A large number of LED manufacturers have set a high goal for quantity of LED bulb and LED tube light shipments. However, the number of manufacturers who are able to employ a completely automated production system is small. Only a limited number of LED manufactures are currently producing LED bulbs through automated production. LED tube design is yet to be integrated and differences between assembly processes has lead to the market not being fully equipped for automated production of tube lighting.
Situated in the Science Industrial Park in Tainan, Taiwan, AsiaTree Global Technology (AGT) has developed the LED T8 automation equipment AT8000 series for LED tube lights. Veeco Greater China general manager Wang Keyang has been injecting large amounts of R&D man power and budget into AGT since 2012 to develop the first generation AT8000. As manpower costs in China continue to rise, lighting manufactures are increasing demand to quicken the pace towards automated assembly for LED lighting products.
The LED T8 automation equipment AT8000 series can replace large amount of labors used in traditional assembly lines. The architect and design of the automation system eliminate the low yield problems induced by human errors typically occurring in the repetitive assembly steps. The basic model in AT8000 series can easily achieve 200K units per month.
The optimized architecture of the AT8000 can handle the assembling steps in high speed, such as input of components, light bar welding, light bar insertion, and connector placement. The platform is capable of handling both plastic and glass T8 in 1”, 2”, or 4” configuration. Modular design allows fast assembly and easy maintenance. The line productivity is scalable from UPH 400 to 1000 with only two operators required. In-line metrology and configurable SPC system can automatically screen out the defective parts or final product to ensure the required quality control.
AGT is a subsidiary of AsiaTree Technology. AGT dedicates itself to automating LED lighting production, in such to materialize the quality and cost improvements in the LED lighting products. The company currently has 40 employees in their R&D department which is mainly responsible for developing LED lighting product automated assembly equipment. The first generation AT8000 has been tested and demonstrated by several customers, and will be released on to the Chinese market. The second generation AT8800 and AT8600 are also released now. AGT plans to introduce AT6000 series for LED light bulb automation in the second half of 2014.