Universal Instruments FuzionXC placement machine helps SEL improve production capacity and efficiency

The multifunctional and high-yield placement machine eliminates the line change process and increases production capacity by 30%.

As a leading global manufacturer of power system electronics, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) has added six Fuzion series placement machines to its manufacturing plant in the northwest United States to reduce line change processes and improve efficiency. The machines include the FuzionXC™ platform with a large number of feeder stations, which has increased production capacity by 30%.

SEL specializes in the design, production, supply and support of power system protection, monitoring, control, automation, communication and measurement for the power industry, with four factories across the U.S. This time, six chip placement machines were added to its production facility in Lewiston, Idaho, in the northwest, including one FuzionXC2-37™, three Fuzion2-60™, one Fuzion2-14™ and one Fuzion1-11™, and integrated into the existing production line.

FuzionXC2-37 placement machine With up to 272 8mm feeder stations, the largest number in the industry, it can handle a variety of products at the same time, supporting components ranging in size from 01005 to 150 square millimeters and 25 mm high, including press-fit parts, connectors, micro BGAs, bare chips, package stacking and plug-ins.

"Because FuzionXC has more feeder stations, it greatly reduces major line changeovers and makes the production process smoother," said Justin White, SEL Engineering Manager. "For our high-mix production line, this is a considerable advantage. We can use the flexibility of FuzionXC to share the processes of upstream and downstream platforms, balance the workload of each line, and increase production by 30%."

SEL's products and solutions play a key role in every aspect of the power system, from power plants to end users. Many products incorporate new and cutting-edge technologies invented, designed, and manufactured by SEL. As a vertically integrated company, SEL has a long-standing partnership with Universal Instruments.

Among the four manufacturing plants in the United States, SEL has installed four production lines in the Lewiston plant and plans to add another one; there are five production lines in the Pullman, Washington plant. SEL uses a variety of equipment from Universal Instruments, including placement machines, radial and axial insertion machines, and special-shaped automated assembly equipment to meet its high-mix and high-volume production requirements.

"We have worked with SEL for many years and their engineers are first-rate and can use barcodes to achieve seamless line changeovers on high-mix production lines. However, the FuzionXC placement machine can still push their high-mix productivity to a higher level," said Kevin Clue, General Manager of North American Operations for Universal Instruments. "Many of our high-mix customers have found that they can greatly improve equipment utilization after adopting the FuzionXC placement machine to reduce line changeovers. The FuzionXC also allows SEL to assemble complex components, which led the company to adopt Universal Instruments' placement solutions more than ten years ago."