GPS World, September 2013

THE BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL OEM FOUR SMT LINES continuously assemble inspect and test printed circuit boards JAVAD EMS Brings High Tech Manufacturing Back Home I n 2009 Javad Ashjaee joked with his vice president Gary Walker that if together they could build a manufacturing facility that met his requirements and made him happy then they would have the for mula to meet the most rigorous demands of any original equipment manufacturer in the market Purchasing a 40000 square foot building in San Jose they constructed a full service contract electronics manufacturer JAVAD EMS that today turns out products for customers in defense aerospace communications networking industrial and yes even global navigation and positioning Silicon Valley is Back to Build trumpets a steel and glass banner above the reception desk appealing to U S companies that once outsourced production to Asia but are now bringing it all back home JAVAD GNSS never sent its own production off shore in the first place so it now benefits from other companies re evaluation of their manufacturing strategies Overseas costs once attractive but now less so are the leading factor in the reversing trend Wage inflation particularly in China has augmented quality and safety concerns misgivings about economic political issues and overseas skills shortages for highly technical manufacturing processes Companies increasingly focus on quality and customer service as differentiators both are better controlled locally JAVAD EMS JEMS focuses on low to medium vol ume highmix applications for custom ers seeking prototype through volume production from a single source Its facility houses four continuous flow surface mount technology lines with 10 Juki machines that can place more than 2 million components per day The machines can perform prototype runs or produce quantity in quality at high speeds JEMS has invested in equipment and manufacturing execution software MES to build quality into product from the start The plant uses 3 D solder paste inspec tion after screen printing on every board it produces whether a five piece prototype or a multi thousandpiece production run After reflow all products go through optical inspection and X ray inspection The systems are very flexible allowing for diverse complex products with quick changeovers A comprehensive MES system generates and distributes assembly documentation to the floor in a paperless format Operators and production staff access documents via touch screens throughout the factory This provides the capability for seamless transfer of information anywhere on the production floor and for the customer traceability through every stage of the process Test is also a key component of JEMSs overall capabilities The plant supports test for various RF technologies including GPS receivers and antenna 2 watt 35 watt and 100 watt radio modems including narrow band and spread spectrum Testing is automated through the use of Labview software and GPIB interface Flying head probe testing and in circuit testing capability is also supported as well as complete functional testing of products prior to shipment The plant has received ISO9001 ISO13485 and AS9100 certifications In 2010 JEMS produced 60000 printed circuit board assemblies rising to 135000 and then to 215000 in 2012 IN LINE automated 3D solder paste inspection GPS World September 2013 www gpsworld com 32