Kitting Control and Setup Control to Reduce Component Waste in Electronics Manufacturing

Put simply, you need to have a system in place to make sure none of your materials get used incorrectly during production. To do this, and to ensure you have the right material in the right place at the right time, you’ll want to automate the management of your materials as much as possible.

One area fraught with the possibility for material mismanagement is the kitting process. Considering most PCBAs today use hundreds of different components, kitting the materials for a production run can be both arduous and time consuming – and in a fast-paced environment like electronics manufacturing, if the kitting process isn’t controlled and managed properly, it can expose a manufacturer to a variety of opportunities for waste.

With Cogiscan’s Kitting Control module, Operators are precisely guided through the material picking process with a detailed Kit List for each job listing exactly where the components are located, how many are needed for the scheduled job, and where they need to be loaded. Whether the components are sitting on stock room shelves, or within an intelligent storage tower, the kit list will define the precise location.

As every factory runs a bit differently, this Kitting Module allows for custom-defined rules based on inventory consumption preferences. For example, a manufacturer can setup the system to pull materials based on FIFO rules, or to consume partial reels first, or to select and kit reels that have enough components to get through that entire job in order to maximize line productivity and reduce material replenishment time. You have the freedom to customize the kitting preferences based on your current production environment.

Learn more about Kitting Control in our latest webinar:

Accurate kitting is only half of the equation to ensure the right materials are selected and ready for production – the other major factor is the actual setup of materials and machines. With Cogiscan’s Setup Control module, manufacturers can verify that all the right elements are being used correctly – this includes validation of components, tooling, and consumables as well as the machine program.

And instead of waiting until the job is on the SMT line running, manufacturers can verify accurate setup in the offline setting. So, if there is an error found in the setup configuration by the system, it can be corrected before being released to the line.

We understand the critical need to ensure the utmost accuracy of all elements on your production floor – today more than ever, it’s paramount that products get built correctly the first time. Automating the management of your materials – through accurate kitting and setup control – are two effective and simple ways to guarantee the best usage of all materials during production.

Eager to learn more and explore how Cogiscan’s kitting control and setup control modules can help you take better control of the materials in your factory, connect with an expert today. We’d love to chat with you about your unique requirements!