Reducing electronic panel assembly time via panel design selection

Decreasing the cycle time of panels in the electronic printed circuit card assembly (PCCA) process has been a significant research topic over the past decade. The research objective in such literature has been to reduce the placement machine cycle times by finding the optimal placement sequences and component-feeder allocation for a given fixed panel component layout for a particular assembly machine type. We propose that the alteration of the panel design, where multiples of a product are assembled in a single assembly cycle, can be used to reduce such cycle times. The panel design is defined as having a pattern definition and a printed circuit board (PCB) rotation set. A solution procedure is developed, which is based upon enumeration of the panel design alternatives, combined with a genetic algorithm (GA) approach to solve the component sequencing problem. Simple examples are provided to illustrate the concept of this approach for an automated insertion machine where only component locations on the panel are of consideration.