PCB factory: more attention should be paid to the stability of the process in the era of rapid change

PCB factory: more attention should be paid to the stability of the process in the era of rapid change

The business model and so on are changing, and these changes also profoundly affect the operation of circuit board enterprises. With the introduction of ERP system and MES system, circuit board enterprises have changed the operation mode of circuit board manufacturers. The response time of circuit board factories to customer needs has become faster and faster, and the operation efficiency of factories has also been improved rapidly, with less inventory and faster capital turnover cycle. At the same time, customers have also put forward more and more strict demands on us.

Customers' technical requirements and manufacturing technology for circuit boards are also developing rapidly. However, the way in which customers first design and then hand over to the circuit board factory for production has not changed. Therefore, in order to obtain circuit boards that meet the requirements of technical specifications, large international and domestic PCB customers need to conduct quality system audit (QSR) for circuit board enterprises that want to order. PCB proofing can only be carried out after passing the QSR, After the completion of the circuit board enterprise's sample production, the sample shall be submitted, the customer shall evaluate the sample, and the small batch shall be issued after approval. This process can be completed in half a year or one year, forming a business relationship.

The core of QSR is to assess the process capability level and quality management level of circuit board enterprises, improve their ability to cope with higher technical requirements, and whether the process control is stable and controlled. Therefore, no matter how the outside world changes, how innovative the management method is, how to control the process, and maintain the stability of the process, products with the expected quality level can be produced, and the delivered products can meet customers' needs for delivery date and quality.

In response to the changing needs of the technical parameters of the customer's samples, the circuit board enterprise has a special person or a team composed of several people responsible for the sample production, and has developed a new product (NPI) process. After receiving the customer's samples, the enterprise first organizes the cross department team to hold an APQP meeting to identify the special characteristics of the product and study the initial process capability index (Ppk) of the special characteristics of the product, The process failure mode (PFMEA) method is applied to study the control method of special characteristics, and finally the control plan (CP) for the sample production is obtained. After the sample is completed, the PFMEA and CP are summarized, revised, and submitted to the manufacturing department for implementation.

The manufacturing department is faced with the same production line, and different products have different operating parameters. Therefore, in order to deal with rapidly changing new products, the following requirements are very important:

1、 The engineers who follow up the samples have deep technological skills and grasp the quality management tools.

2、 APQP meeting shall be organized before the sample production to accurately identify the special characteristics of the customer's new products (it is required to combine the process capability level of the factory), study Ppk and complete the control plan (CP).

3、 Summarize and revise the control plan (CP) after the completion of new product production.

4、 Hand over the manufacturing parameters of new products to the Manufacturing Department.

5、 The personnel of the Manufacturing Department have strong process knowledge, and have a certain understanding of the tools and methods of quality management.

6、 The personnel of the factory are relatively stable, and a perfect training mechanism has been established. If some factories implement the Employee Job Function Appraisal Form, it is easy to understand the situation of employees in each position who have mastered the skills of their own posts and the abilities that need to be improved.

In this way, we can ensure that different products have different control methods and control parameters. These control methods and control parameters are controlled, that is, controlled processes, so as to ensure that new products delivered to customers meet the quality requirements of customers. Therefore, in the era of rapid change, more attention should be paid to the stability of the process. Only by doing so, can PCB companies gain customer recognition and order business in the fierce competitive environment.