What do skilled assembly workers do in electronic manufacturing? Like many electronic manufacturing service (EMS) providers in the USA, Z-AXIS focuses on high-mix production and relies on a combination of automation and skilled manual labor to create products for our clients. Here are just a few of the skilled assembly jobs at Z-AXIS, an electronics contract manufacturer near Rochester, NY.
- A number of jobs support the automated pick-and-place lines for surface mount technology (SMT) board production, including setup and change-over between jobs, kitting the parts needed for each job, maintaining stencils and other assets, and monitoring the process.
- A robotic system for selective soldering needs skilled workers to prepare the work in the fixtures and clean and inspect the boards after soldering.
- Hand-soldering is needed for parts such as connector wires that are not practical to solder by machine. The wires are often pre-tinned to improve soldering. Z-AXIS provides training in soldering, and re-certification every two years.
- Assembly workers insert through-hole components into mixed-technology boards, do parts prep such as straightening and trimming component leads for insertion, and monitor the wave solder.
- Cable assemblies can require a number of manual steps, such as stripping insulation, tinning, trimming and gaging, attaching connectors, and injection molding for over-molded strain relief.
- PCB assemblies can get a conformal coating, requiring a skilled worker to use the robotic system or apply a coating manually.
- Workers can create components, program components, and assemble boards and other components into complete products as part of a box build service.
- In addition to assembly tasks, skilled workers perform a lot of in-process testing and inspection for quality and process control. These include electrical tests, dimensional measurements, visual inspection, and automated optical inspection.
- Finally, people are needed in supporting roles like packing, shipping and receiving.
At Z-AXIS, manufacturing workers and are cross-trained in many tasks, so they can find the right job for their skills or satisfy a desire for variety in their work.
Electronics manufacturing skilled assembly work is a career for people with dexterity, attention to detail, and a strong desire to produce high-quality products for a variety of customers.