SIPLACE Case Study Mikromess invests in the future: Evaluation identifies SIPLACE as the price-performance leader The needs of Micromess, a contract manufacturer located in Elville on the Rhine, have increased steadily for several years. The successful medium-sized company has developed and produced electronic equipment for industrial and medical applications since 1998. Thanks to investment in the SIPLACE Di-Series, Mikromess is now ready for any and all challenges in the field of surface-mount technology and is able respond more quickly and flexibly to its customers' requests. The SIPLACE Di-Series impressed especially with its unbeatable price-performance ratio, because it offers lots of features at no extra cost. Whether solar system controllers, plasma centrifuges, measurement equipment or highly specialized applications Mikromess is highly skilled and passionate when it comes to developing customized solutions that comprise both hardware and software. As a committed medium-sized company with 11 people, the company's development and production activities are never far apart. This allows Mikromess to respond rapidly to its customers' changing needs. And the lean organization provides the basis for an outstanding price-performance ratio. It comes as no surprise then that Mikromess expects no less from its suppliers. The company's wide range of services includes the development and design of multi-layer PCBs, SMT and THT placement, the production of electronic and mechanical modules, cable customizing, CNC production and assembly of housings, final inspection and documentation. Particularly in the area of SMT, the requirements have grown steadily over the years, which is why Mikromess decided to upgrade its production capabilities. Maximum investment protection and a strong service network Mikromess is quite familiar with SIPLACE placement machines. The company was very happy with its SP-120, two HS-180 and one gluing module. The machines, which were purchased as used equipment and are now 25 years old, impressed everyone with their unbeatable robustness and reliability. And when a few little problems occurred, the SIPLACE hotline was only a phone call away with a useful solution. Jochen Bayer, CEO of Micromess: "I put my trust Page 1 von 5
in the tight service network of SIPLACE. Whenever I had a problem in the past, SIPLACE stood by us right away with real help and useful tips." Lots of features at no extra cost After a detailed evaluation of various placement machines, Mikromess selected the SIPLACE Di-Series from ASM Assembly Systems. "The SIPLACE Di-Series offers plenty of quality and comes with innovative software features. With SIPLACE, the base model includes features that others offer only as expensive extras or with special configurations. That's what convinced me. It also makes the SIPLACE packages unbeatable in terms of its scope and its priceperformance ratio," says Jochen Bayer. Many technological specialties that are hard to find or not available at all in this segment are standard on the SIPLACE Di-Series. "Especially during the proposal phase we realized very quickly that SIPLACE offers financially attractive solutions also for smaller manufacturers and not only for the big players." The new SIPLACE D1i of Mikromess is equipped with a fast 12-nozzle Collect & Place head and a Pick & Place head. With this proven head combination and the digital SIPLACE vision system, very small components as well as oversized components ranging from 01005 to large connectors can be processed quickly and reliably. Intelligent optimization software like SIPLACE Pro Optimizer and SiCluster Professional for optimizing single and family setups, reliable setup control with SIPLACE Setup Center, and auto-recovery function, the ability to manage data centrally, programmable placement forces for each component shape, useful tape cutters and the option for extra-wide boards come with the machine at no extra cost. "We also liked that SIPLACE Pro programming software for our entire production was included in the package, which means that we won't incur any extra costs for licenses." Ready for the future By upgrading to state-of-the-art placement equipment and software, Micromess also benefits from the increase accuracy of the systems. "We have noticed for two years that more and more customers require the placement of components smaller than 0402. With the SIPLACE Di- Series, which places 01005 components easily, we can now accept orders we had to reject in the past." Particularly for a contract manufacturer like Micromess with customers who demand top quality for many small to medium-sized runs, the SIPLACE Di-Series delivers significant competitive advantages. Page 2 von 5
Intelligent NPI As an additional benefit, the latest generation of the SIPLACE Pro software provides Micromess with maximum flexibility in new product introductions and the offline creation of setup and placement programs. Describing components is easy as child's play. "Even if the circuit board is not yet fully specified, we can send it to the station and teach the missing items when they become available," says Jochen Bayer. Maximum user-friendliness "The easy and trouble-free of the transition from analog machines to the digital world was particularly impressive for us. Everything works a lot faster now, which saves us money. The software of the SIPLACE Di-Series is easy to operate and self-explanatory. You can even program in German," says Jochen Bayer. "The bottom line: The SIPLACE is an outstanding machine with a reasonable price-performance ratio that delivers what it promises. We are very pleased with our choice." Page 3 von 5
Top-of-the-line service: Until the new machines are delivered, Mikromess uses SIPLACE's SMT production line at the vendor's Munich headquarters for running a pre-production series. (Jochen Bayer, CEO of Mikomess, and Holger Bolz, SIPLACE SCM (left to right)). Page 4 von 5
Jochen Bayer, CEO of Mikomess, and Achim Meyer, SIPLACE Sales Manager, at SIPLACE's SMT production line in Munich. Page 5 von 5