The main reasons are: the complexity of these machines' operation, the high cost of the tooling, and a lack of knowledge or understanding of the tooling's design rules—all this, coupled with the fact that they are specialized machines requiring skilled operators for constant monitoring and to ensure their proper functioning. Therefore, in the past, production volume was the only way to recoup the investment necessary to justify in-house tape manufacturing.
While the price of pre-engineered tape appears to have reached its lowest point, determined by material costs, manufacturer processes, and the expense of shipping engineered tape worldwide, these costs can be significantly reduced by producing tape in-house. The cost reduction and the flexibility to produce the exact quantity of tape needed for each application further reduce costs, inventory levels, space requirements, and waste.
Adaptsys has addressed these issues and is now pleased to announce the launch of the “Re-flex® ~ On-Demand Tape” system. Re-flex® has been designed to meet three key requirements: 1. The ability to produce both simple and complex carrier tape with highly accurate “P1” positioning; 2. Easy setup, operation, and tool changes by unskilled workers; and 3. Full quality inspection and complete traceability of every formed cavity.
In addition to standard conductive tape production on reels, Re-flex® is unique in its ability to directly supply tape to a tape and reel system, providing tape on demand. This feature can improve productivity on existing tape and reel machines by at least 10 times by reducing changeover times from once per hour to once per shift. Other benefits include less operator intervention and significant reductions in material costs and waste.
Furthermore, Re-flex® utilizes a revolutionary tool change process that allows customers to switch from one tool type to another in a matter of minutes, including hardware changes, software configuration, and heater warm-up time. This makes Re-Flex, the only conductive tape forming machine flexible enough to operate at low-to-medium volumes with frequent tool changes, ideal for the European business model.
To operate Re-flex®, all you need is compressed air, a standard AC power outlet, and a surface area of just 75cm x 35cm.
All these features, and many more, are covered by Re-flex® patents.
