Process-level Insert Pick and Place Options

The Pick and Place process provides the following setup options:

Manual or Robotic Loading

Insert Pick and Place operations can be performed either manually or robotically (see Machine Selection for Insert Pick and Place). By default in starting point Digital Factories, the loading method is Manual. Administrators can customize the default with the cost model variable loadManualOrRobotic.

With this setup option, users can override the default on a per-part basis, and specify one of the following:

  • 3-axis: loading is performed by a 3-axis robot.

  • 6-axis: loading is performed by a 6-axis robot.

  • Manual: loading is performed manually.

Number of Operators

By default, the number of Insert Pick and Place operators is specified by the machine property Number of Operators. With this setup option, users can override the default and specify a different number of operators, including a fractional number of operators.

For manual loading (see Manual or Robotic Loading), increasing or decreasing the number of operators is assumed to speed up or slow down (respectively) the placing of inserts. That is, labor time is independent of number of operators, and process time is inversely proportional to the number of operators (see Insert Pick and Place Process Formulas).