■ Volume Production Defects Arise from Combined Factors
The TIM is slightly thick.
The application position is slightly off.
The pressing force is also slightly low.
Each alone is within specification.
But the three overlap.
Thermal performance deteriorates.
Such problems occur.
In other words, volume production defects cannot be solved just by looking for a single cause.
■ Look at the Differences Between Good and Defective Units
Looking only at defective units.
It is unclear what is wrong.
Line them up with good units.
Compare
dimensions,
compression marks,
position,
material lot,
and processing conditions.
The differences become visible.
In other words, in volume production problems, it is important to also investigate why good units are good.
■ Look at the Actual Item, the Actual Site and the Actual Process
On paper, they are the same.
The drawings are also the same.
But looking at the site,
an operator uses a slightly different procedure,
a roller is dirty,
or the material is warped.
This happens.
In other words, in volume production problems, causes are not decided only at the desk.
■ Recurrence Prevention Addresses the Cause
Air bubble defects.
Increasing inspection.
That is not recurrence prevention.
Why do air bubbles get in?
Application speed,
adhesive structure,
and material warping
are improved.
In other words, detection countermeasures and occurrence countermeasures are separated.
■ Processing Companies Should Not Carry Quality Problems Alone
The cause may be
the material,
the equipment,
or the customer’s assembly.
It is confirmed together with
material manufacturers,
equipment manufacturers,
and customers.
In other words, stabilizing volume production is quality created by the entire supply chain.
■ Collaboration with Material Manufacturers
Lot differences are large.
Peel force is not stable.
Processing-side data is fed back to the material manufacturer.
It is improved on the material side.
In other words, a processing company can not only receive materials but feed back volume production information.
■ Collaboration with Equipment Manufacturers
Peeling defects.
Rather than only changing the component,
the peel angle,
head,
and speed
are improved with the equipment manufacturer.
In other words, it is stabilized from both the component and equipment sides.
■ Collaboration with Customers
The processed product is within specification.
But there is temperature variation in the customer’s process.
Also look at the customer’s application conditions.
Pressing,
contact surfaces,
and assembly tolerances
are checked.
In other words, the cause of volume production thermal performance sometimes cannot be found without looking at the customer’s process too.
■ OTIS's Perspective: Stabilizing Volume Production Is the Final Form of Processing Technology
High-precision die-cutting.
Microfabrication.
Thin-film processing.
Lamination.
Irregular-shape lamination.
Reel conversion.
Even if these can be done, if results vary every time, it is hard to call them volume production technology.
What is needed is to continuously create
the same conditions
and the same results.
In other words, stabilizing volume production is
the final process that turns all processing technologies into “technologies usable as an industry.”
■ "We Can Do It Stably" Rather Than "We Can Do It"
In prototype consultations,
“we can process it”
is important.
But what volume production customers want to know is
“Can you do it with the same quality
even at 100,000 units a month,
even for three years?”
In other words, OTIS’s value lies not only in whether it can process something, but also in continuous supply capability.
■ Turning Processing Know-How into Process Standards
Only a veteran can make it.
That is weak.
Processing conditions,
inspection conditions,
and maintenance conditions
are standardized.
Anyone can reproduce the same conditions.
In other words, turning individual skill into company technology is stabilizing volume production.
■ Toward Technology That Can Be Reproduced Even When Sites Change
In the future, the same component may be made at different sites, such as
Japan,
China,
and Thailand.
At that time,
“it can’t be made without this person”
cannot be rolled out.
Process conditions,
inspection methods,
and equipment conditions
are standardized.
In other words, stabilizing volume production also leads to the possibility of technology transfer.
■ Using Volume Production Data for the Next Project
TIM project A.
Tension data for thin-film processing.
Graphite project B.
Peeling data.
These are accumulated.
In the next project,
initial condition setting becomes faster,
and the number of prototypes can be reduced.
In other words, volume production experience turns into the speed of the next development.
■ A Volume Production Company's Competitiveness Lies in "Reusing Experience"
Competitors can also buy equipment.
They can also make dies.
But experience data on
which material,
under which conditions,
and what problems occurred
cannot easily be bought.
In other words, a large asset of a volume production processing company is
the accumulation of processing conditions and defect knowledge.
■ Turning Failures into Data
This material stretched in high-speed processing.
This adhesive changed peel force at high temperature.
This graphite warped when wound with a small diameter.
These are recorded.
The same failures are not repeated.
In other words, failure experience becomes company know-how.
■ Stabilizing Volume Production Does Not End Improvement
Volume production start-up.
Stable.
Done.
That is not the case.
There are
material changes,
equipment aging,
changes in customer requirements,
and increases in quantity.
Improvements are made each time.
In other words, stabilizing volume production is not something completed once, but an activity of continuous maintenance and improvement.
■ Do Not Aim Only for Zero Defects
Lowering the defect rate.
Important.
However,
takt,
material yield,
equipment uptime,
and inspection costs
are also looked at.
Zero defects by drastically lowering speed.
That is not competitive.
In other words, stabilizing volume production is stabilizing quality, cost and productivity at the same time.
■ A Good Volume Production Process "Is Not Straining"
Accuracy at the very limit.
Speed at the very limit.
Material thickness at the very limit.
Then defects appear with just a slight change in conditions.
There is margin.
The equipment is stable.
Material differences are absorbed.
Such processes are strong.
In other words, in volume production design, robustness matters more than limit performance.
■ What Is Valuable to the Customer Is "Being Able to Run It with Peace of Mind"
The customer does not want to worry every time
whether this lot is OK.
It is loaded into the equipment.
It runs as is.
Quality is also stable.
This is ideal.
In other words, one of the greatest values a processing company provides is
creating a state where the customer does not have to worry about the process.
■ What OTIS Can Do
At OTIS, by combining
● High-precision die-cutting
● Microfabrication
● Thin-film processing
● TIM processing
● Graphite processing
● Insulating material processing
● Metal foil processing
● Adhesive processing
● High-precision lamination
● Irregular-shape lamination
● Reel-to-reel processing
● Tension control
● Pitch control
● Die management
● Process condition management
● Image inspection
● Dimensional and visual inspection
● Traceability
● Material lot management
● Converting prototype conditions into volume production conditions
● Defect analysis
● Process improvement
● Supply design for automation
we can bring functional components established in prototyping into stable volume production processes.
■ Outside OTIS's Expertise
OTIS is not a company that specializes in
● Basic development of thermal materials themselves
● Design of customers’ entire products
● Manufacturing automation equipment itself
● Dedicated CAE analysis
As needed, we work with
material manufacturers,
equipment manufacturers,
analysis companies,
and customers.
What OTIS takes on is the area of turning materials, processing and supply formats into volume production processes that can be reproduced continuously.
■ Summary: Stabilizing Volume Production Is Not "a Technology for Making the Same Thing" but "a Technology for Continuing to Create the Same Function"
In volume production,
material lots change,
equipment wears,
temperature and humidity change,
operators change,
and production quantities increase.
Even so, the performance the customer requires must not change.
TIM position.
Laminate thickness.
Insulated areas.
Graphite placement.
Peelability.
These are stabilized.
As a result,
thermal performance,
insulation performance,
and adhesive performance
are stabilized.
That is why stabilizing volume production is
not simply making large quantities of parts with the same dimensions.
It is continuing to create the same functional state repeatedly.
Making one excellent part.
This is technology.
But
10,000 units,
100,000 units,
for several years,
continuing to deliver the same performance.
This is a different technology.
For that,
material management,
equipment management,
process conditions,
inspection,
maintenance,
traceability,
data,
and improvement
are needed.
In prototyping, people create good conditions.
In volume production, the process itself keeps creating good conditions.
Turning this “success created by people” into “success reproduced by the process.”
That is the value of stabilizing volume production at OTIS.
Column Supervisor: Koji Kakumoto (President, OTIS Co., Ltd.)
After studying abroad and working in planning and development at a trading company, he joined OTIS Co., Ltd. in 2011. While primarily working in the Corporate Planning Department, he has also served concurrently in manufacturing and technical divisions, and since 2018 has served as President, working to drive business growth and strengthen the organization.
This article is a general technical explanation intended for educational purposes and does not refer to any specific company, product, or technology.
