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Life Expectancy

Life Expectancy

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What is the general life expectancy of most pick and place m... - Sep 29, 2018 by Reckless

Once the spare parts are not available it becomes obsolete. ... - Oct 02, 2018 by Evtimov

In my experience, machine life expectancy is all about suppo... - Oct 03, 2018 by CE-Exchange

Hello, We are EMS and we are using Unviersal Instruments ... - Oct 12, 2018 by SMT Division

1 million picks a week is the highest figure I have heard. ... - Oct 12, 2018 by Reckless

I just found out the GI14 was fully reconditioned 3 years ag... - Oct 12, 2018 by Reckless

Wouldn't the VRM linear motors need to be replaced eventuall... - Oct 13, 2018 by Reckless

Maintenance on the lightning heads is extremely minimal, esp... - Oct 13, 2018 by Comatose

You are making me jealous! Will be on the lookout for lighte... - Oct 14, 2018 by Reckless

@Reckless on GI14 machine, we have around 90k picks per week... - Oct 15, 2018 by SMT Division

Thanks for responding. Which one do you like better GI14 or... - Oct 15, 2018 by Reckless

Well it's hard to compare these 2 machines. GC60 is chip sho... - Oct 15, 2018 by SMT Division

Linear motors will live longer than the machine will. There ... - Oct 15, 2018 by Evtimov

I'd look for one of the Advantis machines made after Univers... - Oct 15, 2018 by Comatose

Reckless

#81123

Life Expectancy | 29 September, 2018

What is the general life expectancy of most pick and place machine?

I am looking at a Univeral genesis machine that has 50 million on each of the heads. It has been properly serviced and maintained. What point is it too much?

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Evtimov

#81133

Life Expectancy | 2 October, 2018

Once the spare parts are not available it becomes obsolete. Another huge contributor is the person who service the machine. You need someone with high level of understanding hardware and software of the machine.

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CE-Exchange

#81136

Life Expectancy | 3 October, 2018

In my experience, machine life expectancy is all about support. Technological obsolescence has gotten to be minimal over the years. I believe installed base is your best indicator for longevity of support. OEM's will support a machine as long as it is profitable to do so. (UIC still offers limited support for the 20 year old GSM, which had a huge installed base.) Furthermore when a machine has a large installed base, 3rd parties will provide support after the OEM support diminishes. Techs and especially spares are much easier to find for a popular machine.

If you are new to the Genesis, then you might need quite a bit of support in the beginning (first 6 months). I would suggest you find a solution for support before you purchase the machine. Support is huge, so have that solved first or you'll end up with an expensive mistake.

Lastly, I would be much more concerned with the quality of maintenance than usage. High end machines like the Universal are built for many years of 3 shift production, as long as the recommended maintenance is properly done. Unfortunately, determining the quality of maintenance can be very difficult for a new buyer to determine. It's a good idea to have an expert tech check out the machine before purchase or purchase from a seller you really trust.

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SMT Division

#81212

Life Expectancy | 12 October, 2018

Hello,

We are EMS and we are using Unviersal Instruments machines, we have few GC60 and GC120. You didn't mention how old machine is, which is very important. Regarding picks, our GC120 do around 1 million picks PER WEEK when we are running LED projects. And regarding maintenance, all the maintenance and even calibration is done by our local maintenance team, and not by offical authorised personnel.

If you need any help, feel free to contact.

Best Regards

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Reckless

#81213

Life Expectancy | 12 October, 2018

1 million picks a week is the highest figure I have heard. The lightning head is SMT poetry in motion. I do hope to get one someday, not sure how bad maintenance is on one of them.

I have a 2004 GI-14D with 2 flexjet3 heads with 50 million picks on each head. The OTHC are currently disabled because they need maintenance. Machine was fully serviced by Universal up until I got it.

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Reckless

#81222

Life Expectancy | 12 October, 2018

I just found out the GI14 was fully reconditioned 3 years ago to like new condition by 4tech electronics.

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Reckless

#81224

Life Expectancy | 13 October, 2018

Wouldn't the VRM linear motors need to be replaced eventually? How long do they generally last on the genesis? Replacing a ball and screw is not cost prohibitive but the linear motors sounds like it would be. Wouldn't that be the life of a genesis machine?

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Comatose

#81225

Life Expectancy | 13 October, 2018

Maintenance on the lightning heads is extremely minimal, especially compared to the absolute mess that is flexjet. They just go.

Also, you can replace a whole spindle with a new one for something like $700, it only takes a couple minutes and you don't have to recalibrate. But, in five years with lightning heads, and a total of 300 spindles going, I've not had to replace one yet.

My first GSM had 80 million picks on a four spindle single head when I bought it. It lived a good 20 years before it was too obsolete to get repair parts for. (I block, OS/2)

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Reckless

#81227

Life Expectancy | 14 October, 2018

You are making me jealous! Will be on the lookout for lightening head next. Do you recommend genesis or advantis? My SMT operator prefers the genesis, but my pocket is scared of the linear motors going out.

FYI I have 2 of those OS2 GSMs.

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SMT Division

#81230

Life Expectancy | 15 October, 2018

@Reckless on GI14 machine, we have around 90k picks per week. About maintenance I rly can not say, since I'm head of programming and not maintenance. But as far as I know

GI14 is rly complex just as @Comatose said, but it is much different then GC60. Anyways we have 2 advantis machines AC30 and AX72, and if you ask me I would choose Genesis machine above Advantis anytime. I rly like VRM motors, they are smooth, fast, and I still never heard of any problem about them (from ours and the other companies)

Also we have 10+ GSM FJ and FH machines (1 or 2 heads) but they are out of use. They are so simple, there is not many things that can break or be a problem on them.

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Reckless

#81231

Life Expectancy | 15 October, 2018

Thanks for responding. Which one do you like better GI14 or GC60? I agree with you that VRM motors are better.

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SMT Division

#81232

Life Expectancy | 15 October, 2018

Well it's hard to compare these 2 machines. GC60 is chip shooter with high throughput, and GI14 is for more complex component, especially in our case, we use it with Magellan camera on one side for big and complex components.

Just as any other manufacturer or machine, both have good and bad sides, it's just your decision which machine suits your production better.

Best Regards

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Evtimov

#81237

Life Expectancy | 15 October, 2018

Linear motors will live longer than the machine will. There is no friction, so unless you crash the machine that bad to damage one of them, I don't see that happening.

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Comatose

#81240

Life Expectancy | 15 October, 2018

I'd look for one of the Advantis machines made after Universal moved production of them back from China to New York, if one that fits your needs exists. Especially with a used chipshooter machine, ball screws will eventually wear out, linear motors won't.

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