History
Over twenty-five years’ experience
In the early eighties, a project team at Philips, one of the world’s largest private investors in Research & Development, was asked to design an advanced SMD placement machine. This machine placed up to half a million components per hour (around 100x faster than competitive machines, and with 10x lower cost of placement). It was so successful that a new business was born and with it, a new company: Assembléon.
Innovation partnerships with key industry players have enabled us to develop a complete range of integrated solutions, designed and built around proven Pick & Place platforms. In 1987 a separate Compact Surface Mounter (CSM) department was set up to concentrate on product development together with Yamaha. The CSM Pick & Place solutions were an immediate success.
In 1995 the FCM was launched as the world’s fastest machine at 60,000 cph. It used nozzles in the placement heads instead of pipettes. The FCM met the needs of the global electronics boom driven by PCs and mobile phones, which were produced by non-Japanese companies and therefore more open to Assembléon.
By the mid-nineties market conditions changed again. Multinational companies were centralizing their process developments, meaning SMT equipment was being specified at one location for use in all their factories worldwide. Assembléon responded by creating Global Key Account Management.
In 1997 the TriScan was launched. A station positioned between the solder paste screen printer and Pick & Place machine to check solder height, this machine was ahead of its time.
In 2003 the AX-5 and AX-3 were launched as modular systems for capacity on demand, with scaleable line output while maintaining the highest accuracy.
The Yamaha X-Series (Opal XII, Topaz XII and Emerald XII) was launched in 2004 as a cost-effective, all-in-one solution for small and medium batch, high product mix environments.
In 2005 the Yamaha M-Series (MG-1, MG-2 and MG-8) was launched as a range of optimized solutions for manufacturing flexibility in medium and large batch, high product mix environments. These solutions handle complex components and odd forms with equal ease, at placement rates up to 40,000 components per hour.
The AX-301, AX-501 and AX-201, the A-Series, were launched in 2006 for medium and large batch production and high product mix environments. Complex and odd-form components can be placed with high accuracy, and placement rates are up to 11,000 components per hour.
In 2006/2007 Installed Base Solutions and Assembléon Manufacturing Suite (AMS) were introduced. AMS was launched to streamline integration of Assembléon solutions in factory automation systems. Installed Base Solutions was set up as a Business Line to provide customers with continuous performance improvement and ongoing operational cost reduction.
Yet once again Assembléon finds itself in a changing situation, with a product that is still technologically superior in a hugely competitive market. Today, we are making a transition from being a specialist equipment supplier to a fully integrated, tailor-made solutions provider to keep customers at the competitive edge, now and in the future.
