NSTU NETI staff and graduates established the production of "Initsiativa" training and production complex. The complex significantly speeds up the process of assembling electronic products of the mobile phone class. Thanks to the performance of 1000 micro-components per hour, the complex performs fast assembly of prototypes and small series. The complex will allow students to create new modern and up-to-date devices; and its low price makes the complex affordable for any University in Russia. The invention of NSTU NETI employees will modernize the training of engineering personnel and ensure large-scale student entrepreneurship in Russia. The development is intended to develop the TechNet market within the National Technological Initiative, as well as to train engineering personnel for the digital economy.
"Initsiativa" complex is able to produce any electronic equipment that uses surface mounting technology. The complex can be used for prototyping in various industries, from consumer electronics to spacecraft. "Initsiativa" is also able to provide educational institutions with equipment that allows students to create modern devices within a few hours for their own research projects in telecommunications, energy and other fields, including mobile phones. The complex changes the production process from manual installation to automated production. This is highly required since all modern instruments require a high degree of automation in the assembly.
"Initsiativa" training and production complex consists of an automatic installer of electronic circuit components (SMD components), a screen printer, and a furnace. The automatic installer is used for precise positioning of micro-components on a printed circuit board that connects several electronic parts. The screen printer allows applying a special substance to the board, i.e. soldering paste. The oven melts the paste and thus connects the electronic components and the printed circuit board. Elements of the "Initsiativa" complex have planetary names. "Saturn" is the machine itself; the oven is named after the hottest planet "Mercury", " Phoebe "(Saturn's satellite) is a screen printer for applying the paste. As a result, the complex speeds up the process of electronic products assembling and creates modern high-tech products.
According to Alexey Tsygulin, one of the installation developers, Associate Professor at Industrial Machinery Design Department, NSTU NETI, the "Initsiativa" complex can be used for organizing serial, experimental and even medium-scale production of electronics. The developers note that, despite the existing analogues, "Initsiativa" stands up to competition in terms of accuracy and reliability.
"The technology itself has existed for a long time both in Russia and worldwide. Our main competitors are European and Chinese manufacturers. From our point of view, Chinese equipment is not so attractive in terms of quality in comparison with ours. They provide almost no support and maintenance. As for European manufacturers, we have similar quality, but our complex has a significantly lower price," says Alexey Tsygulin, head of TDM Communications Company.
An important advantage of the "Initsiativa" complex is specially developed software. It meets the production needs: it is not overcomplicated and at the same time provides the necessary functionality. The software allows a quick machine adjusting for a new board production, quick reconfiguring from one board to another. It is compatible with all available files from engineering software for the development of the printed circuit boards and works with all known components.
Training and production complex "Initsiativa" was created entirely by NSTU NETI graduates, from its mechanical parts and electronics to the software. Our industrial partners are factories that produce metal and plastic elements, since this requires production facilities.