A New Approach to Meet New Demands - Automotive Components Innovator Scales Supply with Re-flex II
The Challenge
Sometimes the old ways are not the best. A new project can demand a fresh approach capable of handling greater scale and enabling significantly increased productivity. This is the conundrum Mário Da Costa Martins & Filho (MCM), a successful supplier of specialist automotive parts based in Portugal, faced at the beginning of its latest mission.
The industry’s standard practice is for suppliers of small components to deliver products in carrier tape on reels. Parts delivered this way are easy to handle, ready immediately for automated feeding into placement equipment, and the tape is easy to dispose of and recyclable after use.
“We wanted to retain these familiar advantages of carrier tape and reels. However, we had an exciting opportunity with a new customer to supply specialist components in unprecedented volume, we needed a new and more scalable solution, so we approached V-TEK, our trusted partner for taping and reeling solutions, to see how they could help.”
A New Approach to Meet New Demands
V-TEK International proposed to upgrade MCM’s existing taping system with the faster and more highly automated TM500 system, which can place and seal components in pocket tape at up to 2000 parts per hour. MCM arranged to meet V-TEK to discuss the project in depth at a trade show. It was at this event that they met Adaptsys, which supplies tapes and taping solutions and works closely with V-TEK throughout Europe.
Adaptsys presented Re-flex II, explaining how to produce formed tape on-demand, cost effectively, to exacting requirements and consistently high quality. Adaptsys’ demonstration convinced MCM that it was time to part with the old ways.
“We had anticipated working with a supply of pre-formed pocket tape, on reels loaded on the TM500, for packaging our finished components prior to shipping. Re-flex II completely changed the plan, showing how we could increase output and productivity while also gaining greater control over our processes and supply chain.”
On-demand Vs Pre-formed
Re-flex II is an affordable thermo-forming system that lets users form their own carrier tape on-demand, to either standard or custom dimensions, at high speed and with high repeatability. All that’s needed is a supply of flat tape and the system’s tooling can be setup to make the desired pocket form. Re-flex II creates pocketed tape at up to four metres per minute, directly into any taping process.
“The speed is more than fast enough for the TM500 to tape and seal components at the rate we need and we can make tape with pockets of any size and shape, on demand, we saw immediately that we could save expenditure compared to buying pre-formed tape.”
For most users, the cost saving is enough to deliver a return on the initial investment in Re-flex II within as little as 6 months. However, the time MCM has saved by eliminating stoppages to load new pre-formed tape are even more valuable. In contrast, Re-flex II can be setup with a standard reel containing up to 1500 metres of flat, un-pocketed tape.
“We needed an unusually deep pocket size to house our new automotive components, and a standard reel can carry only about 15 metres of pre-formed tape. The TM500 quickly consumes this when working at full speed. We would be stopping every few minutes to change the reel. By taking flat tape off the reel into the Re-flex II to form pockets, and then feeding the pocketed tape directly into the TM500, we can operate continuously for much longer between changeovers, this has increased our production line productivity by 300%.”
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System Setup and Integration
V-TEK and Adaptsys have established a strong connection to support customers in the region and combined their efforts to install and integrate the TM500 and Re-flex II systems. The two systems interact intelligently to coordinate the pocket-forming and component-taping operations. If taping has to stop for any reason, the Re-flex II automatically pauses until the issue is cleared. As soon as the taping system is ready to restart, the Re-flex II resumes tape forming.
The Re-flex II installation and commissioning procedure is very straightforward and intuitive, and MCM was able to set up, integrate and operate the system easily with minimal support from Adaptsys. This included introductory training for MCM’s staff. Adaptsys continues to provide technical support as well as handling the supply of flat tape on reels to meet MCM’s pocket-forming and taping requirements.
Conclusion
Re-flex II has given MCM the flexibility to thermo-form tape on demand, to feed directly into the TM500 taper or to be stored on reels if required for later use. Having made the investment to handle this one specific project, the company can now make its own tape for any subsequent requirement including emergency projects, proof of concept work, and to handle unexpected fluctuations in demand. In any situation, Re-flex II enables a fast turnaround to delight the customer.
“With Re-flex II we are enjoying greater productivity, lower costs, and increased control over inventory and operations. There are also benefits that are visible to our customers, including faster response time and increased quality. In this case, the new way is clearly better.”
About Re-flex II
Re-flex II is the solution for In-line, On-Demand Tape Forming. The system enhances the productivity of modern production environments and reduces the need to store bulky pre-formed tape. In addition to efficiently producing standard pockets, Re-flex II can create an infinite number of pocket forms, making it ideal for many industries such as Automotive, Semiconductor, Medical & Life Science, Aerospace & Defence, Metal Stamping, Electronics & Connectors.
Take the first step to scaling your companies supply, visit www.reflex-odt.com for more information and download the datasheet now.