This paper will describe some of the key issues that were experienced by the manufacturing team at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in Andover, MA during the implementation of a new program for PEMs handling.
This project was initiated by a customer requirement to comply with the latest revision of IPC/JEDEC J-STD-033. The industry standard was found to be very challenging to implement on the production floor using traditional manual logs and procedures.
Circuit cards are being assembled using moisture sensitive devices. MSDs are components that are encapsulated with a moisture permeable material. Because the epoxy material is permeable, these devices are classified as moisture sensitive, which simply means that they absorb moisture after they are opened from their sealed packaging.
The assembly lines would stay idle for many hours each day while production operators were busy calculating the remaining floor life of all moisture-sensitive components. Process engineers were facing significant challenges to translate the industry standard requirements in simple manual procedures.
Given the complexity and the critical nature of this issue, Raytheon wanted to procure the best possible system available on the market. They offered a patented solution for MSD Control that was fully compliant with the industry standard J-STD-033 which is what Raytheon customers demanded.
Raytheon started to use the MSD Control System gradually to insure that production operators would adopt and support the system. Operators know exactly where all MSDs are located on the shop floor and their precise remaining floor life before they expire.
Reduce downtime by 83%. Before using the automated MSD Control system, it took anywhere from one to two hours to perform a line set-up. Today, it only takes 10 to 20 minutes to get a bullet-proof set-up.
Reduce baking cycles by 94%. Because the implemented system tracks all MSD exposure and has the industry standard J-STD-033 rules embedded in the software, unnecessary dry baking is reduced or eliminated.
The MSD Control system was implemented in multiple phases to facilitate implementation and adoption by operators. In 2008 Raytheon proceeded to upgrade their existing SMT lines with a series of new placement machines featuring RFID intelligent feeders.
Conclusion
Since 2003 Raytheon Andover has been an industry leader in automating PEMs Control on the factory floor. The Material Control system provides real-time visibility and control of all components in the factory floor, insuring parts are handled according to industry standards with the historical records to prove it.
