ACDi Adopts Koh Young Automated Inspection for Electronics Manufacturing Excellence

July 23, 2024

ACDi Adopts Koh Young Automated Inspection for Electronics Manufacturing Excellence

The following article is used with permission from Koh Young Technology

Unlock the secrets of excellence in electronics manufacturing with Garret Maxson, Steve Bell, and Dennis Yaschenko from ACDi, as we explore the transformative power of automated inspection and their hugely successful partnership with Koh Young.
• Discover why ACDi chose Koh Young’s innovative technology to uphold their rigorous quality standards and how this decision has reshaped their operations across multiple facilities to a data-driven focused EMS. This case study underscores the importance of maintaining excellence in an industry where the tiny details make a big difference.
• Learn how the synergy between Koh Young’s equipment and ACDi’s foresight is propelling them to new heights, ensuring they remain leaders in a fast-paced, ever-evolving technological landscape. From detailed insights into their quality control processes to the strategic advantages of data analytics, this discussion is an eye-opener for anyone passionate about the future of electronics manufacturing.

Garret Maxson joined ACDi (American Computer Development, Inc.) as a PCB designer over a decade ago and has risen through the ranks to become their Vice President of Operations, with a focus on building a business that is driven by data and digital intelligence. In the time he has been with the company, it too has grown adding new facilities, most recently the acquisition of a fourth facility, this time in Kilmarnock, Virginia.

Garrett oversees all four manufacturing locations located in Maryland, North Carolina, Connecticut and now Virginia. Garret explains, “we first engaged with Koh Young back in 2017 when we evaluated a number of different equipment manufacturers. A couple of competitors placed equipment on our floor for evaluation before we ultimately decided to move forward with Koh Young.”

Garret elaborates stating, “it was a pretty clear-cut decision for us, and from there the support, training, and relationships have just grown.” Garret went on to say, “you can buy the best machine in the world, but if the operators can’t run it, you’re not going to get the full benefit from it. I think that’s where Koh Young excels. Between on-site installation and training, we’ve sent personnel down to their facility to receive factory training there. And we bring Koh Young in for supplemental training, as needed for new operators. All up, our manufacturing engineers have communication with their field service and application engineers, whenever necessary.”

In the early part of 2024 ACDi invested in five additional machines across three facilities and among those machines was the 23,000th machine shipped by Koh Young. The Koh Young team and ACDi were delighted to celebrate this momentous event at ACDi’s headquarters in Frederick, Maryland.

Performance and Traceability Have Improved

Steve Bell is the Director of Quality at ACDi, he states, “SPI and AOI are critically important parts of our quality control program.” Adding “with part sizes getting smaller and densities increasing all the time, we must rely on automated inspection. The Koh Young equipment is a critical way we ensure that the product built is as it was designed.”

Steve also told us, “the earlier you can catch a problem, the better. So, when the guys get the SPI report and they see a little problem here or there, they can adjust it before we’re populating any boards, and that’s the best time to catch it.”

Steve concluded, “anecdotally from the guys on the shop floor, things are only getting better, and we haven’t even fully utilized all the capabilities of the equipment yet.” On the topic of traceability, Steve added, “we must make sure that we keep all our records for build, from the BOM to the work orders and everything else for 10 years. If there is a problem, it’s nice to have pictures from the AOI machine to reference. You know the part was populated, but sometimes a part gets knocked off when they’re going through a process at the customer’s facility, and they might say something like ‘R15 is missing’. But with the Koh Young equipment we can go back, and we can use the image to show that R15 was there, and that the solder joints looked really good.”

Getting The Team Trained

Garret believes that “while the training piece has really been a huge benefit from our Koh Young relationship, now that we’re ten machines across three locations, we’re a data-driven organization. The KSMART platform’s ability to review that the analytics and statistical process control data out of the machines across the company sites really has moved us forward as an organization, as a quality-driven, data-driven organization.”

Dennis Yaschenko is a junior manufacturing engineer at ACDi and handles the SPI (solder paste inspection) and AOI (automated optical inspection) machine programming. He said that “Koh Young’s automated programming helps to speed up the process and simplifies the programming portion of his work.”

These impressions from users and those in quality who are directly affected by the performance of the equipment are hugely important and provide valuable insight into why the equipment is the most popular in the market today.

Building on a Strategic Partnership and a Standardized Platform

Garret shares his view that, “the fact we’ve standardized Koh Young as our platform inspection equipment provider across all our locations provides additional collaboration opportunities. The Koh Young machines have offline tools like the review station and programming. We can flex production capacity easier, move products between facilities and our engineering teams can work together and talk through challenges they’ve seen with inspecting boards or different packages. It really has moved us forward.”

Great Equipment from a Great Company

Looking at the holistic business proposition, Garret concludes there are many factors separating Koh Young from its competitors. He shares his view that “Koh Young is constantly improving their products and we’ve seen that in the six years we’ve been engaged with them as a partner. The strides they’ve made, both in the solder paste inspection, the automated optical inspection, and the reinvestment they’re making in the R&D space, tells us that it’s a partnership that, as the industry evolves, so does our partnership with Koh Young.”

He ends saying, “If you’re not constantly reinvesting, growing with the technology, you’re going to get left behind, and ACDi and Koh Young are on the leading edge of that race to stay in front.”

ACDi recently ordered the 23,000th machine from Koh Young, a Zenith Alpha HS+ True 3D AOI machine.

You can watch a video version of this case study at https://youtu.be/8AKwdlmnNk4. Additionally, you can watch an interview with ACDi Founder & CEO Bill Hornbaker at https://youtu.be/Tj0__3Jg-9E?si=eB6Lw1teL2YDDcpp and one with Garret Maxson, VP Operations at https://youtu.be/A1NM_X2e5f8?si=9oy_fvnR5-7PY-lJ

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