The nuts and bolts of quality control will also be reinforced by machine intelligence. In Epoch’s plan, much of the factory floor quality control that is currently done manually will be performed by automated systems. For example on the SMT line, we have already invested in Solder Paste inspection and Automatic Optical Inspection equipment. The data is taken from these machines, integrate it into a database. Then the information is sent to various stations for real-time analysis. Plans are also in place to use X-ray machines to inspect BGA failures.
Beyond the automation front, our efforts towards vastly increasing data collection will, in our view, open a new frontier for Epoch’s quality control efforts. Product failure statistics will be generated on the factory floor and analyzed in real time. Data collection and analytics will also allow us to create a material expiration control system, perform predictive maintenance, and generate a comprehensive factory health index.
the process of introducing a tooling tracking system, production planning & productivity data transparency, and material information sharing.