SMTA International 2024

PDC8: SMT Process Engineering - Advanced Topics for Experienced Engineers and Technical Leaders
Instructors: Chrys Shea, Shea Engineering Services and Raymond Lawrence, CeTaQ

This advanced course is designed for process engineers and technical leaders who want to learn how to improve the productivity of their SMT lines. Emphasis is on the relationships among different process variables, how to characterize them, and how to maximize yields and throughputs. The course begins with an overview of quality attributes and how to apply workmanship standards to achieve acceptable conditions while minimizing rework. It then details each SMT process on a typical assembly line, including automated inspection, and discusses how each can factor into process indicators or unacceptable outputs. After reviewing the processing factors that influence defects, process control methods are introduced. Discussions then focus on designed experiments to identify the main drivers of quality output, and line balancing for optimizing throughput. The technical discussions turn to business discussions - of financial considerations, the cost of defects, capital equipment justifications and data-driven evaluation methods for assembly machines and materials. Equipment evaluation, characterization, and process control are emphasized in the final portion of the course, encouraging attendees to integrate the concepts of quality, repeatability, and profitability as they apply to SMT manufacturing.