AOI Programs with a Magic Click

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

For many manufacturing service providers, this is a daily challenge: Once again, the new job is a series of 50 pieces. Important staff are on vacation, and component delivery times make your hair stand on end. The customer is determined to have AOI, but the layout of the assembly is highly customized, making it virtually impossible to use complete library entries. The customer is also demanding delivery at short notice.

In situations like these, an AOI program that is available quickly can make a crucial difference in significantly reducing the time from the start of production to delivery.

SK-Tronic: Flexible Manufacturing for a High Level of Diversity

SK-Tronic is an example of a medium-sized traditional EMS provider; its portfolio covers everything from PCB assembly of prototypes to producing complex equipment systems. The company handles conventional small batches as well as larger production runs. SK-Tronic provides its customers with advice and support with developing the layout and procuring materials. Surface-mount assembly is carried out using a total of three Mycronic systems to guarantee highly flexible production without any downtime. Quality assurance is performed on the assemblies produced using Goepel electronic’s 3D AOI system—Vario Line 3D—which is fed by all three pick-and-place systems.

As is typical for EMS providers, SK-Tronic is also confronted with a wide range of products. There is always a high degree of time pressure, and customers demand an AOI inspection of all components as the standard. In situations like these, creating AOI programs can result in a bottleneck situation that can slow the production rate—unless you have a tool that takes care of the difficult task of creating a test program itself as if by magic.

The Old Way

The traditional way of creating a test program starts with importing data. The next step of assigning item numbers to existing library entries is the most laborious because each item code number has to be assigned manually. The final adjustment of the test parameters is also carried out manually. The complexity of the programming depends on the characteristics of the assembly.

“In the past, some test programs would take a day to create, and then there was a manual inspection on top of that,” explains Oliver Barth, production manager at SK-Tronic. That’s why AOI was only scheduled for batch sizes of 100–200 pieces, as a manual visual inspection under the dynascope was more time-efficient than creating an AOI test program.

As if by Magic

To make it even more economical to use AOI systems, Goepel electronic has developed the MagicClick tool for the PILOT AOI system software. This enables test programs using 3D AOI to be created and optimized automatically. And the really special thing? A production-grade test program can be created in just a few minutes—complete with a component library—without any library entries whatsoever. The parameters are also adjusted completely automatically and even consider process variations. At most, only small manual adjustments are necessary afterwards. MagicClick aims to enable efficient use of AOI, right from the second assembly.

This is possible when used in combination with the AOI system Vario Line·3D. What sets it apart is the 3D·ViewZ camera module, which combines various measurement and inspection technologies for maximum fault detection. In addition to the 3D measurement based on structured light, the module also includes cameras for angled-view inspection.

Both 3D projections and 2D inspections are possible in 360° steps, which guarantees maximum fault detection even in critical component situations. 3D·ViewZ is available both in the in-line system—Vario Line·3D—and in the stand-alone system—Basic Line·3D.

To read the full article, which appeared in the November 2018 issue of SMT007 Magazine, click here.