The Knowledge Base: The Era of Advanced Packaging
Standard of Excellence: Finding and Developing Future Leaders in Manufacturing
Global Sourcing Spotlight: Navigating the Variables of Holiday Schedules in Global Sourcing
Altus Looks Back at Ten Years of 3D SPI Innovation
June 20, 2022 | Altus GroupEstimated reading time: 1 minute
3D Solder Paste Inspection (SPI) systems have been a game-changer in reliable electronics, ensuring that complex PCBAs are fail-safe. A trailblazer for this innovative inspection is Koh Young. Recently celebrating 20 years of innovation and ten years since they introduced the concept of 3D measurement-based solder paste inspection, Altus, a leading distributor of capital equipment in the UK and Ireland, looks back at how 3D SPI has revolutionized the inspection industry.
Joe Booth, Altus CEO, said: “During the last ten years, we have seen an increase in manufacturers investing in 3D SPI systems. As technology has advanced and electronics have become more complex, the value of the 3D measurement data has increased. The data not only helps to ensure high quality print processes and production results, but it also improves reliability, quality and performance of the PCBA. Investment in 3D SPI is no longer an optional extra but a necessity on any SMT line.”
Since the Koh Young systems use light measurement, they produce the most accurate measurements of a PCBA; therefore it can be used to set the tightest tolerances. This results in better quality inspection, PCBA quality and a large reduction in false calls. Thanks to this intelligent automated technology which has the highest level of connectivity for all the inspection stations, overall automation capability is enhanced.
“Smart customers know that investing in an SPI often leads to the highest return on investment of any inspection or test process in production,” said Joe Booth. “They know this because it offers the earliest opportunity to ensure that solder paste performance is optimised and any failures are caught early before the cost of correcting those errors significantly increases.
“It is widely accepted that 70-80% of SMT production errors are linked to solder paste and, so controlling that aspect of a line has always and will remain a priority. SPI is where Koh Young began full 3D metrology, and now, one of every two SPIs sold globally is a Koh Young platform. This market dominance is reflected in the UK and Ireland by the consistent sales performance over the years, and the saturation effect we see with many sites utilising both Koh Young SPI and AOI on all their production lines.”
Share on:
Suggested Items
Book Excerpt: The Printed Circuit Assembler’s Guide to... Low-Temperature Soldering, Vol. 2, Chapter 5
12/23/2024 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamChapter 5 introduces the advantages of using low-temperature soldering for through-hole components, including cost efficiency, reliability improvement, and reduced warpage. Also covered: the evaluation of different fluxes and the performance of HRL3 in wave soldering and selective soldering processes.
Overview of Soldering Systems With Vacuum
12/18/2024 | Dr. Paul Wild, Rehm Thermal Systems GmbHWhen soldering electronic assemblies, the focus of the vacuum application is on the removal of volatile substances from the solder joints and the associated reduction of pore formation. Particularly in the thermal management of power electronics components, pores can cause so-called hotspots with higher temperatures due to their poor heat conduction. These hotspots can lead to overheating of the components on the one hand and to thermally induced destruction of the solder structure on the other.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
12/13/2024 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007This week, Peter Tranitz discusses the upcoming Pan-European Electronics Design Conference, set for Jan. 29-30 in Vienna, Austria. Pete Starkey brings us a review of the most recent EIPC Technical Snapshot webinar, which featured a global PCB maker update by Dr. Hayao Nakahara. Don't miss our interview with Manfred Huschka, who explains how companies can begin their own China Plus One plan. Stan Farnsworth breaks down photonic soldering and discusses its use in soldering materials that are not typically compatible. I also enjoyed Dan Beaulieu’s discussion on the value of consistency, and why just showing up for work is half the battle, especially in an inconsistent, evolving industry like ours.
Advancing Photonic Soldering
12/11/2024 | Nolan Johnson, SMT007 MagazineStan Farnsworth, director of customer satisfaction at PulseForge, discusses the advancements in photonic soldering that highlight its energy efficiency and versatility. Over the past two years, the company has refined its applications for flexible substrates and energy reduction, finding that photonic soldering allows the processing of materials that typically aren’t thermally compatible and offers significant energy savings compared to traditional methods.
Indium Introduces New ROL0 and Halogen-free Flux-cored Wire
12/11/2024 | Indium CorporationIndium Corporation announced the global availability of CW-807RS, a new high-reliability, halide- and halogen-free flux-cored wire that improves wetting speeds and cycle times for electronics assembly and robot soldering applications.