Las Vegas, NV — Optimal Electronics Corporation, a global provider of innovative software solutions for the control and optimization of the electronics assembly process, will introduce the new Optel Lean/NXT product in booth 2147 at the APEX 2008 exhibition in Las Vegas, NV.

Developed by the innovators who created the award-winning Optel™ MES Software suite for Lean electronics assembly, Optel Lean/NXT is a standalone solution that unlocks the potential of the Fuji NXT Scalable SMT placement platform.

The highly modular Fuji NXT machines can be configured in large numbers of modules to reduce manufacturing cycle time. This unique architecture can be very powerful, yet it also presents several challenges to realize their full benefit, including more frequent replenishments and replication of part numbers across modules. Optel Lean/NXT unlocks their potential and delivers the throughput and control customers expect from their NXT investment.

Optel Lean/NXT communicates in real-time with the Fuji NXT modules using the Fuji Open Interface. It downloads program data directly from Fuji Flexa and provides complete control and monitoring of the Fuji NXT line. The operator interacts with the intuitive screen to verify proper setup, receive advanced notice of pending replenishment of feeders, see excess scrap warnings on a given feeder/slot, and view important machine performance indicators. Features include automatic setup verification, component cycle counting, component level traceability for each reference designator, downloading and saving machine performance information, real-time scrap data collection, support for reel splicing, and much more. Options include MSD (Moisture Sensitive Device) tracking, electronic Kanban support, and duty-cycle based feeder management.

A graphical machine performance “dashboard” screen is also provided, allowing supervisors to monitor machine performance in real time. Pie charts display machine utilization and the various aspects contributing to the total time for each machine. Bar charts are used to report minimum and maximum cycle times per module. Stacked bar charts are also used to report component placements and errors per module, and double-clicking a bar will display a bar chart for each slot in the module and each nozzle on the module head.

“Optel Lean/NXT was developed based on numerous customer requests for a strong verification and traceability solution for the popular Fuji NXT placement machine,” said Doug Norton, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “In addition to making it robust and graphical, we also wanted to make this module self contained, such that there were no dependencies on outside servers, databases, MRP systems, etc. A side benefit is that it is easy for customers to install themselves and supports quick evaluations of the product worldwide.”

Optel Lean/NXT is available immediately.