Altus Supports Quins SMTconnect Highlights with Equipment Demos from UK Facility

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Manufacturing PCBAs should include a process that consistently inspects, captures and records high quality images of the assembly being produced for traceability purposes. Capital equipment distributor, Altus understand just how important this process is and will be supporting their supplier Quins by demonstrating their range of inspection equipment which the German manufacturer will showcase at SMTconnect, Nuremberg from 10-12 May 2022.

Anthony Oh, Technical Applications Manager, Altus said: “With Covid still affecting global travel and many not able to attend SMTconnect in Germany, we have installed Quins equipment at the Altus demo unit in our head office facility. We hope this will give those in the UK an alternative if they cannot attend the show but still want to learn more about Quins inspection equipment.”

Quins will use SMTconnect as a platform to introduce visitors to the new Automatic UV Inspection for conformal coating. The UV test area can be generated automatically by using a reference image. The system also allows users to manually define the ‘plus zones’ in which there must be coating and also the ‘negative zones’ where no coating should be present. Alternatively, the automatically generated zones can be edited manually.

The detection and testing are based on parameterizable colour detection, whereby the coating layer thickness is recognized and checked based on the colour brightness. As with all previously existing and proven modules, the parameterization is intuitively simple to use to ensure quick inspection.

The image is captured using Quins-Box LC20/UV, with switchable UV LED lighting. The ‘Quins Easy UVI’ program module scans the test object and automatically shows where too less or too much protective coating has been applied. Even small coating spatters are detected (at a resolution of 600 dpi, which corresponds to 0.0423... mm per pixel as the smallest unit). As with the other inspection processes, all test results are automatically saved and documented, so that complete traceability is also provided.

“Protecting your employees from harmful UV radiation when testing the assembly coating is critical. Checking the protective coating means a massive health burden for the examiner but Quins have the solution. With the new Quins Automatic UV Inspection not only can you test protective varnish easily, safely and without any radiation exposure, but you have the option to do this automatically,” said Anthony Oh. 

Quins Easy is another product that the German company will be introducing to visitors at SMTconnect. Available from Altus, the system includes advanced software to inspect PCBAs using specially developed LED lighting. This guarantees a shadow-free image quality to ensure all errors are recognised. Due to its ease of use, it works quickly to detect faults immediately and reliably. The Quins system can also be configured with a UV bulb as an option to easily allow for additional applications and higher ROI (coating presence inspection). At a resolution up to 1200 dpi faults like hair line cracks in the layout, solder balls, faulty solderings, or shifted components are detected. The advanced software presents results in a comprehensible format to help to analyse and interpret data simply.