Siplace Software Suite supports build-to-order in electronics production

With many innovations in its SIPLACE Software Suite, Siemens Electronics Assembly Systems (SEAS) underscores in technological leadership in high-mix build-to-order (BTO) concepts in electronics manufacturing. The software tools, which the company has presented at the SMT/Hybrid/Packaging trade show in Nuremberg (June 8-10, 2010), optimize the complete production process, ranging from transparent material management (SIPLACE Facts) and production planning and preparation (SIPLACE Setup Center, SiCluster Professional and SIPLACE LES) to highly flexible setup concepts, no-stop product changeovers and SIPLACE Traceability. Carefully coordinated and seamlessly integrated in the SIPLACE Software Suite, the various programs optimize not only individual processes, but map the entire electronics production as a consistent process, including interfaces to production planning and ERP systems. The SIPLACE Software Suite provides electronics manufacturers with the transparency and control they need to process even the smallest lot sizes quickly, efficiently and in a strictly customer order-oriented manner. At SIPLACE’s booth 7-204, visitors of the SMT/Hybrid/Packaging industry show in Nuremberg can find out in live demonstrations everything they need to know about the new capabilities of the SIPLACE Software Suite and about the efficiency and cost advantages of BTO-oriented production.

With features ranging from material management and planning to setup preparation and product changeovers to traceability, which is so critical in many industries, the SIPLACE Software Suite maps all areas of SMT production as a transparent, consistent process. With SIPLACE software, electronics manufacturers optimize not only subprocesses, but generate additional efficiencies by integrating and coordinating their entire production process.

Transparent materials management with SIPLACE Facts and SIPLACE Setup Center

SIPLACE Facts is an order and material management system designed especially for the electronics manufacturing industry that lets the user control the material flow at the packaging unit level from component receiving to finished product shipping. In addition to main warehouse, consignment inventory and MSD warehouse, any storage location on the production floor such as the setup preparation area or individual SMT lines can be defined. A push of a button shows where individually labeled packaging units are located or whether missing components or materials installed on another line delay the production. Additional features of SIPLACE Facts include electronic supplier notifications, time- and path-optimize pick lists, paperless checks via barcode scanner, FIFO strategies, MSD handling including the tracking of exposure times, direct control of vertical storage units (Kardex, Hänel, Royonic, etc.), and the order-oriented reporting of material consumption to the ERP system. SIPLACE Facts lets electronics manufacturer reduce the waste of valuable production time wasted because components are missing or cannot be found; it also lets them eliminate the need for manual inventories and integrates the SMT production into their ERP system.

SIPLACE Setup Center manages and controls the pre-setup area. If components and packaging units are entered via their barcodes, the pre-setup area is added instantly and with no additional scanning requirements as a new storage location for materials.

Picking the most efficient setup strategy

The SIPLACE Software Suite offers a wide range of setup strategies. Depending on the production type, order situation or line, users can operate with fixed or family setups, changeover tables with dynamic or constant carts or floating setups with SIPLACE Split Table Mode. SiCluster, SiCluster Professional and SIPLACE LES provide powerful planning and optimization tools that minimize the setup effort and setup-related downtime. In combination with sophisticated multi-track concepts, automatic station-by-station product changeovers and the transmission of board specific data within the SMD line, the electronics manufacturer has a wide range of strategic options at his disposal.

Intelligent SIPLACE X feeders automatically register with the machine when they are installed. The SIPLACE Software Suite has access to this information as well. For example, SIPLACE Facts uses this data to add the line as a new storage location for the material that has been set up. Via the line software, the material consumption data is recorded for each order and can thus be used to monitor fill levels on the line (and alert the operating staff accordingly) as well as in SIPLACE Facts to adjust the inventory data and supply the ERP system with information. With the SIPLACE Explorer, all relevant production data can be distributed to decision-makers, analyzed and presented in the form of key performance indicators over the Internet, and solutions with SIPLACE Traceability make this data trackable and traceable.

All areas of electronics production integrated in a consistent process - “Modern BTO concepts require process-optimized material logistics and production planning, setup planning and product changeovers with minimized downtime and continuous BTO production improvements on the basis of key performance metrics and indicators. SIPLACE is the world’s first equipment supplier that consistently designs its platforms to support future-proof BTO concepts. That’s why the SIPLACE Software Suite offers so many new, intelligent tools for efficient and competitive production even in times of rising order fluctuation, ever smaller lot sizes and increasingly frequent product changeovers,” says Hubert Egger, the SIPLACE team’s

software product marketing and application manager.