Real Time Material Tracking Reduces Inventory, Eliminates Wrong Parts Placed, and Ensures Regulatory Compliance
Optel offers an automated and comprehensive material management system that picks up where MRP leaves off, then closes the loop back to MRP. It provides real-time visibility to all material on the shop floor, including warehouse, point of use storage, on machines, and at manual and rework stations. Moisture sensitive components can be tracked and controlled for “out of bag” time and return to bake areas if necessary. Prevention of the wrong parts being used reduces scrap, improves quality, and ensures RoHS compliance, delivering fast ROI.

By fully serializing boards, the system automates component level traceability – down to the reference designator – for all components and assembly steps, even in a multi-vendor, multi-technology environment. This comprehensive approach encompasses SMT (Surface Mount Technology) machines, PTH (Pin Through Hole) machines, manual stations, rework stations, and box build stations, leaving no traceability gaps. Temperature, humidity, oven profiles, and other process variables can even be monitored and logged to provide process traceability. This system can be used with or without the Lean Manufacturing modules, delivering on the pay as you grow approach of the Optel system.

• Works with MRP systems and reports back accurate on-hand inventory counts to the system
• Material receiving and comparison between purchased versus received materials per purchase order
• Real-time tracking of material location and quantity, including reels on feeders and machines
• Reporting on every transaction a material ID (license plate) went through
• Supports manual and automated (carousel) material storage systems
• Tracks and controls “out of bag” time for moisture sensitive components
• Eliminates misplaced parts via closed-loop part verification
• Traceability is supported per reference designator for SMT, PTH, manually placed, and reworked components, in addition to system assembly (aka box build)
• Temperature, humidity and oven profiles can be monitored and logged to provide process traceability
• Automatic component cycle counting eliminates manual component counting
• Detailed setup verification history
• Scrap data collection and reporting per work order, component, material, and feeder
• Reduces material inventories on the shop-floor
• Reduces point-of-use storage space
• Integrates with Lean Manufacturing for complete manufacturing control

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Receiving and Kitting
Comprehensive material management begins with material receiving and license plate generation. The license plate is a unique identifier includes the supplier information needed for component level traceabilty (manufacturer part number, lot code, date code, PO #, etc.). Alternately, this information can be captured from an MRP system if it has these capabilities. Kitting and offline setup verification modules continue the material management and traceability coverage, and also support grouped setups from the scheduling module.

Machine Control, Verification, and Automated Traceability
Real time communication between Optel and the machines in the process center provides complete control of the process.

• Screen printers can be controlled to ensure lead-free paste and stencils are used on lead-free assemblies
• Pick and place machine programs are loaded from the central database to the machine based on work order, eliminating the possibility of the wrong program being used
• A final online setup verification is performed to ensure the right feeders and components are installed
• Machine performance information can be captured and viewed in real time
• Takt time can be measured, and if the solder paste is past its tackiness spec, the panel can be prevented from entering the pick and place machine
• Every feeder event is captured
  • Eliminates manual parts counting
  • Provides accurate, automated component level traceability
  • Enables an effective feeder management strategy based on duty cycle instead of calendar days, reducing machine downtime and lowering maintenance costs.
  • Supports reel splicing for uninterrupted replenishment

Manual Assembly, Box Build, and Rework Support
Modules are also available for hand-placed and rework operations.

• Automated instruction generation
• Closes an often overlooked gap for component level traceability: components that are manually installed or replaced at a rework station can be captured and stored to the central database to maintain complete product integrity
• Supports traceability for both printed circuit boards and complete system (aka “box”) build

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