Efficient operation methods for a component placement machine using the patterns on printed circuit boards

Operation of a PCB assembler is complicated to optimise since it requires simultaneous consideration of a component's rack assignment and component mounting sequencing. However, most previous researches considered the constraints separately on the optimisation process. Two different methods using special features on printed circuit boards are developed and presented in this research. Based on results from field surveys, it is found that identical components are positioned closely with each other or identical single boards are repeatedly printed on one big board to enlarge up to a proper size to be assembled in the machine. These patterns are adapted on the design of assembly methods to increase productivity. Simulation models are constructed using Visual C++ for performance evaluation purposes of the developed heuristics.