Motorola Corporation

Eric J Gasmann

Kevin L Kent

Joseph R Kane

Ranvir Singh Solanki

John Kivlin

Edward P Griffin

Andrew M Gantt

A method for manufacturing an electronic device includes placing a plurality of components on a printed wiring board (,), detecting a defect in a component (,) and, in response, producing a defect indication including a defect location on the printed wiring board. Subsequently, additional components are placed on the printed wiring board (,) but placement of all additional components having a location which has a predetermined relation with the defect location is suspended. The defective printed wiring board may then be repaired by a technician who subsequently places the additional components over the defect location. This reduces the need to apply a large amount of heat to the printed wiring board to remove subsequently placed components such as radio frequency shields. This further reduces the possibility of additional defects occurring during repair.

Automatic defect detection and generation of control code for subsequent defect repair on an assembly line

An assembly machine (10) has a plurality of slots (22) each of which hold a feeder (24) containing a component reel (30). The assembly machine (10) automatically assembles a printed circuit board from these components. When a changeover occurs the assembly machine (10) determines which components need to be added (104), which need to be removed and which can be moved (106). The assembly machine (10) then instructs an operator to first perform all the remove operations, then to perform all the move operations and last to perform all the add operations. A combination of scanning a component ID (32) and a feeder ID (32) verifies the correct component is placed on the appropriate reel (30). The location of reel (30) among the slots (22) is verified by a proximity sensor (28).

Method of and apparatus for changing a production setup

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Round Lake Beach, IL, United States of America

Eric J Gasmann