Imagine for example, combining active die components, WLCSPs, uBGAs and passive SMDs with its interconnecting media such as solder paste and flux into a substrate. It will require series of processes that could consume certain length of time and multiple equipment utilization before it can be completed.

 

 

What if after the assembly of the prototype, the product exhibited electrical failure due to material problem or because of poor assembly, another cycle of evaluation run ensued until it achieved acceptable result. Hence, the NPI will take time and could spell success if the prototype making is shorter and shows good performance result or failure if the product time-to-market became too long due repeated problem. This paper is going to present the simplification of assembly by reducing the multiple component attachment, by combining different types of component into one assembly cell and reducing assembly failure due to trial and error assembly scheme.

 

Concept to Realization

 

 

I want more functions:

 

Listen to music

Watch video

Play games

Read email

Use as map

Etc…

What should I do:

 

New design concept

New product development

New product introduction

New process development

Qualify materials

Prototypes

Assembly & Test

What do I need:

 

ICs with more functions

Powerful processors

Smaller size components

High performance components

 

Discussion

 

Established NPI process is essential to the development of new packages and products. Hereinafter is a breakdown of its benefits, the reason of its complexity and its challenges.

 

Benefits of having NPI

 

It enables to establish common ideas, understanding and objectives

It helps organize the tasks, exposes challenges and limitations, defines targets and responsibilities and set milestones

It provides management visibility and tracks progress of activities

Complexity

 

Usually driven by research & development group but involves multiple departments and task groups

Requires cross-functional team from R&D, Engineering, Production, Quality and Purchasing and Logistics

11

 

Challenges

 

People have different ideas and motivations. People itself are complex enough.

Procedures and steps are tedious and complicated

Sample making and prototyping equipment are not always readily available

Making It Simple

 

As in any process and operation, making the NPI procedure as simple as possible is a desirable prospect. So here are the underlying factors that can be considered when efforts are required to be implemented.

 

Personnel

 

Assign a project manager who will define the scope of work, assign resources and coordinate activities among the CFT

Do not change it over the period of the project. Allow all the people involve to have the necessary time to focus and concentrate to fulfill the targets as well as minimize overloading of assignment

System and Procedures

 

Use a known and effective system built within the organization

Supplement it with available NPI management tools (PACE, Stage-Gate, PTC PDS, etc)

Equipment – here is the thing when it gets more challenging. Prior exploring how to simplify NPI in terms of machine side, there are things that can be considered to be critical.

 

Note: Most of the time, First Article Build (FAB) is the critical point.

 

Why FAB is the Critical Point

 

This is where and when the actual assembly is going to be done

Equipment for sample build is not always available

Different type of component may require different machine

First set up always takes a lot of time

This is where the waste mostly occurred because of trial and error

Low yield is always expected on the first batches of sample

Concept of NPI Solutions

 

Having one Pick and Place platform machine that can handle various types of component attach with NPI software is our solution….Because powerful NPI solutions accelerate production.

 

This is the cycle of NPI process:

 

The steps in NPI solutions are presented in the below process flow:

 

Aspects of NPI Solution

 

Machine-side NPI: Achieve a production ready first pass yield

 

Dynamic Production Editing means no tape boards required – no waste

Simple, menu-driven process for new users

Get products into production quickly, efficiently, and effectively

Create and tune feeder, placement, fiducial, and component information quickly and easily

Debug placement problems

Reduce scrap and repair costs