Manufacturing

Printed Circuit Board Assembly

Using our high-speed pick and place assembly line, Blue Sparq assembles the circuit boards that it designs. Our designs share most of the same components, making the setup for production very efficient. Our Altium Designer component library is linked to our ERP Inventory Management system. This link makes ordering the inventory required for a production run very efficient. Our Altium Designer CAD software is also linked to our JUKI pick and place machines as well as our Mirtec AOI. This link allows the CAD software to provide precise position coordinate data, making the placement of the parts extremely accurate. This link drastically reduces the time it takes to program the assembly machines and teach the AOI inspection equipment. This effeciency is how we are able to satisfy our customer's quick turn and small production quantity requests.

Quality Manufacturing

We always thoroughly inspect and completely test the first piece or panel of a production run. This is done by the engineers who designed the board. A standard contract manufacture could not do this without shutting down the line and shipping the first article to us for approval. This would waste too much time. Our line will only be down for the time it takes to inspect and functionally test the board, which in most cases is less than 1 hour. Once this first PCBa or panel has passed our tests, then the production team is allowed to continue production. This is done at the start of EVERY production run we do. Blue Sparq, Inc. believes in quality. We use our ISO9001:2015 and AS9100 quality system, highly trained personnel, high end AOI inspection equipment and our functional testing to produce the highest quality electronics possible. Our traceability exceeds our customers requirements.

Supply Chain

The ability to quickly build prototypes or run expedited production orders depends on the effectiveness of our Supply Chain Management. The link between our Component Library and ERP system is the most important piece of our process. All of our circuit board designs are made using our own vetted component library. Every component in this library has been verified for footprint fit and function. Once a new design has been completed, Altium produces a BOM that can be imported into our ERP system. Once this BOM has been imported, and a production quantity has been enetered, our ERP system checks the inventory on hand and automatically creates the necessary Purchase Orders required for the missing parts. Components common to most of our projects are often ordered in full reels or large volumes, even though a particular customer's production run does not require it. This is done for the following reasons:

• Ordering in high volume gives us volume discounts. These discounts help reduce the price our customer's pay for the finished product.
• Components are on-site and ready for production, reducing lead times.
• We are less likely to experience component shortages.
• Loading full reels of components is less time consuming than dealing with cut tapes. This reduces the time it takes to set up the machines.

Blue Sparq has relationships with all of the major electronic component manufacturers and distributors which helps when trying to locate hard to find parts. Most importantly are the relationships with the Field Application Engineers or FAEs. The FAEs are who we lean on when we have new designs that require new parts that are not already in our component library. The FAEs help us identify the correct part that fits within our budget.

Systems Integration - Boxbuild Assembly

After seeing the way we produce high quality printed circuit board assemblies, our customers ask us to assemble their complete product. They want us to apply the same ISO9001:2015 and AS9100 quality system to the way their complete product is assembled. Blue Sparq dedicates a portion of its facility to customer product assembly and inventory storage. We can warehouse your product until it is time to be shipped to the end customer. Blue Sparq will maintain your product in an air-conditioned space with security system and HD surveillance cameras.

Our Equipment

Our dedication to fulfill our company mission, to deliver high quality product, has shaped our manufacturing facility. We have a complete high volume, high speed SMT assembly line along with selective soldering, automated conformal coating, 3D printers, lasers and prototype sheet metal bending equipment. We recently added equipment required to make prototype cable harnesses.

Here is a list of some of our equipment:

• DEK Automated Stencil Printer with Vision
• JUKI KE-1070L High Speed Pick and Place
• JUKI KE-2060L High Speed Pick and Place
• HELLER 1707 MK III 7 Zone Reflow Oven
• MIRTEC MV-7L Automated Optical Inspection (AOI)
• SPA 400F Selective Solder
• SCS Precision-coat Automated Coater
• Epilog Helix Laser (X2)
• 3D printers
• Sheet Metal Bending Equipment and MIG Welder
• Cable Harness Manufacturing Equipment
• Bantam Desktop CNC Milling Machine