The present disclosure relates to the subject matters contained in Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-173185 filed on Aug. 23, 2013, which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention relates to a component mounting method in a component mounting system formed by connection of plural component mounting apparatuses that mount an electronic component onto a substrate.
A component mounting system that mounts an electronic component onto a substrate to produce a component-mounted substrate is formed by connection of plural component mounting apparatuses. In each component mounting apparatus, component mounting work for picking up an electronic component from a part feeder provided in a component supply section and for feeding and mounting the picked up electronic component onto the substrate is repeatedly executed. While the component mounting work is being continuously executed, component replenishment work for replenishing new electronic components to the part feeder at a timing when the components are consumed and leads to component shortage is repeatedly executed. If the component replenishment work is not executed in a timely manner, the apparatus should stop due to the component shortage. Thus, in order to execute the component replenishment work at an appropriate timing, for example, a method for notifying an occurrence time of component shortage predicted by a simulation has been used (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
In a related art example disclosed in Patent Document 1, component shortage is notified in advance according to component consumption information acquired at each sampling time during the component mounting work and a component supply condition. Further, in a related art example disclosed in Patent Document 2, when assigning a worker to execute component replenishment according an advance notification of component shortage, the worker is preferentially assigned, among component mounting machines that form a component mounting system, to a component mounting machine that has the longest cycle time and thus forms a bottleneck in the system.
In the related art including the above-mentioned examples disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, there may be a problem in that, with respect to the component mounting system formed by connection of the plural component mounting apparatuses, it may be difficult to execute the component replenishment work in a timely manner without occurrence of the apparatus stoppage due to component shortage. That is, when the component mounting system is continuously operated, the component shortage may simultaneously occur in the plural component mounting apparatuses. In this case, even though the component shortage is notified in advance for each component mounting apparatus as in the above-mentioned related art examples, the appropriate execution of the component replenishment work is not necessarily guaranteed. For example, when the number of the workers that execute the component replenishment work is limited, even though the component mounting apparatus that forms the bottleneck is preferentially set as a work target, the component shortage may occur in a different component mounting apparatus according to situations such as preparation of a component to be replenished, which may cause the apparatus to stop. Further, it is actually difficult to leave an appropriate necessary countermeasure for the simultaneous occurrence of the component shortage to worker's determination. As a result, the frequency of unexpected apparatus stops increases, which leads to a decrease in productivity.
An advantage of some aspects of the embodiment of the invention is to provide a component mounting method capable of preventing an apparatus stoppage due to simultaneous occurrence of component shortage in a component mounting system formed by connection of plural component mounting apparatuses.
According to the embodiment of the invention, there is provided a component mounting method of performing component mounting work of picking up, in a component mounting system formed by connection of a plurality of component mounting apparatuses that mount an electronic component onto a substrate, the electronic component from a part feeder disposed in a component supply section of each component mounting apparatus and of feeding and mounting the picked-up electronic component onto the substrate, the method including: a component mounting process of executing the component mounting work in the plurality of component mounting apparatuses; a component shortage prediction process of predicting a component shortage timing when a component replenishment is necessary due to consumption of the electronic component in each part feeder, during the execution of the component mounting work; and a component replenishment process of executing the component replenishment with respect to the part feeder based on the component shortage timing that is predicted and notified, wherein it is determined whether a component shortage simultaneous occurrence in which the predicted component shortage timings belong to the same time zone in the plurality of component mounting apparatuses and the component replenishment is necessary in the same time zone with respect to the plurality of component mounting apparatuses is present or not, and wherein when the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is determined to be present, the component shortage timing is moved up by a predetermined move-up time in any one of the plurality of component mounting apparatuses relating to the component shortage simultaneous occurrence and notified.
According to the embodiment, during the component mounting work for predicting the component shortage timing when the component replenishment is necessary due to the consumption of the electronic components in each part feeder in the plural component mounting apparatuses and for executing the component replenishment with respect to the part feeder based on the predicted and notified component shortage timing, it is determined whether the component shortage simultaneous occurrence in which the predicted component shortage timings belong to the same time zone in the plural component mounting apparatuses and the component replenishment is necessary in the same time zone with respect to the plural component mounting apparatuses is present or not. Further, if the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is determined to be present, the component shortage timing is moved up by the predetermined move-up time in any one of the plural component mounting apparatuses relating to the component shortage simultaneous occurrence and notified. Thus, it is possible to prevent the apparatus stoppage due to the component shortage simultaneous occurrence in the component mounting system formed by connection of the plural component mounting apparatuses.
A general configuration that implements the various features of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate embodiments of the invention and should not limit the scope of the invention.
Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a component mounting system will be described with reference to
Next, a configuration of the component mounting apparatuses M2 to M4 will be described with reference to
In one side end portion of an upper surface of the base 5 in the X direction, a Y-axis moving table 10 provided with a linear drive mechanism is disposed. Further, two X-axis moving tables 11 similarly provided with a linear drive mechanism are coupled to the Y-axis moving table 10 to be movable in the Y direction. Amounting head 12 is mounted to each of the two X-axis moving tables 11 to be movable in the X direction. The mounting head 12 is a multi transfer head provided with plural holding heads 12a. As shown in
As the Y-axis moving table 10 and the X-axis moving table 11 are driven, the mounting heads 12 move in the X direction and the Y direction. Thus, each of the two mounting heads 12 picks up the electronic component from the component adsorbing position of the tape feeder 8 disposed in each component supply section 7 using the adsorbing nozzle 12b and feeds and mounts the picked-up electronic component into a mounting point of the substrate 4 positioned in the substrate transport mechanism 6. The Y-axis moving table 10, the X-axis moving table 11, and the mounting heads 12 form a component mounting mechanism 13 that picks up the electronic component by adsorbing and holding the electronic component from the component supply section 7 using the adsorbing nozzle 12b and feeds and mounts the picked-up electronic component onto the substrate 4.
A component recognition camera 9 is disposed between the component supply section 7 and the substrate transport mechanism 6. When the mounting head 12 that picks up the electronic component from the component supply section 7 moves above the component recognition camera 9, the component recognition camera 9 images the electronic component held by the mounting head 12 for recognition. A substrate recognition camera 14 that is disposed on the side of a lower surface of the X-axis moving table 11 and moves integrally with the mounting head 12 is mounted to each mounting head 12. As the mounting head 12 moves, the substrate recognition camera 14 moves above the substrate 4 positioned in the substrate transport mechanism 6, and images the substrate 4 for recognition. In a component mounting operation with respect to the substrate 4 using the mounting head 12, a mounting position correction is performed in consideration of the recognition result of the electronic component using the component recognition camera 9 and the substrate recognition result using the substrate recognition camera 14.
As shown in
Next, a configuration of a control system of the component mounting system 1 will be described with reference to
While the component mounting work is being executed, a process of detecting a production state in the component mounting apparatus is executed by a production state detecting section 24 based on an operation monitoring function of the mounting control section 20. The production state detecting section 24 has a production state detection function such as a component remaining number calculation function, a tact time detection function, a component consumption rate detection function, and a component shortage timing calculation function, and the detection result is stored in the storage section 21 in real time as production state detection data 23 including remaining component number data 23a, component consumption rate data 23b, component shortage timing data 23c, and tact time data 23d.
The remaining component number data 23a refers to data indicating the number of remaining components in each tape feeder 8, and the component consumption rate data 23b refers to data indicating a component consumption rate, that is, the number of consumed components per unit time in each tape feeder 8. Further, the component shortage timing data 23c refers to data that is derived from the remaining component number and the component consumption rate to predict a timing when the component shortage occurs in the tape feeder (see
The recognition processing section 25 recognizes the imaging results of the component recognition camera 9 and the substrate recognition camera 14. Thus, identification and position detection of the electronic component held by the mounting head 12 are performed, and the position of the substrate 4 held by the substrate transport mechanism 6 is detected. When feeding and mounting the electronic component using the mounting head 12, a position correction of the component mounting point is performed in consideration of these recognition results.
An operation and input section 26 is an input device such as a touch panel switch or a ten key switch provided in an operation panel, through which an input operation for data input or operation command input is performed. A notifying section 27 is notification means such as a display panel or an alarm light, which performs notification for a predetermined item that should be notified to an operator. This notification includes notification of a component shortage timing when the component shortage occurrence is predicted in any tape feeder 8 of the component supply section 7 or a component shortage simultaneous occurrence alarm indicating that the component shortage simultaneously occurs in the plural component mounting apparatuses. Further, these respective sections are connected to the host system 3 through a communicating section 28 that is an interface and the communication network 2, so that signal transmission and reception between the component mounting apparatuses M2 to M4 and the host system 3 is performed.
The host system 3 includes an overall control section 30, a storage section 31, a component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoiding section 35, and a communicating section 36. The overall control section 30 manages the respective apparatuses that form the component mounting system 1 based on a processing program or data stored in the storage section 31. In the storage section 31, production data 32, line tact data 33, and production state detection data 34 are stored. The production data 32 refers to data for execution of production work for the component mounting in each component mounting apparatus, that is, the component mounting work, and includes feeder disposal data for regulation of the disposal of the tape feeders 8 in the component supply section 7 of each component mounting apparatus, as shown in
A feeder address 7a (a1, a2, a3 . . . ) that specifies the mounting position of the tape feeder 8 in the component supply section 7 is set in the feeder base 15a of the cart 15 set in the component supply section 7. Further, a component type Sa (A, B, C . . . ) indicating the type of the electronic component supplied by the tape feeder 8 allocated to the feeder address 7a is provided corresponding to the feeder address 7a where the tape feeder 8 is disposed based on the feeder disposal data. In the component mounting work, as the feeder address 7a corresponding to the component type 8a to be mounted is designated, the tape feeder 8 that is a component pick-up target is specified.
In the disposal of the tape feeders 8 in the feeder base 15a, the tape feeders 8 are not necessarily allocated to all the feeder addresses 7a. As shown in
The line tact data 33 regulates a line tact that is a reference tact time in operation of the mounting line that forms the component mounting system 1, that is, the component mounting apparatuses M2 to M4. As shown in
In the component mounting apparatuses M3 and M4, the tact times T2 and T3 are set to be shorter than the line tact TL by a spare time T*. In the present embodiment, in order to prevent disturbance of the component replenishment work due to the component shortage simultaneous occurrence of the tape feeder 8 in the plural component mounting apparatuses, a component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoidance process to be described later is performed to adjust the component shortage timing using the spare time T*.
The production state detection data 34 is obtained by storing the production state detection data 23 obtained in the component mounting apparatuses M2 to M4 for each apparatus in real time. The component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoiding section 35 performs a process of selectively executing an operation for avoiding a situation where the predicted component shortage timing simultaneously occurs in the plural component mounting apparatuses, based on the component shortage timing data 23c detected by the production state detecting section 24 of each component mounting apparatus. The communicating section 36 that is the interface performs signal transmission and reception between the host system 3 and the component mounting apparatuses M2 to M4 through the communication network 2.
Next, the data content of the component shortage timing data 23c and the function of the component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoiding section 35 will be described with reference to
An index (i) given to each O mark in a time series order specifies each component shortage timing. That is, component shortage timings (1) to (11) represent the component shortage that is predicted to occur in the component mounting apparatus M2 in a time series order. Similarly, component shortage timings (12) to (17) and component shortage timings (18) to (21) represent the component shortage that occurs in the component mounting apparatuses M3 and M4 in a time series order.
In the configuration in which the plural component mounting apparatuses are disposed in series as in the component mounting system 1, there is a tendency that a micro component such as a chip component is preferentially mounted and thus the component mounting apparatus that mounts a large component is disposed on a downstream side. Thus, as shown in
At these component shortage timings (i), two component shortage timings (3) and (18) are predicted to occur at close timings (simultaneous occurrence timing t1), and two component shortage timings (4) and (13) are similarly predicted to occur at close timings (simultaneous occurrence timing t2).
Here, the component shortage simultaneous occurrence represents a situation where the predicted plural component shortage timings (i) and (j) belong to the same time zone defined by a predetermined time width δt in the plural component mounting apparatuses and the component replenishment is necessary at the same time zone with respect to the plural component mounting apparatuses as a target, as shown in
Similarly, at subsequent simultaneous occurrence timings t3 and t4, two component shortage timings (7) and (14) and three component shortage timings (9), (16), and (20) are predicted to simultaneously occur at close timings, and at simultaneous occurrence timings t5 and t6, two component shortage timings (10) and (17) and component shortage timings (11) and (21) are predicted to simultaneously occur at close timings.
If the above-described component shortage simultaneous occurrence frequently occurs in the component mounting system 1 in which the plural component mounting apparatuses are connected, it is difficult to appropriately handle timely component replenishment work by a limited number of operators, which may cause the apparatus stoppage. Thus, in the present embodiment, in order to avoid the component shortage simultaneous occurrence as much as possible, the process for avoiding the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is selected and executed by the function of the component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoiding section 35.
That is, as shown in
Hereinafter, in the component mounting system 1 having the above-described configuration, a component mounting method for performing the component mounting work executed in the component mounting apparatuses M2 to M4 will be described. Here, the above-described component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoidance process executed during the component mounting work will be described with reference to the flows of
First, a main flow of the component mounting work will be described with reference to
That is, the processes shown in the above-described steps include a component mounting process of executing the component mounting work in the plural component mounting apparatuses M2 to M4, a component shortage prediction process of predicting the component shortage timing when the component replenishment is necessary due to the consumption of the electronic component in each tape feeder 8 during the execution of the component mounting work, and a component replenishment process of executing the component replenishment with respect to the corresponding tape feeder 8 based on the predicted and notified component shortage timing.
Then, the following process steps are executed by the processing function of the component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoiding section 35 of the host system 3 based on the component shortage timing data 23c indicating the component shortage timing predicted in step ST4. First, it is determined whether the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is present or not between the plural component mounting apparatuses (step ST6). That is, it is determined whether or not the predicted component shortage timings belong to the same time zone in the component mounting apparatuses M2 to M4 and the component replenishment is necessary at the same time zone with respect to the component mounting apparatuses M2 to M4 (step ST6). Here, if it is determined that the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is not present, the procedure returns to step ST3, and then, the monitoring of the component consumption state is continuously executed. Further, if it is determined that the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is present, the component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoidance process to be described in
Then, it is determined whether or not the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is avoidable by the component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoidance process (step ST8). Here, if it is determined that the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is avoidable, the procedure proceeds to a continuous production for continuously executing the component mounting work (step ST10). Further, if it is determined that the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is not avoidable, a component shortage simultaneous occurrence alarm is given (step ST9), and then, the procedure proceeds to the continuous production (step ST10). Then, after a predetermined amount of production is finished, the component mounting work is ended.
Next, details of the component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoidance process executed in step ST7 will be described. First, the component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoidance process based on a component shortage timing move-up notification will be described with reference to
In
Further, if it is determined in step ST 12 that the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is not avoidable, it is determined whether the component mounting apparatus that is an avoidance process target is the bottleneck apparatus having the longest tact time (step ST13). Here, if it is determined that the component mounting apparatus is not the bottleneck apparatus, the procedure proceeds to the component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoidance process based on the tact time adjustment using the spare time T* shown in
Here, the second move-up time is set to be longer than the first move-up time, which is effective in view of the avoidance of the component shortage simultaneous occurrence. However, it is not preferable that the move-up is allowed to be unlimited in view of the original purpose of a preliminary notice of the component shortage timing. Thus, in the present embodiment, an upper limit value is set for the second move-up time.
Then, under the condition that the notification of the component shortage timing is moved up as described above, it is determined whether the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is avoidable (step ST16). Here, if it is determined that the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is avoidable, the procedure proceeds to the continuous production for continuously executing the component mounting work (step ST19). Further, if it is determined in step ST12 that the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is not avoidable, it is determined whether the second move-up time is smaller than the predetermined upper limit value (step ST17). If it is determined that the second move-up time is smaller than the upper limit value, the procedure returns to step ST12, and then, a longer second move-up time is set. Further, if it is determined that the second move-up time in step ST17 exceeds the upper limit value, it is determined that the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is not possible any more. Then, the component shortage simultaneous occurrence alarm is given (step ST18), and then, the procedure proceeds to the continuous production (step ST19). That is, in the component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoidance process shown in
Next, details of the component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoidance process based on the tact time adjustment executed in step ST14 will be described with reference to
Here, this component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoidance process is applied to a case where a simultaneous adsorption in which the mounting head 12 adsorbs and holds the electronic components by the plural adsorbing nozzles 12b in a unit mounting turn in which the mounting head 12 reciprocates between the component supply section 7 and the substrate 4 according to the component mounting operation is employed in the component mounting apparatus that is the avoidance process target. That is, this component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoidance process is applied to a case where the simultaneous adsorption in which the plural (here, two) tape feeders 8 of the same component type disposed in the component supply section 7 are disposed with a disposal pitch that is the same as the pitch of the holding heads 12a of the mounting head 12 and two electronic components of the same component type are capable of being picked up by the same adsorbing operation from two tape feeders 8 using these two holding heads 12a is employed, as shown in
In
Further, if it is determined in step ST 21 that the tact time is within the predetermined line tact TL, the adsorption method of the corresponding electronic component is changed to the individual adsorption (step ST22). That is, as shown in
That is, in the component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoidance process shown in
Specifically, in the component mounting apparatus that is the simultaneous occurrence avoidance process target, when the electronic component relating to the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is the simultaneous adsorption target in execution of the simultaneous adsorption for picking up the plural electronic components of the same component type from the plural tape feeders 8 in the same mounting turn in which the electronic component is picked up from the component supply section 7 and is fed and mounted onto the substrate 4 by the mounting head 12, the simultaneous adsorption is not executed, and the electronic component is continuously picked up from one of the plural tape feeders 8, so that the consumption rate of the electronic component relating to the component shortage occurrence is increased.
Next, details of the component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoidance process based on the tact time adjustment using the substitute feeder executed in step ST 24 will be described with reference to
In
Further, if it is determined in step ST 31 that the tact time is within the predetermined line tact TL, the supply of the corresponding electronic component is changed to be performed by the substitute feeder (step ST32). That is, the electronic component is picked up from the tape feeder 8 disposed in the original feeder disposal space 7b, and in addition, the electronic component is also picked up from the substitute feeder 8* disposed in advance in the extra space 7c shown in
In the example shown in
That is, in the component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoidance process shown in
Next, details of the component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoidance process based on the tact time adjustment for changing the work operation speed and/or the substrate transport timing executed in step ST 34 will be described with reference to
In
Here, if it is determined that the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is avoidable, the procedure proceeds to a continuous production for continuously executing the component mounting work (step ST47). Further, if it is determined in step ST 40 that the tact time is not smaller than or equal to the line tact TL, and if it is determined in step ST 42 that the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is not avoidable, the procedure proceeds to a timing adjustment based on delay of the substrate transport timing as follows.
Here, first, with respect to the component mounting apparatus that is the simultaneous occurrence avoidance process target, it is determined whether the tact time is smaller than or equal to the predetermined line tact TL (see
Here, if it is determined that the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is avoidable, the procedure proceeds to the continuous production for continuously executing the component mounting work (step ST47). Further, if it is determined in step ST43 that the tact time is not smaller than or equal to the predetermined line tact TL, and if it is determined in step ST45 that the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is not avoidable, the component shortage simultaneous occurrence alarm is given (step ST46), and then, the procedure proceeds to the continuous production (step ST47).
As described above, in the component mounting method according to the present embodiment, during the component mounting work for predicting the component shortage timing when the component replenishment is necessary due to the consumption of the electronic component in each part feeder of the plural component mounting apparatuses and for executing the component replenishment with respect to the corresponding part feeder based on the predicted and notified component shortage timing, it is determined whether the component shortage simultaneous occurrence in which the predicted component shortage timings belong to the same time zone in the plural component mounting apparatuses and the component replenishment is necessary in the same time zone with respect to the plural component mounting apparatuses is present.
Further, if it is determined that the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is present, the component shortage simultaneous occurrence avoidance process is selectively executed according to the characteristics or conditions of the component mounting apparatus, as follows. That is, any one of the method of moving up and the notification of the component shortage timing by the predetermined move-up time to avoid the component shortage simultaneous occurrence, the method of increasing the consumption rate of the electronic component relating to the component shortage occurrence in the component mounting apparatus to avoid the component shortage simultaneous occurrence, and the method of reducing the consumption rate of the electronic component relating to the component shortage occurrence to avoid the component shortage simultaneous occurrence is executed. Thus, it is possible to prevent the apparatus stoppage due to the component shortage simultaneous occurrence in the component mounting system formed by connection of the plural component mounting apparatuses.
In the present embodiment, the tape feeder that pitch-feeds the carrier tape that holds the components is shown as an example of the part feeder, but an application target of the invention is not limited to the tape feeder and may also be applied to other types of component supply devices such as a bulk feeder.
The component mounting method according to the invention has the effect capable of preventing an apparatus stoppage due to component shortage simultaneous occurrence in a component mounting system formed by connection of plural component mounting apparatuses, and is useful in a component mounting field where a component picked up from a part feeder disposed in a component supply section is fed and mounted onto a substrate.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2013-173185 | Aug 2013 | JP | national |