Surface Mount Assembly in High Volume Manufacturing

This paper reports on the planning, introduction, and implementation of surface mount technology (SMT) for printed circuit board assembly at Convergent Technologies. It is written from the production personnel's view‐point. The report starts with a brief history of the company, describes its dynamic environment, outlines the factors that led to the decision to implement SMT and provides the time‐frame for said implementation. With this background the paper then deals at length with design and manufacturing issues and questions that arose during this undertaking. The report concludes with a summary that outlines the benefits and concerns of SMT and highlights the future trends for this technology.