Are you a production or project manager of an OEM company or EMS service provider faced with the task of selecting a suitable rework system for professional SMD rework? In order to find the right solution that fits your individual requirements profile, there are numerous questions that should be addressed in advanced. This is especially important when taking into account the overwhelming market offerings.
As part of the evaluation, typical questions to consider include:
Why do you want to make an equipment investment? Is it a large individual project with consistent requirements or do you anticipate small, diverse projects with various components, substrates and materials?
Do you need a rework system with appropriate flexibility to keep all options open? Of course, technological considerations play a role, the keyword is future-proofing.
What market trends can you expect, which components/groups, substrate sizes and materials are you confronted with, which process specifications are you subject to?
The choice of the optimal heating technology is only the first of many decisions to be made.
An increasingly important issue is overall traceability and traceability of processes. If you want to be able to respond to your customers’ questions, such as methodology used and how often a printed circuit board has been reworked, comprehensive documentation options are a must.
For large companies, central process development is also crucial. Can repair processes be set up once and then used throughout the company? Can it be ensured that the same results are reliably achieved on all systems?
Last but not least, there is the issue of possible internal resistance. At the end of the day, your operators must be comfortable and proficient working with the system, so ease-of-use and training are to be rated accordingly.
In order to understand the multitude of options on the market, it is best to assess in advance which type of rework system is ideally suited to your production or project requirements. This checklist, developed together with rework customers from different industries, outlines considerations for selecting your future system.
