Set-up families with associated set-ups are provided for populating printed circuit boards by means of a pick-and-place line. Printed circuit board types are associated with each set-up family and component types are associated with each set-up, such that a printed circuit board of a printed circuit board type in a set-up family is populated on the pick-and-place line by means of components of the component types associated with the set-up. Stocks of components of the component types of a set-up are provided by means of set-up tables on the pick-and-place line. A method for populating the printed circuit boards includes the steps of detecting printed circuit board types of which printed circuit boards are intended to be populated with components of associated component types, of associating detected printed circuit board types with a predetermined number of set-up families, and of optimizing the association operation with respect to a predetermined criterion.

A system and method for surface mount assembly of PCBs, using an automated pick-and-place machine into which component tapes on reels are fed, uses component tape reels each of which has been pre-threaded into its appropriate tape guide and been stored as a reel/tape guide packet in an automated SMD storage tower, from which appropriate packets are retrieved for coupling to the pick-and-place machine.

A mounting machine acquires identification information arranged in a back-up plate, from the back-up plate. The mounting machine controls a conveyance unit so as to change a conveyance lane based on mounting conditions when the acquired identification information is identification information which is included in the mounting conditions of a printed circuit board. Meanwhile, in the mounting machine, when the acquired identification information is not the identification information which is included in the mounting conditions of the printed circuit board, the conveyance lane is stopped from being changed. In this manner, a conveyance width of the conveyance lane is not changed when the back-up plate which is ready to be subjected to mounting processing and matches the mounting conditions is not mounted.

A member preparation method includes a request rank determining step of determining a request member rank of a member fitted to production of a mounting board based on board information and component information including a mounting position of a component mounted on the mounting board. Furthermore, the member preparation method includes a fitting member extracting step of extracting a fitting member fitted to the request member rank in a plurality of members based on a production plan of the mounting board and retained member information in which a member rank is associated with each of the plurality of the members. Furthermore, the member preparation method includes a use member selecting step of selecting a use member in the fitting member, and a member preparation instructing step of generating an instruction to prepare the use member.

A component replenishment work assist apparatus includes a memory storing set-up information related to arrangement of components on a cassette base, a component replenishment instruction part instructing of a component to be replenished, a replenishment cassette detector detecting that a second cassette has been attached to a cassette attachment part, and a replenishment cassette determiner that when the replenishment cassette detector detects attachment of a second cassette, identifies the cassette attachment part to which the second cassette has been attached, reads, through the wireless communicator, component information stored in the RFID tag of the second cassette, and refers to the set-up information, to thereby determine whether a proper second cassette has been attached.

A parts replenishment system configured to replenish a parts supply device attached to a parts mounting device with parts includes an instruction device configured to issue an instruction to unload the parts from a storage. The parts replenishment system further includes a presentation device configured to present preprocessing identification information for identifying preprocessing, which is processing on a packaging material for the parts for which an unloading instruction has been issued by the instruction device before replenishment of the parts supply device with the parts.

A component mounting system and apparatus are provided that include a component mounting apparatus with a substrate holding device, a component supplying device, a head support portion, a mounting head and a forcing means. The mounting head is detachably attached to the head support portion. The mounting head of the system has a recording medium in which information relating to the mounting head is recorded. The system has an external storage portion that stores a plurality of batches of information relating to a plurality of mounting heads. The system further includes a recognizing portion that obtains and recognizes information from the external storage corresponding to the mounting head that is attached to the support portion.

A nozzle managing system in which suction nozzles can be suitably transferred is provided. A nozzle managing machine includes a tray holding section that holds a tray, a palette accommodation device as a nozzle stocker, and a nozzle transfer device that transfers the suction nozzles between the tray and the palette accommodation device. In addition, the nozzle managing machine acquires tray information that is information indicating the tray T held in the tray holding section, acquires nozzle information corresponding to the tray T on the basis of the tray information and JOB information stored in a memory section of a host PC, and controls the nozzle transfer device on the basis of the nozzle information.

A feeder for feeding a tape that accommodates a component and supplying the component includes a feeder main body provided with a holding section that holds a disk-shaped reel around which the tape is wound to be rotatable about a central axis, and a plate-shaped cover configured to open and close the holding section. The cover includes an opening at a location corresponding to a region of a board surface of the reel to which an identification code of the reel is able to be given.

Before using a load cell to measure a load (nozzle load) arising during relative movement between a suction tube and a pipe of a suction nozzle, the suction nozzle and a metal contact tool are moved towards each other by a set load with the metal contact tool contacting the tip section of the suction tube. When the suction tube and the pipe has moved relatively by set amount due to the suction nozzle and metal contact tool being moved towards each other, the nozzle load of the suction nozzle is measured using the load cell. Nozzle load is measured only for a suction nozzle for which relative movement of the suction tube and the pipe has been confirmed, and nozzle load is measured appropriately without damaging the load sensor.