Contract Manufacturer JJS Electronics Ltd. has purchased a DEK Horizon 03i screen printing platform, continuing the company’s longstanding relationship with the mass imaging leader. The purchase was motivated by the platform’s ability to future-proof manufacturing operations, as JJS looks to meet the demands of business growth today and tomorrow.

JJS is currently enjoying growing success with its ‘best of both worlds’ strategy, a pioneering business model that unites the benefits of an offshore manufacturing facility and the security of working with a UK company. Following a comprehensive evaluation process and feasibility study to select a new print platform to accommodate recent success, JJS selected DEK’s Horizon 03i because it was configurable and adaptable – critical factors in today’s modern manufacturing environment. The platform also appealed to the EMS specialist because it was the only cost-efficient technology offering line scan paste inspection, thanks to the addition of HawkEye® print verification technology.

JJS SMT Production & Planning Manager, Frazer Hayton, explains: “We’ve worked with DEK for many years now, which is why we immediately considered them when looking to enhance our manufacturing capacity. Delivering equipment of the highest quality, they have always offered us excellent support and specialist knowledge in the field of screen printing. Horizon’s inherent flexibility was fundamental to our final decision since we were able to configure the machine precisely around our needs. Plus, we can upgrade it in line with our production challenges into the future.”

Horizon 03i delivers a minimum core cycle time of just twelve seconds for a best-in-class performance. Standard features include process alignment capability of 2 Cpk @ +/-25 microns 6-Sigma, full size stencil frame capability of 29 x 29 inches, an active printing area of 20 x 20 inches and a tooling table ready to accept board support options. Equipped with DEK’s award-winning HawkEye high-speed print verification technology, the platform uses streamed images to quickly record pass/fail indications for each board. This means that JJS can use HawkEye to effectively verify an extensive number of sites on 100% of printed boards – all at the line beat rate – to uphold their quality commitment as they respond to business growth.

Frazer concludes: “I’m extremely pleased with the performance of the DEK platform; it’s living up to our expectations and the service & support we have experienced has been great – as it has been previously with other DEK products we have purchased. I am confident that DEK will continue to support us into the future with evolving processes and technology advance; we’re looking forward to the continuation of this valuable working partnership!”