Universal Instruments at Nepcon Shanghai - 1B05

This is the booth of a global brand comfortable in a local environment - Universal Instruments has developed a Chinese business in China and as a result is enjoying success here.

The Universal booth is on the ground floor of the West Hall, a building that on the outside sports a Universal Instruments banner that covers much of the front of the building.  Immediately you are aware of how serious Universal takes this show and indeed the region that it serves. 

On visiting the booth and talking to the staff it is clear that Universal has more than a passing interest in China.  It is not a company that has just climbed on a band-wagon, on the contrary, it has been active in China for more than ten years and has built a company here.  Universal Instruments is the Chinese, it has a Chinese business, with power devolved to Chinese management.  Management who understand the local culture, know the local customers and understand the local challenges.  Only by doing this can Universal provide them with the right solutions, be that in terms of equipment, laboratory support or after sales service.

Once again it has shown its commitment to this region with a substantial show presence and a substantial number of machines on display.

Booth highlights:

Universal Instruments demonstrates the flexibility, scalability, and cost of ownership advantages of the platform concept driving its AdVantis(TM) and GSM Genesis® Platform placement machines.  Rounding out Universal's portfolio of manufacturing solutions is the Polaris Assembly Cell for end-of-line and odd-form assembly, and powerful Dimensions(TM) software for machine and line level management.  Optima Plus complete line planning and process support services are also being presented, showing how customers can minimize the risks involved in near and long term capability planning.

The AdVantis and GSM Genesis platforms are present at Universal's booth, allowing visitors to experience the performance of both LightningTM and FlexJet head options.  Class-leading performance from Lightning-equipped platforms, with 30-spindles per head and integrated productivity features, delivers placement rates up to 54,000 cph spec speed for Genesis, and 30,000 cph for AdVantis.

Visitors to the booth can also sample new Dimensions manufacturing management software capabilities, including New Product Introduction (NPI), which streamlines factory floor tasks for prototyping, first article build and high mix specialists.  The Dimensions workstation, demonstrated on the booth, shows how the extreme performance of Universal's flexible platform placement machines combines with powerful software tools to maximize throughput, utilization, and return on investment.  Dimensions is now available in just two combined hardware and software modules, which are easily fitted to the line and are operated via an easy-to-use graphical interface.  The Dimensions Line Programming box includes all the features necessary to quickly generate optimized machine programs. The Dimensions Line Control box provides tools for managing the line in real-time, including changeover assistance, performance monitoring, feeder management assistance, and on-board error recovery.
 
With the imperative to automate as many assembly operations as possible, Universal's compact yet scalable Polaris Assembly Cell is certainly a product of its time. Incorporating the precision placement expertise built up over generations of SMT placement equipment, combined with standard tool interfaces and a range of advanced handling systems, a single Polaris Assembly Cell can perform several processes, including pick and place, screw driving and glue dispense, for example. Capabilities and throughput are therefore easily scalable, simply by adding an extra assembly cell.

Universal's Optima Plus offering, the ultimate full-line solution, will also capture the imagination of assemblers requiring the bandwidth and specialist skills to think strategically while also focusing on immediate goals. Optima Plus takes the effort and risk out of identifying best in class equipment, assessing capability, compatibility and interoperability. Using the expertise of Universal's in-house manufacturing specialists, Optima Plus matches individual customer requirements to the best equipment on the market, and is also able to build in flexibility and scalability to adapt to plans for the future.

The Universal booth has been busy every time I have passed it today and yesterday, clearly its commitment and equipment is proving to the liking of local and international visitors alike.