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tech.com
August, 2014
Modular AOI System Starts at the Bottom G
By Clyde Samuelson
rowing complexity of printed- circuit boards (PCBs) and PCB assembly methods drives the
needs for effective inspection solu- tions for examining the surface- mount
technology (SMT) and
through-hole technology (THT) used throughout many PCBs. Fortun - ately, an inline, bottom-side PCB inspection system has been devel- oped containing as many as nine cameras per side, and can be config- ured for simultaneous top and bot- tom PCB inspection with as many as 18 cameras to address the growing
complexity of PCBs and PCB assem- bly techniques. As these trends in PCB assembly
impact a growing number of applica- tion areas, such as for high-power automotive electronics, automated optical inspection (AOI) systems pro- vide an essential means of checking SMT and THT assemblies for quality and reliability, since rework on these PCBs is increasingly forbidden. AOI has become a solution of choice for checking the quality of production PCBs and helping to improve produc- tion yields for these boards.
The production equipment and
factory configurations for wave sol- dering and selective soldering can be quite different than the production lines employing interfaces meeting Surface Mount Equipment Manufac - turers Association (SMEMA) stan- dards common to convection reflow production lines. This makes it diffi- cult to apply conventional AOI sys- tems in cost- and space-effective manners. Inspection performed from the bottom up provides a fundamen- tal solution, but circuit assemblies in frames are typically returned to
operators for removal on conveyers located very close to floor level, mak- ing inspection all the more difficult. Intermediate board flipping stations and large top/bottom configurations of conventional AOI systems have been used for inspection in these
Keep Your Production Line PURRING
The SpectorBOX AOI provides a modular solution for inspecting THT and SMT PCBs.
cases, often with less-than-ideal results. Because of the absence of standardized interfaces, such at - tempts at integrated inspection solu- tions are further characterized by the need for one-off custom designs.
An AOI Solution Fortunately, an AOI solution has
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Proudly made in the USA since1965.
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Sales@Simplimatic.com Simplimatic.com
been developed with excellent inspec- tion capabilities and the mechanical flexibility required to enhance produc- tivity. The Spector BOX system from Marantz Electronics Ltd. (MEK) has been optimized for checking wave- and selective-soldered PCBs with THT and SMT components, and can inspect PCBs inside solder frames directly on existing production-line conveyer belts. The AOI system can be posi- tioned at any conveyer feed or return point, and its compact mechanical design allows it to be positioned below existing return and feed conveyers. It features a low-profile inspection head for checking THT assemblies as close as a mere 280mm above a production floor. Elimination of flipping convey- ers and ease of integration with exist- ing conveyer systems can save as much as 75 percent in cost and floor space compared to other inspection systems. Without increasing the inspec-
tion system footprint, simultaneous top-bottom inspection capabilities can be achieved by combining two mod- ules in one SpectorBOX system, each with a top or bottom camera and eight side cameras. The system performs effective wave solder inspec tion by means of MEK Meniscus Profiling, using 360-deg. multiple-angle, multi- ple-color lighting, including line- sourced diffuse-on-axis-light (DOAL) coaxial prism illuminators and high- resolution telecentric optics. In addition to the top or bottom
modules with nine cameras, the mod- ular AOI system can be equipped with a Z-axis moveable optical head for focusing and optimal positioning. This optical head can account for warping of a PCB and for different PCB heights when in their solder frames.
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