Thoughts on Universal GSM1/2 Anyone??

| We would like to add another pick and place machine to | the SMT line. We're low volume so we change the line over | after each group of boards. So far we've pretty much | ruled out Siplace in favor of the Universal machines. | Does anyone care to share their thoughts on these | machines? | We have only one pick and place machine at present | (Philips CSM84V) so we don't have tons of experience | them. We'll place 4 million parts this year, which is | asking a lot from the equipment we already have. We also | need to place BGAs, flip chips, and QFPs up to 308pin. | We would like to design and bulid boards with 0201 | resistors, too. Will the GS1/2 do this well? | What about support? Do the Tech people know what they're | talking about? The salesman who came here wasn't exactly | confident about this point. | How good are these machines at inspecting BGAs? | Is the nozzle changer reliable? The changer on our Philips | machine broke and Lead Eng says its too expensive to | replace. | Once again, I truly appreciate any info anyone might have | to offer. Hi Scott, I've only worked with a Universal Omni-B before...it wasn't too bad...pretty flexible, but change-over was pretty time consuming. Can I ask a question? Any particular reason you're looking at Universal for a low-volume machine? -Steve Gregory-

reply »

| We would like to add another pick and place machine to | the SMT line. We're low volume so we change the line over | after each group of boards. So far we've pretty much | ruled out Siplace in favor of the Universal machines. | Does anyone care to share their thoughts on these | machines? | We have only one pick and place machine at present | (Philips CSM84V) so we don't have tons of experience | them. We'll place 4 million parts this year, which is | asking a lot from the equipment we already have. We also | need to place BGAs, flip chips, and QFPs up to 308pin. | We would like to design and bulid boards with 0201 | resistors, too. Will the GS1/2 do this well? | What about support? Do the Tech people know what they're | talking about? The salesman who came here wasn't exactly | confident about this point. | How good are these machines at inspecting BGAs? | Is the nozzle changer reliable? The changer on our Philips | machine broke and Lead Eng says its too expensive to | replace. | Once again, I truly appreciate any info anyone might have | to offer. Scott, I had a GSM1 platform a few years ago when they first came out. I was using it for placing 10-mil pitch TAB devices. It was a great machine! I cannot say enough about it. Speed, accuracy, easy loading feeders, nice user interface, on-line help and documentation...Good stuff. As for the service and support, another winner. The guys in Binghamton were amazing at supporting the machine over the phone (this was something like the second one built, so there were a few bugs to work out), and the local field service guy was incredibly knowledgeable. This was one of the best experiences I've ever had with an OEM. A lot of my friends have since bought the GSM for surface mount and rave about it, too. I think you'll be very happy with this pick and place machine. A general note on current field support: lately, with the huge growth in the industry, we're finding a lot of the OEM's are hiring field guys so fast they don't have time to train them, and that appears to be across the board, not just one specific company. We're seeing it from almost all our vendors. I suppose they just need time and experience on the equipment. Has anyone else witnessed this phenoena?

reply »

| We would like to add another pick and place machine to | the SMT line. We're low volume so we change the line over | after each group of boards. So far we've pretty much | ruled out Siplace in favor of the Universal machines. | Does anyone care to share their thoughts on these | machines? | We have only one pick and place machine at present | (Philips CSM84V) so we don't have tons of experience | them. We'll place 4 million parts this year, which is | asking a lot from the equipment we already have. We also | need to place BGAs, flip chips, and QFPs up to 308pin. | We would like to design and bulid boards with 0201 | resistors, too. Will the GS1/2 do this well? | What about support? Do the Tech people know what they're | talking about? The salesman who came here wasn't exactly | confident about this point. | How good are these machines at inspecting BGAs? | Is the nozzle changer reliable? The changer on our Philips | machine broke and Lead Eng says its too expensive to | replace. | Once again, I truly appreciate any info anyone might have | to offer. I believe that the Universal is far better than any other machine out there in terms of it's flexability,accuracy,and reliability As far as tech support, they can't be beat, their field service engineers are top notch. I haven't had a problem yet where they didn't have the answer. Most issues can be dealt with over the phone but if you do need someone to visit your site their right there.

reply »