Capacity Improvement Plan for High-Voltage Power Supply Manufacturers

The capacity improvement of high-voltage power supply manufacturers is not simply adding production lines, but a systematic plan through the optimization of production processes, upgrading of equipment automation, strengthening of supply chain collaboration, and improvement of personnel efficiency. On the premise of ensuring product quality, it realizes efficient capacity growth and reduces unit production costs at the same time.
The optimization of production process is the basis for capacity improvement. The traditional production of high-voltage power supplies mostly adopts linear assembly line operation, which has process bottlenecks (such as the long time-consuming high-voltage testing link), resulting in low overall production efficiency. Manufacturers can use lean production tools (such as Value Stream Mapping VSM) to identify non-value-added activities in the process and reorganize the process: first, divide the production process into three modules: "core assembly", "auxiliary welding", and "testing and calibration", and adopt a U-shaped production line instead of a linear production line, shortening the transfer distance between processes by 60% and reducing work-in-progress inventory. Second, for the bottleneck process (such as high-voltage testing), by increasing testing stations and optimizing the testing process (such as carrying out multiple testing items in parallel), the testing time is shortened from 40 minutes to 20 minutes, and the capacity of the bottleneck process is increased by 100%. In addition, the "one-piece flow" production mode is implemented, and only necessary work-in-progress (usually 1~2 pieces) is retained at each workstation to avoid work-in-progress backlog. The production cycle is shortened from 7 days to 3 days, and the overall production efficiency is increased by 40%.
The upgrading of equipment automation is the key support for capacity improvement. Links such as component placement, welding, and testing in the production of high-voltage power supplies are traditionally operated manually, which not only has low efficiency but also is prone to quality problems caused by human errors. Manufacturers can promote automation upgrading in stages: in the component placement link, high-precision placement machines (with a placement speed of 12,000 points/hour) are introduced to replace manual placement, the efficiency is increased by 5 times, and the placement precision reaches ±0.03mm. In the welding link, selective wave soldering equipment is used to automatically adjust welding parameters for different components (such as plug-ins and SMDs), and the welding defect rate is reduced from 1.5% to 0.3%. In the testing link, a fully automated testing platform is built, and the PLC control system is used to realize automatic feeding, parameter testing, data recording, and sorting of power supplies. The testing efficiency is increased by 3 times, and the misjudgment problem of manual testing is avoided. At the same time, the automated equipment is connected to the MES system to collect equipment operation data (such as failure rate and capacity) in real time, and optimize equipment scheduling through data analysis. The Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) is increased from 65% to 85%.
Strengthening supply chain collaboration ensures the material supply for capacity improvement. If the supply chain cannot provide components in a timely manner, even if the production line is upgraded, the capacity cannot be released. Manufacturers can strengthen supply chain collaboration from three aspects: first, establish strategic cooperative relationships with core component suppliers (such as power semiconductor and high-voltage capacitor manufacturers), sign long-term supply agreements, clarify the minimum order quantity and delivery cycle, and share production plans at the same time. Suppliers can prepare goods in advance, and the delivery cycle is shortened from 30 days to 15 days. Second, establish a multi-source supplier system. For key components (such as IGBT), at least 2~3 qualified suppliers are reserved to avoid the risk of supply interruption from a single supplier. Third, introduce a Supply Chain Management (SCM) system to monitor the inventory level of components in real time. When the inventory is lower than the safety threshold (usually 15 days of usage), the system automatically triggers a purchase order and tracks the progress of the purchase order to ensure that materials arrive at the factory on time. Through supply chain collaboration, the material kitting rate is increased from 80% to 98%, and the production line downtime due to material shortage is reduced by 90%.
Improving personnel efficiency provides human support for capacity growth. Automated equipment requires professional personnel to operate and maintain, and the optimization of production processes also requires the cooperation of employees. Manufacturers can improve personnel efficiency from three aspects: first, carry out targeted training. For the operation of automated equipment, organize technical personnel from equipment manufacturers to conduct practical training to enable employees to master equipment debugging and fault troubleshooting skills. After training, the employee operation proficiency is increased by 60%. Second, establish a performance appraisal system, link employee performance with capacity and quality indicators (such as production qualification rate and equipment failure rate), and set up capacity excess awards and quality excellence awards to stimulate employee enthusiasm. The per capita production efficiency is increased by 25%. Third, implement the "multi-skilled worker" training plan. Through job rotation, employees master the operation skills of multiple workstations. When there is a shortage of personnel at a certain workstation, they can be quickly deployed to improve production flexibility. The ability of the production line to respond to personnel fluctuations is increased by 50%.
Through the above plan, high-voltage power supply manufacturers can achieve a capacity increase of more than 50% within 3~6 months, while controlling the product defect rate below 0.3% and reducing the unit production cost by 15%, realizing the coordinated optimization of capacity, quality, and cost.