Introduction
- According to IPC’s Global Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) Industry Trends Report 2023, “Annual equipment maintenance costs for electronics manufacturing companies account for an average of 25%-35% of total operating costs, with SMT production lines typically accounting for a higher percentage of maintenance costs than traditional lines due to the density of high-precision equipment.”
- In Deloitte’s 2022 Advanced Manufacturing White Paper, it is stated that “maintenance spending by semiconductor and electronic component manufacturers accounts for 6%-10% of the value of equipment assets, and the cost of unexpected repairs is 3-5 times higher than preventive maintenance.”
- According to SMTA (Surface Mount Technology Association) Research 2021 a survey of 150 electronics manufacturers worldwide, “The average annual loss of SMT production lines due to equipment downtime is approximately $1.2 million per 1,000 units, with inefficient maintenance being one of the main contributing factors.”
Sudden downtime, labor and other maintenance costs, has been the focus of our SMT industry, the following and we share practical strategies to reduce the maintenance costs of SMT production line.
I. Understand the SMT production line maintenance costs
1. What is SMT line maintenance
SMT assembly line maintenance refers to carry out comprehensive maintenance and repair, the goal is to reduce machine breakdowns, improve productivity, ensure product quality, extend equipment life, and reduce operating costs. Regular maintenance of equipment to ensure the normal operation of the production line and improve product quality is of great significance.
2. Components of maintenance costs
- Labor costs: Personnel daily maintenance of the hourly rate, equipment failure overtime costs, according to the SMTA research report shows that the emergency repair labor costs are 2-3 times the preventive maintenance.
- Equipment Maintenance: Replacement costs for equipment consumables, mechanical parts and other components.
- Loss of downtime: Unplanned downtime resulting in loss of production capacity (calculated according to the actual output of the PCBA factory), delayed delivery of the customer penalties or customer turnover.
- Quality risk: Improper maintenance of equipment, triggering welding defects, posting not in place and other product quality issues.
II. The importance of regular maintenance
1. The benefits of regular maintenance
Regular maintenance of the SMT line can ensure stable operation of the equipment, extend the service life of the machine, improve production efficiency and product quality, enhance the safety of employees when operating.
2. How to develop an effective maintenance program?
2.1 Daily Maintenance
- Cleanliness check: Clean equipment surfaces, conveyor belts and SMT nozzles.
- Operational status check: Confirm that all equipment is operating normally and that there are no abnormal sounds or vibrations.
2.2 Weekly Maintenance
- Parts Inspection: Check for wear and tear on critical parts such as nozzles and conveyor systems.
- Lubrication and Calibration: Lubricate moving parts and calibrate sensors and feeding systems.
2.3 Monthly Maintenance
- Deep Cleaning: Perform a more thorough cleaning, including disassembly of replaceable parts (e.g. nozzle).
- Software Updates: Check equipment software and update to the latest version to ensure optimal performance.
2.4 Quarterly Maintenance
- Comprehensive check: A complete test of the equipment’s functionality, including the electrical system and mechanical moving parts.
- Replacement of wear parts: Replacement of worn parts, such as nozzles and guides, according to usage.
2.5 Annual Maintenance
- Specialized Inspection: Invite a professional technician to perform an equipment assessment and provide maintenance recommendations.
- Long-term stock assessment: Review all spare parts inventory to ensure that long-term needs can be met.
III. Optimize equipment use
1. Select the right SMT equipment
- Evaluate the enterprise’s production needs: including the type of electronic products produced as well as capacity requirements in two aspects.
- Technical performance requirements: such as SMT machine placement speed, accuracy, whether it can handle multiple types of components.
- The automation level of the assembly line: fully automatic SMT assembly line, semi-automatic SMT assembly line, manual placement.
- Cost analysis: combined with the initial investment cost, operating costs, choose the appropriate purchase program.
- Supplier’s reputation: choose a well-known and good after-sales equipment manufacturers, to ensure smooth communication between the two sides in the late maintenance, rapid problem solving.
2. Training staff
Regularly organize staff training to improve staff operating skills and reduce the failure caused by operating errors.
IV. Intelligent technology
1. Integrate monitoring system
Predict equipment failures through data monitoring to reduce downtime.
2. Automated maintenance
Utilize robots and AI technology to improve maintenance efficiency.
V. Implement lean production concepts
1. Process optimization
Streamline the SMT assembly line process to eliminate unnecessary steps and reduce the cost of equipment maintenance.
2. Culture of continuous improvement
Establish a team feedback mechanism to encourage employees to make suggestions for improvement.
Company Profile
Zhejiang NeoDen Technology Co., Ltd. has been manufacturing and exporting various small pick and place machines since 2010. Taking advantage of our own rich experienced R&D, well trained production, NeoDen wins great reputation from the world wide customers.
In our global Ecosystem, we collaborate with our best partners to deliver a more closing sales service, high professional and efficient technical support.
We believe that great people and partners make NeoDen a great company and that our commitment to Innovation, Diversity and Sustainability ensures that SMT automation is accessible to every hobbyist everywhere.
Post time: Apr-07-2025