Sep 27, 2001
eM-Assembly Expert is a major upgrade to the company�s time-tested Unicam product, introducing a number of new features that will help Tecnomatix clients improve factory processes and maintain their competitive edge. eM-Assembly Expert will allow electronics printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturers to shorten their products� time-to-market and reduce costs and downtime by making it easier for engineers to collaboratively define designs of factories, assembly lines, panels and circuits.
eM-Assembly Expert represents a major shift in how Tecnomatix builds and deploys its electronics PCB assembly products, according to company officials. �We�ve rebuilt Unicam from the ground up on an entirely new integration platform,� said Israel Levy, CEO of the company�s Tecnomatix-Unicam Inc. subsidiary. �This platform will be the basis for all subsequent new product introduction (NPI) and factory execution systems (FES) products. With this new platform, eM-Assembly Expert will have much greater interoperability not only with our other Manufacturing Process Management solutions for optimization and quality control, but also with our technology partners and key third party vendors. This will extend product lifecycles, help reduce development costs and boost profitability for our customers.�
"eM-Assembly Expert capitalizes on the value of newer technologies and is proof of the integration of past acquisitions for Tecnomatix, " said David Cahn, Research Director at AMR Research. "Users now have a process management solution that enables better collaboration to drive cost and latency out of their NPI processes."
�Tecnomatix promised that eM-Assembly Expert would have us up and �manufacturing in minutes,� and they have lived up to their promise,� said Ernst Albert, director of international technical service at Hella KG Hueck & Co, one of the world�s largest lighting and electronics manufacturers. �The new eM-Assembly Expert software provides a level of optimization and an enhanced user interface previously unavailable to us. It gives us the opportunity and ability to map the entire production environment�including all machines and process steps. This means that we are now able to document and graphically represent the entire production and inspection process. In addition, this product lets us compare the process time calculation of one product between different assembly lines without the need to re-work the data.�
This launch of the eM-Assembly Expert product represents a major step toward delivering on the company�s promise to integrate and converge technologies developed and acquired in recent years (i.e., Unicam, FABmaster, and Exaline). Future upgrades and enhancements will continue that integration and further extend the product�s capabilities. Tecnomatix-Unicam and Fuji Machine Manufacturing will release details in the near future on plans for supporting the migration of the popular FujiCam system to eM-Assembly Expert, expanding the system's capabilities.
eM-Assembly Expert�s integration platform will be used across Tecnomatix-Unicam�s entire line of eMPower PCB assembly products, allowing tighter integration with the full suite of Tecnomatix Manufacturing Process Management solutions. The new platform is based on Microsoft�s industry-standard COM technology for maximum interoperability.
In addition to the long-term integration benefits that eM-Assembly Expert will provide, there are a number of significant enhancements to the product that customers will immediately benefit from, including:
� Complete factory definition. In addition to defining machine processes, customers can now define the processes affecting work centers, assembly lines and entire factories.
� Panel-centric process design. PCBs can now be designed with multiple different circuits and CAD files on the same panel, allowing significantly more flexibility in the assembly process.
� Multiple route selection. A single board or panel definition can include multiple alternate routes, making it easy to switch assembly lines during the manufacturing process.
� Improved user interface. eM-Assembly Expert takes full advantage of the Microsoft Windows� technology, making complex board assembly design more intuitive.
� Post-load circuit revisions. Frequent Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) are common. Changes in circuits or bills of material (BOMs) can be reflected dynamically in on-line documentation and viewers.
eM-Assembly Expert lets customers choose the most appropriate processes for building a circuit. The solution fully integrates with electronics design systems, giving manufacturers a single up-to-date view of their production data throughout the manufacturing process. The solution significantly improves accuracy, flexibility and throughput in the manufacturing process. The product provides production engineers an automated process to import, verify and use CAD, BOM and flat file data to generate machine programs for more than 150 different pieces of equipment. The solution�s off-line programming and balancing tools significantly increase line utilization, reducing downtime and bottlenecks in the manufacturing process.
�With this enhanced feature set and powerful new technology platform, eM-Assembly Expert is setting the standard for PCB assembly and NPI,� said Sean Roche, Vice President of Product Marketing at Tecnomatix-Unicam. �By improving manufacturing return on investment, shortening cycle time, reducing the incidence of errors and defects, and increasing machine throughput by as much as 40%, eM-Assembly Expert is showing itself to be yet another example of why Tecnomatix solutions are used by leading electronics contract manufacturers worldwide, including all of the top ten.�
About Tecnomatix Technologies, Ltd.
Tecnomatix Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ: TCNO) is the world's leading provider of Manufacturing Process Management software for the electronics, automotive, aerospace and heavy equipment industries. The company's eMPower� software enables global manufacturing customers to build the best production strategies to succeed in their increasingly complex environments. Tecnomatix applications run on an open platform providing a collaborative environment for authoring, simulating and managing manufacturing processes across the extended enterprise and its suppliers. The company, founded in 1983, has offices and distributors in North America, Europe, the Pacific Rim and Latin America. Additional information about the company can be found at http://www.tecnomatix.com.
Certain statements made herein that use the words �estimate�, �project�, �intend�, �expect�, �believe� and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those which may be expressed or implied by such statements, including, among others, changes in general political, economic and business conditions and specifically, changes in the level of activity in the automotive industry, decline in demand to the Company�s products, inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and applications and loss of market share and pressure on prices resulting from competition. For additional information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties associated with the Company�s business, reference is made to the Company�s reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
eMPower and eM-Assembly Expert are trademarks of Tecnomatix Technologies, Ltd. All other brand, product and company names are trademarks of their respective owners
