Mitsubishi Electric
Mitsubishi Electric Automation Finds Test-and-Repair Solution for the Ages
PinPoint II Functional Tester from Diagnosys Systems Helps Repair Old Parts in 75% Less Time
KISSIMMEE, FL, February. 3, 2005 – It took just six months for Mitsubishi Electric Automation to see it had a test-and-repair solution that covered the past 30 years and the foreseeable future. In that time, the Vernon Hills, IL-based company cut its trouble-shooting time on parts repairs by 75 percent while cutting its warranty returns from units using the PinPoint II Functional Tester from Diagnosys Systems, Kissimmee, FL by more than half. The unit has proven so successful that Mitsubishi just ordered its second PinPoint II to take over the bulk of its repair workload from a proprietary system using dedicated tests that were difficult to modify or expand.
Mitsubishi Electric Automation repairs over 1,500 parts per month, including highly complex boards used in CNC and factory automation applications. Parts run the gamut from older, wirewrap boards to high-density surface mount substrates. The CNC applications include machine tool controls, spindle drives and power supplies, while the factory automation applications include inverters, servos, programmable logic controllers and human machine interfaces.
James Lozos, Repair Department Manager for Mitsubishi, says the PinPoint II saves time in making quality repairs, especially in older parts, because it helps technicians get right to the root of the problem.
“We can get something like a board that has a vague RS-232 problem,” he said. “The technician no longer has to go through all of those drivers or swap out groups of chips. Now, by the time the technician has plugged in the board, the circuit is diagnosed. It’s that fast, and more importantly, our customers have a high degree of confidence in the reliability of our repairs.”
Furthermore, Lozos notes the PinPoint II can specify “this pin on this chip” or “an open trace here,” with a high degree of reliability. The tester is particularly useful in finding intermittent faults by cycling a test so quickly and repeatedly that it increases the probability the cause of the fault will be found..
“This system provides us with a seawave function that gives the technicians a much more detailed look at the problem – a location instead of just an error message,” he said. “The technicians love working with the PinPoint II, and they are able to use it to build new schematics for all of our parts and to create test libraries very quickly as they go through each new situation. It’s a Windows-based environment, and all they have to do is point and click.”
Lozos pointed out that the current PinPoint II is used only 25 percent of the time for repairs because it gets heavy use for development applications. When the second unit is installed, the percentages will be reversed by devoting 75 percent of the machine’s time to test and repair.
“Our previous test sets, some of which date back to the 1970s and 80s and are no longer supported by the manufacturer, required a proprietary programming language,” he said. “Once we had a test programmed, it was done, but we just don’t have the people to modify or create new tests for newer parts. PinPoint II gives us a single solution that is widely configurable and can handle the different levels and ages of our technology – we even know that it can handle what is coming out next year.”
About Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc.
As one of many Mitsubishi automation affiliates around the world, Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc., is part of a $40 billion global company serving a wide variety of industrial markets with a family of automation products including programmable logic controllers, variable frequency drives, operator interfaces, motion control systems, computer numerical controls, uninterruptible power supplies, industrial robots, servo amplifiers and motors, and industrial sewing machines. Building on Mitsubishi Electric's tradition of technological leadership and innovation for more than 75 years, the company merged three existing automation product business units to form Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc. on January 1, 1997.