Fuji Automates the Loading of Feeders With Belt Reels

Production Automation Fuji Automates the Loading of Feeders With Belt Reels

2026-06-11 From Susanne Braun | Translated by AI 1 min Reading Time

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With the so-called Auto Kitting Station, Fuji closes one of the last manual gaps on the SMT floor. The system takes over the entire set-up process, from removing empty belt rollers to inserting new rollers into feeders.

The Auto Kitting Station from Fuji automates the kitting of feeders with belt reels.(Image: Fuji Europe Corporation) — The Auto Kitting Station from Fuji automates the kitting of feeders with belt reels.
(Image: Fuji Europe Corporation)

Compared to THT processes, which still require many steps to be carried out manually, SMT lines today are largely automated—but not completely. The feeders have to be filled and placed in the placer by hand. The engineers at Fuji Corporation saw an opportunity for an automated process and set to work. The result is the Auto Kitting Station.

This is a system unit that automates the loading of feeders with tape reels for SMT placement machines. According to Fuji research, as of May 2026, it is the world's first system to fully automate this process, working together with an automated collection and transport system for reels and feeders.

The kitting and set-up process was previously considered difficult to automate. Sensitive work steps such as the pre-processing of belts and the precise insertion of belt rollers into feeders were dependent on manual work—even in production environments in which upstream and downstream processes were already largely automated.

Complete Set-Up Process Without Operator

The Auto Kitting Station takes care of the entire process: removing empty reels after component consumption, reading out reel IDs, pre-processing the tape and inserting the reels into the feeders. It supports 8 mm tape packaging, which covers the majority of small electronic components used in SMT processes.

The station can be integrated with Fuji's NXTR-A pick-and-place machines, the smart storage system, autonomous mobile robots and automated storage systems from various manufacturers. This should make it possible to realize a continuous material flow from storage to assembly without manual intervention.

Fuji sees the Auto Kitting Station as a response to two structural challenges in electronics production: the growing shortage of skilled workers and the increasing requirements in high-mix, low-volume environments, where frequent product changes drive up manual set-up costs in particular. (sb)

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