Development of a semi-automated workcell for repair of printed circuit boards

A system which is being developed by the US Army for the repair of through-hole printed circuit boards is described. It is composed of many automated and operator-assisted functions to perform the multiple operations related to replacement of failed components. When completed, this system will demonstrate economic payback by reducing skilled labor requirements and decreasing rework. The semiautomated system integrates human operators into the process while maintaining high productivity. After several fully automated systems were conceived and modeled, it was found that the configuration that provided the best return on investment comprised a mix of autonomous and operator-assisted functions