Festo_Technology Plant

Scharnhausen Technology Plant: At the customer’s request/Electronics

cess itself takes place in what’s known as the reflow oven. In order

to ensure exceptional product quality every time, all modules pass

through optical and electrical test procedures consisting of several

stages The specialists for electronics manufacturing check and

optimise the whole production process with the aid of innovative

methods It can be seamlessly tracked for every assembly

Valuable warehouse

A sophisticated warehouse system accommodates the sensitive

SMT components It works using a shuttle principle, by which the

required electronic elements can be quickly retrieved A former lift

shaft, which the Festo automation experts fitted as an automated

warehouse with robot handling, is ideal for accommodation pur-

poses The valuable components are monitored with infrared cam-

eras and are therefore protected against fire and the effects of

water

Many products simply wouldn’t exist without electronics In the

Technology Plant, 200 employees produce complex electronic

assemblies and products on an area covering 6,000 square metres

2 5 million of them are produced each year for use at the company

itself The areas responsible for further processing receive either

complete assemblies in the housing or mounted circuit boards

Fully mounted

At Festo, circuit boards are manufactured using the latest produc-

tion and soldering methods This includes the smallest electronic

SMT components (surface-mounted technology) and powerful

microprocessors with over 500 connection pins They are pro-

cessed on four fully automated production lines: Firstly a paste

printer applies the soldering paste wafer thin onto a blank circuit

board Several high-performance mounters then place the neces-

sary electronic elements to an accuracy of hundredths of a millime-

tre – for instance resistors, diodes or capacitors The soldering pro-

Electronics – elementary component

Circuit boards and sub-assemblies are produced

for the company’s own applications and as products for

customers: added value thanks to electronics

Maria-Cristina Muntean-Galiu, electronics flat assemblies production

»I mount, assemble and test circuit boards on different

machines Even 15 years ago, when I came to Germany,

I wanted to go to Festo I have been working at the

company for over three years The atmosphere in the

Technology Plant is great: each individual is appreci-

ated, we are always able to learn more and we are

often informed by our line managers «

Annual performance

• Hundreds of millions of SMT components

• Several million flat and final assemblies

• Hundreds of types