From Efficiency to Sustainability: Incap’s Strategic Move to Advanced SMT Machinery in the UK

Upgrading for the future

Being a contract manufacturer, Incap must be flexible and offer a variety of technical features to fully support their customers’ requirements and stay competitive in the market. Manufacturing with efficient state-of-the-art production equipment to deliver the best production quality is just one aspect. Profitability, resource efficiency, and energy efficiency are also major factors. Monitoring machines, materials, and production in real-time increases overall operational efficiency and reduces the environmental impact of the company. 

In early 2024, Incap upgraded its first production line with two Panasonic AM100 placement machines and the latest fully automated high-precision solder screen printer, the NPM-GPL. 

The all-in-one AM100 stands out as a premier solution due to its exceptional reliability, capacity, and flexibility, all while maintaining cost-efficiency. This scalable, high-mix SMT solution is designed to meet the evolving demands of modern production environments. With just one machine, manufacturers can initiate production, and as needs grow, additional units or technologies can be seamlessly integrated.

The NPM-GP/L, part of Panasonic's latest G-Series and autonomous factory concept, exemplifies high-quality printing that adapts to changes in the 5M (man, machine, material, method, and measurement). It boasts a remarkable printing repeatability, ensuring consistent precision. Additionally, it supports automated model changeover to streamline the transition between different production runs and in-time machine monitoring to minimize downtime. The fully automated printing process significantly increases production uptime and ensures the production of non-defective items, thereby maximizing Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).

Delivering advantages

Additionally, the new production machinery offers energy efficiency, the capability to produce larger PCBs up to 510x460 mm, as well as enhanced screen-printing accuracy, including paste traceability and inspection quality. The increased overall efficiency and optimized material allocation and control, including full traceability of materials and optimized resource and stock allocation, are vital assets for Incap’s modern production environment, aligning with their goals of sustainability, quality, and efficiency.

Trusted partner for the future

While upgrading the first line has already paid off, the second line will be upgraded later this year using identical advanced machinery and software. This strategic update is designed to ensure each stage is optimized before continuing expansions.

The enhancements will enable improved data acquisition capabilities, combining cutting-edge Industry 4.0 architecture for advanced interfacing with future ERP systems. The use of intelligent technologies is instrumental in achieving these improvements and opens new opportunities. Incap’s ongoing collaboration with Panasonic to upgrade technology to new levels of operational excellence reinforces Incap’s strong position in the electronic manufacturing industry.