated laser welders for a major OEM of automobile fluid filters. Some of the equipment engineering capabilities include: mechanical design using popular CAD software, PCB design and layout using Gerber producing CAD/CAM software, motion control electronics and NEC wiring design using various engineering packages, PLC ladder logic software development, motion control software for various suppliers of indexer/drive systems.
Our design and hands-on knowledge of heating processes and equipment, both convection and IR, is extensive. Automated Equipment Services Inc. has engineered and maintained equipment that uses PID calculations for control data and PWM signaling to an SSR power delivery system for temperature regulation. Automated Equipment Services Inc. has installed this system concept (using analog signaling to frequency modulation amplifiers), to control fan motors that produce and control air pressures of 0.5 to 1.5 inches of water column. We have installed or maintained systems such as fluid level regulation, vapor saturation control, and pH balance systems which also use this technology.
Additionally, Automated Equipment Services Inc. has developed process specific equipment such as assembly and handling fixtures, burn-in fixtures, adhesive curing equipment, PCB repair equipment, etc. Without hesitation, Automated Equipment Services Inc. has (in short order) mastered or designed various systems using advance robotics.
These equipment design engineering capabilities are secondary and supportive to our growing field service business. Installations, reconditioning, customer return for repair, field retrofits, etc. are the operations of choice for Automated Equipment Services Inc. Our business plan calls for increased field service capabilities for OEM's of high technology robotics. Simultaneously, we are developing in-house reconditioning/customer return repair operations for OEM's wishing to form a close alliance with an authorized service center geographically central to the United States.
As seasoned electronic assembly process engineers, and technicians, Automated Equipment Services Inc. associates will provide invaluable knowledge when faced with users who tend to criticize equipment, though operating properly, rather than recognizing a process problem. This is a frequent occurrence when dealing with varying media viscosity, varying plant humidity, varying production line idle time, varying consumable supplies vendors, varying heating profiles, uncontrolled incoming inspection, uncontrolled pressure from production schedules, low priority preventative maintenance schedules, etc. Automated Equipment Services Inc. field service engineers are trained to spot equipment problems quickly, but also recognize a process problem, providing a global approach to specific end user requests/complaints.
As an example of this global capability, Automated Equipment Services Inc. has provided turn-key engineering for start-up SMT manufacturing companies. This would include everything from product volume analysis, determining equipment capacity requirements, specifying equipment and processes, specifying the consumable supplies, implementing the process and maintaining the equipment after the process is running, etc.
In conclusion, Automated Equipment Services Inc. believes that an aggressive, authorized, international field service group has a cost effective advantage for OEM's who are struggling with user demands for high quality service after the sale. We also believe that Automated Equipment Services Inc. is set apart from other contract service groups by our commitment to employing only highly qualified field service engineers, our commitment to developing lasting alliances with our customers (rather than simply executing contracts), and our commitment to remaining abreast of the robotic industry's latest engineering technology and our capability developed over years of experience to view equipment as an integral part of a complete process.
Automated Equipment Services Inc. pledges to remain very aggressive; to execute customer service engineering beyond expectations. Existing OEM's have concluded that Automated Equipment Services Inc. may not be the cheapest service group, however, these same OEM's will attest to the fact we will always provide a quality of service that leaves the user requesting us by name on future service calls.
