IPPCL Attachment D OVERALL PROCESS FLOW AT ALPS ELECTRIC

Transcription

1 OVERALL PROCESS FLOW AT ALPS ELECTRIC A) MOULDING PROCESS C) DETRASHING OF COMPONENTS Painting required? NO D) SURFACE MOUNT PROCESS YES B) PAINTING & LASER ETCH PROCESS E) MANUAL ASSEMBLY F) FINAL ASSEMBLY OVERALL PROCESS FLOW The overall production process at Alps Electric involves the simultaneous fabrication of structural plastic parts and assembly of components onto printed circuit boards. These are then brought together to form the final product. The plastic parts may require painting and laser etching for cosmetic purposes. The fabrication of plastic parts involves a moulding process, step A, and, if required, a painting and laser etching process, step B. Assembly of printed circuit boards incorporates detrashing of delivered components, surface mount process and manual assembly, steps C, D and E respectively

2 STEP A: MOULDING PROCESS INPUTS PROCESS OUTPUTS Plastic granules A1 DRYING OF GRANULES heat extract A2 HEATING OF GRANULES heat extract A3 INJECTION MOULDING A4 ANNEALING PROCESS & COOLING heat extract Waste plastic heat extract Waste sprue STEP B or F Sodium Hydroxide Cleaner 102C A5 CLEANING OF MOULDS waste sodium hydroxide & cleaner A6 CHANGEOVER OF MOULDS Waste plastic - 2 -

3 STEP A: Moulding Process 34 injection moulding machines are located on site for the production of plastic moulded parts. A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 Drying of granules Plastic granules are fed into the injection moulding machine though a suction hose. The granules are first dried to remove any moisture. Heating of granules The dried plastic granules are then heated above their melting point to produce molten plastic. Injection moulding The molten plastic is then injected into the mould. Some waste plastic may result at this point. This is collected and sent for recycling off site. Annealing Process and Cooling of moulded part In the annealing process the moulded part is placed in an oven and subjected to 120C temperatures for approximately 4 hours. It is then allowed cool and removed from the mould. Waste sprue arises where the molten plastic entered the mould. Again this is collected for recycling off site. Cleaning of moulds Moulds are immersed in a solution of sodium hydroxide 102C Cleaner and cleaned using ultrasound technology. The waste from this process is collected into a 25 litre drum and disposed of as hazardous waste. Changeover Every one or two years a complete overhaul of the machine is carried out

4 STEP B: PAINTING & LASER ETCH PROCESS INPUTS PROCESS OUTPUTS STEP A Moulded parts from step A. B1 LOADING OF PARTS None Paints, thinners B2 MIXING OF PAINT & THINNERS Solvent emissions Waste drums /Compressed air Mixed paint, Hardner Mixed paint B3 IONISED AIR B4 ADDITION OF HARDNER B5 APPLICATION OF PAINT None Solvent emissions Waste drums solvent emission Paint particles B6 FLASH OFF PERIOD heat output solvent emission B7 CURING OVEN heat output solvent emission B8 REPEAT FOR EACH COLOUR REQUIRED Continued on following page

5 STEP B: PAINTING & LASER ETCH PROCESS - Continued Continued from previous page. B9 MOVE TO LASER MACHINE B10 LASER ETCHING OF PAINTED PARTS Fume from etched paint Deionised water B11 UNLOAD & TRANSFER PARTS STEP F B12 MAINTENANCE OF LASER MACHINE None waste deionised water Paint strippers Sand blasting media Dosing chemicals Plastic covers Water B13 MAINTENANCE & CLEANING Particulates waste filters Emissions of stripper Waste Plastic covers Waste sludge STEP B: Painting & Laser Etching Process Moulded parts which require a cosmetic coating will be sent to step B. Otherwise they will proceed directly to step F. Several coats of paint may be applied to the surface depending on requirements. E.g. a button surface may be first painted white and then given several coats of black. Laser etching of a given symbol will remove the top layer of black paint to reveal the white underneath

6 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 Loading of parts The plastic parts resulting from step A will be moved to the painting area and loaded onto painting jigs. The jigs are loaded onto trays which are racked and moved to the painting machine. The trays will then be loaded onto carriers in the machine. The system will be configured such that parts will be positioned as close together as possible to minimise wastage of paint during spray paint application. Mixing of paint and thinners Paint and paint thinners will be removed from storage and mixed in a paint mixing booth which will be provided with local exhaust. It will then be placed into the paint feed system where it will be held in a sealed container. Alarm systems will trigger if ambient solvent levels rise above a set threshold. Waste paint tins and paint thinner tins will be generated at this stage. These will have residues removed and will be crushed at recycled. Ionised air Ionised air will then be blown onto the parts surface to remove any surface dust contamination and the entire unit will then be placed into the painting booth. Addition of hardner When the parts are ready to be painted hardner will be added to the mixture of paint and paint thinner. As in the case of B2 above, emissions of solvent and generation of waste tins will occur at this stage. These will be controlled as per stage B2. Application of paint Paint will be applied by a paint spraying machine using high volume, low pressure (HVLP) technology. This will take place in an enclosed paint booth, equipped with a water floor and water curtain. Paint particles will be trapped in the water floor and curtain and the sludge will be removed by surface skimming. Sludges will be disposed of as hazardous waste through an approved, licenced hazardous waste handler. A 2 minute cycle time will be required. Flash off A flash off period of approximately 15 minutes duration will follow the paint application. Temperature will be elevated to approximately 40C. It is anticipated that the majority of solvent release to air will occur during this period. The flash off area will have approximately 10% air change every 2 minutes. Curing oven The parts will then move to the curing oven where they will be subjected to temperatures of approximately 80C. This will accelerate the paint drying process and will also lead to a significant proportion of the overall solvent emission of the process. Solvent emission from this stage will be combined with stage B6 and emitted to atmosphere

7 B8 B9 B10 B11 B12 B13 Repeat cycle Upon exiting the oven, the steps from B2 to B7 may be repeated a second time depending on the customer requirement. Move to laser machine The trays are unloaded from the carrier and loaded onto a rack which is then moved to the laser etching area. The jigs are removed from the trays and the trays are sent for cleaning, to remove any paint overspray. The parts are transferred from painting jigs to laser jigs and loaded onto the laser machine. Laser etching The painted surface will be etched using laser technology to display the required character or symbol. Minor emissions of dust and dried paint are expected from this stage. Unload & Transfer parts The parts will then be unloaded from the laser jigs and transferred to the Material Replenishment System area for use on the lines. Maintenance of laser machine. Maintenance & Cleaning

8 STEP C: RAW MATERIAL DETRASHING INPUTS PROCESS OUTPUTS Printed circuit boards, components C1 DELIVERY OF RAW MATERIALS pallets Waste drums C2 DETRASHING OF COMPONENTS Cardboard, plastic, paper C3 PLACEMENT INTO TOTES C4 STORAGE STEP D STEP C: Raw Material Detrashing This step represents the first stage of the current operations at ALPS. Raw materials/components are delivered, unpacked and sorted prior to use. The introduction of the painting and laser etching process is likely to lead to a reduction in throughput for step C. C1 C2 Delivery of Raw Materials Printed circuit boards, components etc are delivered to ALPS ELECTRIC from a global supplier base. Waste pallets and other tertiary packaging arise from this stage. Detrashing of Components - 8 -

9 The components and circuit boards are manually unpacked. All packaging is removed from larger components. Small electrical components (e.g. individual chips etc) remain in primary packaging. Quantities of cardboards, plastic and paper waste are generated from this stage. C3 C4 Placement into totes The unpacked components are placed into reusable totes. Storage The totes are stacked and stored until required in stages D and E

10 STEP D: SURFACE MOUNT TECHNOLOGY PROCESS INPUTS PROCESS OUTPUTS STEP C Blank printed circuit boards D1 LOADING BLANK PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS None energy cleaning agent (Axerel) Glue Component chips D2 APPLICATION OF PASTE D3 APPLICATION OF GLUE D4 COMPONENTS MOUNTED waste cleaning agent contaminated wipes Solvent emissions empty glue tubes waste plastic D5 PASTE CURING heat output Fume from paste D6 INSPECTION & BOARD LOADING Scrap printed circuit boards D7 REPEAT PROCESS FOR OTHER SIDE OF BOARD STEP E

11 STEP D: Surface Mount Technology Process In this process electronic components are placed onto blank printed circuit boards. D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 Loading Blank Printed Circuit Boards Blank printed circuit boards are loaded onto a Surface Mount Technology (SMT) machine. The loaded boards are automatically rolled through each of the following stages. Application of Paste Solder paste is applied to the board at designated connection points. Cleaning agents (i.e. Screen Clean 400l) may be applied to remove any dirt/dust which may affect the quality of the finished board. Waste cleaning agent and contaminated wipes are generated at this stage. Application of Glue Glue is sprayed onto the positions to be occupied by the electrical and other components. The glue is typically solvent based so some minor emissions of solvent occur. These are removed through extraction and combined with the extracted fume from stage D5. Other outputs include waste empty tubes of glue. Components Mounted The electrical components are automatically placed onto the board in their correct locations. They are automatically unloaded from their primary packaging by gravitation. Small amounts of waste plastic packaging are therefore generated at this stage. Paste Curing Heat is applied to the solder paste to permit curing. Fumes and heat are extracted and combined with the extraction from stage D3. Inspection and placing onto board loader The board is inspected by comparison with a template and electronically tested by the SMT machine. Failed boards are either corrected or scraped depending on the level of compliance. This occurs very rarely. Boards which pass the inspection are loaded onto a board loader rack for further processing. Repeat process for other side of board Boards are loaded to another SMT machine to complete the SMT Process for the other side of the board

12 STEP E: MANUAL ASSEMBLY PROCESS INPUTS PROCESS OUTPUTS STEP D Large components/chips E1 MANUAL PLACEMENT OF COMPONENTS Flux 80 F005 Thinners E2 FLUX SPRAYING Solvent and fume emissions Empty drums Solder, E3 PRE-HEAT STAGE E4 APPLICATION OF SOLDER E5 TESTING Solder fume scrap printed circuit boards Synergic Humiseal Thinner 521 IR-32A coating E6 CONFORMANCE COATING SPRAY FIRST SIDE solvent + fume emission waste humiseal/thiner Synergic Humiseal Thinner 521 IR-32A coating E7 CONFORMANCE COATING SPRAY SECOND SIDE solvent + fume emission waste humiseal/thiner E8 CURING solvent + fume emission STEP F STEP F

13 STEP E: Manual Assembly Process In this process larger components are manually placed onto the printed circuit boards from the SMT process. Solder is applied with either a wave solder machine or is sprayed through nozzles depending on the technical requirements of the circuit. Following these applications the board is electronically tested. Boards which pass the test undergo an application of conformance coating to provide protection from dust, water vapour etc. The completed board is then sent to the final assembly process. E1 E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 E7 Manual Placement of Components Boards arrive from the SMT process and the plastic components and larger electronic chips are placed onto these by hand. These then go either to Solder Wave Machine 1 or Solder Wave Machine 2. Flux spraying Sparkle flux 80 is sprayed over the area to be soldered. The flux and thinners are fed into the flux machine directly from their drum containers. Solvent emissions are extracted as a minor emission. Waste empty drums arise at this stage on an occasional basis. In the case of Solder Wave Machine 2, flux F009 is supplied to ALPS in a premixed form. Pre-Heat Stage Heat is applied to the board and flux in order to facilitate adhesion of the solder during stage E4. Application of Solder Solder is applied by solder wave method or by point spraying application depending on how close other electrical connections or components are to the area under treatment. Solder fume is extracted as a minor emission. Waste solder dross is removed during cleaning of the machine. Some contaminated wipes may arise also. Testing The printed circuit boards are tested electronically. A computer cycles through all possible electrical permutations. Circuit boards which fail this test are scraped. Boards which pass are then moved to the conformance coating stages. Conformance coating spray first side Thinner and coating (IR-32A) are fed directly into the conformance coating machine. These are mixed by the machine and sprayed over one side of the printed circuit board. This provides a protective coating against dust, mists etc during the lifetime of the circuit board. Solvent is extracted from this stage through atmospheric emission point A2-2. Conformance coating spray second side The boards are reloaded into the conformance coating machine and stage E6 is repeated for the other side

14 E8 Curing Heat is applied to the board to allow curing of the conformance coating. Solvent fume extracted from this stage is also extracted through A2-2. Once this stage is completed, the circuit board is then sent to the final assembly process. STEP F: FINAL ASSEMBLY PROCESS INPUTS PROCESS OUTPUTS STEPS B & E Moulded/painted part from step A and/or B. Printed Circuit Boards from step E. IPA wipes. Reusable packing F1 MANUAL ASSEMBLY OF MOULDED PARTS AND CIRCUIT BOARDS F2 PACKING OF FINAL PRODUCT contaminated wipes STEP F: Final Assembly Process This is the stage where the circuit boards and components from step B will be combined and manually assembled. Currently, painted components are purchased from suppliers and moulded components from stage A are introduced to the existing production process at this stage. Some moulded parts from stage A will continue to be introduced directly at this stage while painted components will arrive from stage B. F1 F2 Manual assembly of moulded parts and circuit boards The various components from steps A and B will be assembled together with the circuit boards from step E. Small quantities of contaminated wipes arise from occasional wiping of the finished product with IPA to remove dust etc. Packing of final product The final product is then packed into returnable tote boxes and shipped to customers in the automobile assembly industry