Odd-Form Insertion by Southern Machinery: Automate 10 THT Component Types on a Single Machine

Watch in Action: Two odd-form insertion machines solve 10 different THT components

What Is This Machine Used For?

Odd-form insertion machines automate the placement of through-hole components that don't fit standard radial or axial tape packaging. These are the "odd" parts—connectors, relays, large capacitors, transformers, fuse holders, terminal blocks, and pin headers—that most factories still hand-place at the last stations of a DIP line.

Southern Machinery's SOLVE-10 configuration pairs two insertion heads in one machine to handle up to 10 different THT component types. Instead of assigning one operator per part type or buying a dedicated machine for every non-standard component, a single platform loads, orients, and seats a broad mix of odd-form parts—with vision guidance to verify lead geometry and polarity before placement.

The result is a consistent insertion cycle that removes the three classic failure modes of manual odd-form insertion: floating high (parts not fully seated), reverse insertion (polarity errors), and missed insertion.

Typical Application Scenarios

Odd-form insertion automation is a direct fit for the industries Southern Machinery serves most heavily:

Home appliances — Air conditioner and washing machine control boards carry multiple relays, terminal blocks, and connectors that standard radial and axial heads cannot place.
Power supplies — Vehicle power supplies, energy-saving power supplies, and ballasts use large electrolytic capacitors, transformers, and connectors with non-standard lead pitches.
LED lighting and drivers — Industrial, outdoor, street-lamp, and floodlight drivers combine tall radial capacitors with terminal blocks and fuse holders in dense, mixed through-hole layouts.
Automotive electronics — Car audio and vehicle power supply modules demand the insertion-force consistency and polarity control that vision-guided odd-form placement provides.

If your board has three or more odd-form part types that operators currently hand-place, this category of automation is worth evaluating.

How It Integrates Into a Complete PCB Assembly Line

An odd-form insertion machine is not a standalone island. In a Southern Machinery full-line configuration, it sits inline on the THT section of the line—downstream of SMT, radial insertion, and axial insertion, and upstream of wave soldering.

The machine accepts boards via SMEMA handshake from the conveyor and returns them to the same line, so existing board handling, wave soldering, and cleaning equipment remain unchanged. A typical sequence looks like this:

SMT section — Solder paste printing, pick and place, and reflow oven complete the surface-mount portion.
THT section — Radial insertion (S-3010B), axial insertion (S4000), and odd-form insertion run in sequence, each handling its component family.
Inspection — AOI verifies placement before soldering.
Wave soldering — The loaded board passes through lead-free wave soldering to complete all through-hole joints.
Post-solder — Cleaning, depaneling, and final test.

By moving odd-form placement from manual stations to a programmed head, the line's cycle time becomes predictable—the prerequisite for accurate line balancing and throughput forecasting.

Key Selection Parameters

When evaluating an odd-form insertion machine, confirm these parameters with the supplier rather than assuming them:

Component envelope — The maximum body dimensions, lead pitch range, and lead protrusion the heads can handle, and whether your specific part mix falls within that envelope.
Number of component types per setup — How many distinct feeders, trays, or tubes the platform can hold at once (the SOLVE-10 targets 10 THT types across two heads).
Vision capability — Whether the system verifies lead geometry, polarity, and seating depth before placement, and rejects or corrects misfed parts.
Insertion force control — Whether force is monitored and capped to protect plated through-holes and pads from barrel cracking.
Changeover time — How quickly the line switches between board variants and component families.
Line integration — SMEMA handshake support, conveyor compatibility, and board width range.
Cycle time per component — Measured, not estimated, for your worst-case part.

Ask for a video demonstration with your actual components—not just a generic spec sheet.

ROI, Quality & Throughput Considerations

The financial case for odd-form automation rests on three numbers most factories already have but rarely total up:

Labor hours — Multiply the measured (not standard) manual insertion time per odd-form part by daily volume across all shifts. Hand placement of a connector commonly takes 4 to 10 seconds; a programmed head does it in a consistent 3 to 5 seconds.
Defect and rework cost — Odd-form defects are usually caught only at AOI or functional test, after wave soldering and cleaning. Rework then requires desoldering, hole cleaning, reinsertion, and re-soldering—3 to 5 minutes per board, often damaging adjacent parts.
Throughput variability — Manual speed shifts with every operator, shift change, and new hire. A programmed head delivers the same cycle time every shift, making line balancing and delivery commitments predictable.

For medium-to-high volume per SKU (roughly 500+ boards per run) with repeat orders, the payback typically comes from labor reduction and rework elimination alone. For ultra-low-volume runs under about 100 boards, manual insertion may still be the more economical choice—a supplier can help you draw that line with a throughput calculator.

FAQ

What is an odd-form component?

Any through-hole part that does not come in standard radial or axial tape packaging—connectors, relays, transformers, large capacitors, fuse holders, and terminal blocks.

How many different component types can the SOLVE-10 handle?

The configuration is designed around two insertion heads handling up to 10 different THT component types in a single machine.

Does odd-form insertion replace manual insertion entirely?

It replaces manual placement of the standard odd-form parts your operators currently hand-insert. Extremely non-standard, hand-wound, or one-off parts may still require manual stations.

Can it integrate with my existing wave soldering line?

Yes—it connects via SMEMA handshake and returns boards to the same conveyor, so existing wave soldering, cleaning, and board handling stay in place.

What volume makes automation worthwhile?

Generally 500+ boards per run with repeat orders. Below roughly 100 boards per run, setup time can exceed manual run time.

Does Southern Machinery support installation and training?

Yes—Southern Machinery provides global support, spare parts, installation, training, and after-sales service for its full SMT/THT equipment line.

Contact Southern Machinery

Southern Machinery (Shenzhen Southern Machinery Sales And Service Co., Ltd) has delivered SMT and THT PCB assembly automation since 2011, serving 237+ global customers across appliance, power supply, LED, automotive, and general electronics manufacturing.

Talk to an engineer about your odd-form bottleneck:

Email: jasonwu@smthelp.com
Phone / WhatsApp: +86 13602562576
Website: https://www.smthelp.com
File portal: https://file.autoinsertion.com
Image library: https://ph.smthelp.com

Two questions worth asking your team before you reach out: What is your current odd-form insertion defect rate from AOI or functional test data? And how many labor hours per shift go into hand-inserting connectors, relays, and transformers? If either number is higher than you would like, the SOLVE-10 multi-component odd-form insertion approach is worth a demonstration.