Fast, intelligent and revolutionary in design, the Agilis feeder is providing many customers with up to 75 percent reductions in changeover and setup times. For optimal effect, many companies claim the greatest value of Agilis is in keeping the feeders preloaded – always ready for use, even when in storage.

As one manufacturer, DDI Technologies, discovered, “These feeders are a quantum leap forward... They have actually improved the quality of work with components as well as the overall kitting efficiency. We currently keep two spare sets of Agilis feeders – one for each machine. In an ideal world I would keep one on each reel in the stores.”

Since Agilis feeders are so small, they can be stored individually on a shelf, along with their attached component reels. This makes the process of unloading unnecessary – unless a manufacturer is unable to use the rest of a reel, or if only a few feeders are available for use. Preloading also makes it unnecessary to reload component tape during the changeover process – yet another way that Agilis cuts down on manual interaction during setups and changeovers.

It was partly these unique timesaving qualities that won Agilis the SMT Vision award as the most innovative new product presented at Apex last year. Since then, over 500 assembly companies have purchased Agilis and are putting it to the test.

Agilis is a pen-sized, individual feeder for normal and fine-pitch 8-mm tape. Operators can use their fingers to peel aside the cover tape and insert it into the feeder. While with most feeders this step can take over a minute, with MYDATA’s Agilis it takes only 10 seconds.