Printed Circuit Board Industry Achieves High Productivity, Reduced Cost and Waste with Cloud-Based FactoryPRO™

Manufacturing management software provides comprehensive dashboard interaction with processes, capital equipment, inventory and standards via factory information system

Making printed circuit boards is largely a robotic endeavour coupled with human manipulation where precision and timing spells the difference between profit and loss. High volume PCB production by firms that do not employ a manufacturing execution system often encounter these chief problems:

• Limited visibility into real-time operations
• Unexpected downtime due to [lack of] timely equipment maintenance
• Reduced efficiency due to scheduling and supply conflicts
• Increased level of rework and refurbish from customer returns
• High level of waste

Enter FactoryPRO  software: the path to lean manufacturing

Printed circuit board factories need systematic and precise manufacturing operations, from the raw material loading dock to the shipping bay. There's a finite inbound supply chain, an internal process chain and an outbound supply chain to customers. FactoryPRO delivers the middle component – the internal process chain – and interfaces digitally with inbound and outbound processes to complete end-end digital management that provides thorough visibility, high efficiency and quality and the lowest possible waste. In this journey, FP also manages scheduled equipment maintenance and helps produce the wide range of documents associated with product design and marketing. Lean manufacturing at its best!

Importantly, the features and qualities of cloud-based FactoryPRO  are amenable to many other production settings, not just printed circuit boards. SolSemUSA is happy to consult at no charge to adapt the features and capabilities of FP   to nearly any volume production setting.

The core of FactoryPRO  is the FIS or factory information system, as illustrated. FIS communicates with every circuit board's production processes. Nothing is left to chance.

FP delivers the following key capabilities:

• Establishes and maintains a standardized central platform process for master production data and specifications
• Builds a digital communication system connected without obstacles or hurdles to ensure efficient and effective manufacturing processes.
• Invokes ideal quality control to support excellent decision-making for the right solution in product design variations and defect tolerances to be detected by the process.
• Provides real-time continuous, synchronized improvement approvals and change management.
• Companies leverage these advancements as the highest quality products, delivered on time. Marketing and sales activities benefit via seamless and flawless manufacturing.
• No longer will customers need to say "We don't mind if a few of the boards have flaws. Just put them in a separate box with a label."

FactoryPRO  may be run in the cloud on secure servers. A chief benefit not mentioned above is the IT bonus: companies that employ MES software need far less IT support for production processes. Learn more here