Interview with optical control Todd O’Neil
optical control is part of the elsysko group, sister company of elektron systeme, a full-service EMS company in Weißenohe, Bavaria Germany and has 160 employees, four SMT lines, and two through-hole lines. The company was founded in 2009 and in 2011, optical control was formed as a sales and service organization for the OC-SCAN®CCX (component counter X-ray) products. In 2017, Optical Control Americas was started. We recently caught up with Todd O’Neil, Vice President of Business Development, to find out more about optical control, its global growth and success, and how 2019 is looking for the company.
Todd, for those unfamiliar with optical control, can you please tell us a little about what your company does and where it is headquartered?
Our company focuses solely on development and manufacturing of an X-ray component counting machine. All of our focus goes into this one product, giving us a key advantage. Our company is based out of Weißenohe, Germany, but we have established locations in the United States.
We understand that optical control recently launched a North American division, Optical Control Americas. Is this a direct result of growth in this region? To what do you attribute this growth? What is your role in this new division?
We are still in the process of finalizing Optical Control Americas, but it is coming. Absolutely it is a result of the growth we have experienced here. Initially, we thought it would take about three years to get to this level but the response has been incredible. We have a great product and the best reps in the industry and, together, we have all done a great job. Ultimately, howver, the product speaks for itself. My role was to take a product that was somewhat of an unknown in all areas except Germany and a few other European countries, and globalize it. We began in the United States, but soon after we hired my counterpart in Asia, and the growth there has increased significantly as well.
Has the recent growth resulted in an expanded distributor network in the United States?
Luckily, since I’ve been in this industry a long time, I’ve been able to work with some of the best reps in the industry. All of my reps carry only “best in industry” products. As our reputation grows, I hear from more sales reps that would like to carry our product. Since the beginning of 2019, we have added three new rep companies.
Congratulations on winning an industry award for the OC-SCAN®CCX.3 component counter. What makes this technology award winning?
There are obviously other machines out there; however, we were the first to make this technology. We do things differently, resulting in key advantages. First, our sister company is an EMS company. Why is this important? Well, we have four SMT lines. We run our counter in real-life production during a three shift per day/five day work week. The reason this is so important and a key advantage is simple. We have thousands and thousands of reels that go through our machine. Nobody else can say this. Nobody is going to invest millions of dollars in inventory for testing this type of machine. We don’t have to because it’s part of our daily routine. Ultimately, this results in us having the most robust algorithms compared to any other solution. We do not require a library and rely simply on logical algorithms.
Why is it so important today to know exact inventory numbers?
Keeping SMT lines running is the bottom line and the driving factor for exact inventory control. The world is automating everything. Parts of our industry such as board feeding, screen printing, AOI, pick-and-place and reflow have been automated for years but inventory management and control have fallen behind. Suddenly, however, there is high demand to automate and control this process. You may have the best line techs and equipment in the industry, but if you don’t have components, it’s meaningless. Automating inventory management solves this issue.
Also, the popularity of inventory storage units along with our component counters is at an all time high. Previously, you would purchase components, manually enter the quantity into your ERP system, and then put them away. When that component was needed, it would be removed from inventory, set up on feeders, sent to production, and then returned to inventory. The problem was that there was so much handling in between each process and only “sometimes”, counting would be involved in this process. Often, only the so-called “important” or “expensive” components were counted because there was not enough time to count 100 percent of them. Even though some components were being counted at factories, it was extremely slow and inaccurate. It could take 3-5 minutes to count an average reel and even up to 8-10 minutes to count a reel of 50,000 01005s. The main objective of inventory control is to keep the lines running, so imagine if you have a reel of components that you believe has 100 remaning and you need 92, but in reality there are only 80, what happens? The line stops. Production stops. People scramble. Maybe you need to scrap boards, solder paste, etc. You may need to order parts overnight, which is expensive and, with today’s parts shortages, you may end up waiting, and possibly even delaying shipments to customers. This is why it is important to know exact inventory numbers and why inventory management should be a key part to success, equally important to the rest of the SMT line.
We are hearing more and more about the importance of “smart factories” and Industry 4.0. Are optical control’s products Industry 4.0 capable? How so?
Absolutely. Our component counter can be a standalone unit with no communication to anything, but it also can be a standalone unit that is completely tied into factory ERP systems and storage units via software. We can communicate with just about any type of software that a factory may use. We are already communicating with other software packages, and other equipment. Additionally, the machine can be completely automated whether it be with a programmable robot handling system, trolleys, conveyors, or an AGV that can drive to/from the machine. It all depends on how much automation the customer wants. All of the above is also a big part of traceablity which is increasingly important.
Can you please tell our readers how your component counting technology outperforms the competition’s? What makes them better?
We are very different from any other company and, naturally, we feel we can outperform any other machine. As I mentioned previously, we use logical algorithms. Our machine requires NO libraries or programming. It is truly a “plug and play” machine. When our technicians install a machine, the procedure is simple: Uncrate it. Install the touchscreen monitor, barcode reader and label printer, and then plug into a standard 110v outlet. All machines are FDA certified and we perform a radiation test at start up, and then start loading reels. That’s it. You can start counting as soon as the machine turns on, and you won’t have to program anything, or tell the machine which types of components are on the reels because the machine does not care. At the most recent IPC APEX Expo, several companies brought unknown components, and loaded their own reels and some odd-shaped components into our demo machine with no issues. Many visitors told us that we were the only ones to count these parts. For example, one company brought plastic cases with random parts inside. We did not open the cases. We simply put them in the machine, pressed go and counted them. They weren’t on a reel, and we had no idea what they were. In 10 seconds, without telling the machine anything, we had the results. We were the only company that could do this.
Our machine is also extremely fast. The latest update to our CCX.3 allows you to put any type of component in the machine and 10 seconds later the results will be on the screen. It could be a 7” reel, 13” reel, 17” reel, 1 JEDEC tray, 3 JEDEC trays, 1 component tube or 20 component tubes. It will always be 10 seconds. The only time the machine will go to 12 seonds is when running four 7” reels simultaneously. It also makes no difference if a reel has 100 components, or 50,000 components. The results will be ready in 10 seconds.
Many people think, “It’s a counter, they all do the same thing.” While there is some truth to this, our design and operation are very different. The performance is great but we also are able to use a much lower powered X-ray tube, and turn it on for just over 1 second, resulting in much less exposure to sensitive components.
Which industry segment is your largest customer (e.g. electronics manufacturing, mil/aero, medical, etc.)? Has it always been this way or has the focus shifted? If it has shifted, why?
We work with anyone that builds electronics and has pick-and-place machines. All of these machines use components. All of these components need to be counted. This means all OEMs and CMs are potential customers. However, we have been very successful with military and aviation because of the design of our machine. The lower amount of radiation exposure to the components is important to them. In reality, most components are not a concern but anything that is programmable or used in aviation or military, radiation limits must be taken into consideration.
How has 2019 been so far for optical control? Do you anticipate growth this year?
2019 started where 2018 left off. We have a popular product in a popular segment. We fully expect a high percentage of growth this year, not only in the United States but globally. The word is out that we have something special.
What is your outlook for the next five years’ growth? What strategy/ies will you follow to meet this growth goal?
Components keep getting smaller, and we are already testing them. We will continue with our algorithm advancements and will stay ahead of our customers’ needs. Completing simple automation is what we are continuously working toward so we will continue the development of simplified automation including full integration into other products.
What do you want the industry to know most about optical control?
We are a company that focuses on one thing: counting components. We don’t have a repertoire of products. We have a counter and since we are an EMS company, there is nonstop research and development using our own component inventory. We are the best in the industry and we offer an easy, reliable solution for an exact and controllable inventory. We keep lines running.