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www.us-tech.com


August, 2018


ElEctronic Mfg SErvicES Whelen Engineering Improves


Fine-Feature Inspection with HD Video By Randy Allinson, Ascentech, LLC


ficult and less certain, requiring more advanced inspection technolo- gy. Whelen Engineering Company, Inc., an OEM with SMT and PCB as- sembly plants in Chester, Connecti- cut, and Charlestown, New Hamp- shire, encountered this challenge. The solution came with the purchase and installation of several INSPEC- TIS AB HD video camera systems. The outcome was better inspection, as anticipated, but also a 50 percent decrease in inspection time — an un- expected benefit.


A


Aviation and Automotive Whelen Engineering began in a


garage in 1952, when George Whelen III invented the first rotating avia- tion beacon. As a privately owned company, Whelen has experienced growth for more than six decades. The development of that first avia- tion light helped launch Whelen into the automotive safety lighting indus-


s circuits become more com- pact and components get smaller, inspection is more dif-


try as well. Whelen currently pro- vides safety lighting for police, fire- fighters, emergency medical services,


and departments of transportation, as well as many other industries. The production volumes in the


automotive sector have allowed Whe- len to invest in the latest automated assembly equipment in order to com- pete worldwide. Last year, Whelen purchased more than 44 million LEDs for use in its extensive family of products. Jim Blundon, SMT electronic


production manager, oversees pro- duction in the larger and newer Charlestown facility. “We have five SMT production lines and 1,000 em- ployees in our New Hampshire facili- ty, building primarily automotive products. We are considered an OEM supplier and currently build approxi- mately four million PCBs per year,” says Blundon. The company assembles surface


mount and through-hole circuit boards and tests them in-circuit. “Our goal is to bring innovative, life- saving products to market more quickly, while maintaining strict quality control throughout the process,” he says. “We have accom- plished this through a vertical manu-


INSPECTIS F30s HD video camera system. The Flying Probe Experts TAKAYA


Multi-function DOUBLE SIDED


Flying Probe System


The world’s fastest dual-sided Advanced Flying Probe Test System.


Featuring 10-Flying- Z-axis including 4 vertical flying probes providing unequal access to test points.


Soft Touch probing capability.


High end Laser measuring capabilities to compensate for board warpage.


TEXMAC, Inc. 704-394-0314


www.texmac.com APT -1600FD Continued on next page


NEW!


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