In October 2019 John Luhrs General Manager, of CantoUSA, located in Marietta Ga, contacted SSFE Incorporated to see if we would be interested in helping them to start manufacturing their electronics products.
CantoUSA is a manufacturer of line voltage dimmable LED replacement lamps for entertainment and commercial spaces. Primarily focused on house lighting these LED lamps allow a user to unscrew there existing incandescent lamps and screw in the replacement lamp with no additional wiring. CantoUSA also has an LED replacement lamp for Source4 Pars and they manufacture and distribute Follow Spots for the entertainment industry.
The concept and overall design of the product was created in house and they performed all the final assembly of their products, but the electronic design and manufacture was being done by third parties and CantoUSA was facing long lead-times and unreliable quality, so they decided they wanted to do it all themselves. CantoUSA needed reliable delivery and timelines and they we unable to get either form their contract manufacturer.
After initial discussions CantoUSA and SSFE we able to come to an agreement whereby SSFE would consult with them on their equipment needs as well as their management of production processes and purchasing with the end goal that CantoUSA would be able to be more responsive to the strong growth that they are experiencing. Metrics would include reduced customer lead-times and improved product reliability. Cost reduction was not the end goal and SSFE actually does not recommend this process if the chief driving factor is cost reduction. Vertically integrating has lots of hidden costs and while eventually you should see cost reduction, it will take a lot of time, in most circumstances.
CantoUSA initially thought (hoped might be a better way to describe it) that they could buy a bunch of equipment, load parts into it and then hit a button to say “build us 10 of these” or “15 of those”. They really did not know what they needed to know. SSFE has worked with Canto to educate them about the whole electronic manufacturing process, what equipment is needed and why, production planning and purchasing to bring them to a stage where they are now in full production of their electronic drivers.
SSFE worked with CantoUSA and their engineer to get all the Bills of materials correct, to get all the design files organized, to assign park #s and find sources of all components and PCBs. We further researched the best equipment manufacturers to fit the Canto model.
After much investigation and many conversations with reps and manufacturers and other users we decided upon the following equipment:
Paste Printer: E-BY DEK
Pick and Place: E-BY ASM
Reflow Oven: Heller 1707
Conveyers (including Loader and Unloader): 1ClickSMT
Selective Solder: Pillarhouse ProDex
N2 Generator and Air Compressor: Southtek
Work Benches: Arlink
Fume Extractor for Oven: IP Systems
Solder Stations: Hakko
This was a complete new installation. All shelving, hand tools, workbenches, etc. had to be procured.
Throughout this process we have also been working with their production team to smooth out their processes and they have seen some very positive improvements in productivity.
We are also working with their purchasing to smooth out their process to improve efficiency.
Overall this has been a successful transition for CantoUSA and we look forward to continuing to working with them to further improve their processes.
