Question: what can place components the size of a full stop on a circuit board to an accuracy of within 50 thousandths of a millimetre?

Answer: the new $1.4 million Surface Mount Technology (SMT) line which recently began production in the Tait manufacturing facility in Christchurch.

Tait Production Engineering Manager Dean Mischewski says Tait now owns some of the most technologically advanced equipment available in the world for electronic manufacturing.

"The placement machines are more precise than anything we've had before and can place smaller parts, and the entire line provides us with the high level of flexibility we need to place a wide range of components on our circuit boards."

The new SMT line, which includes a solder paste screen printer, three placement machines and a reflow oven, will initially be a back-up for the current TM8000 mobiles line and will provide additional capacity as Tait's overall production demand increases.

Dean says the new line, which is Tait's fourth SMT line, has the capacity to place 18,000 components per hour and can produce 100 portable radios in an eight-hour shift. Along with additional capacity, the new line also takes Tait to a new level of production flexibility.

"We're operating in a high-mix, relatively low-volume environment, and our products present us with some interesting manufacturing challenges. The capability we get from this new line is an important step in enabling the company to fulfil customer orders with more speed and efficiency than ever," he adds.