Zollner Elektronik, a German company providing electronic manufacturing services, has implemented an in-line X-ray and optical inspection (AOXI) systems from Viscom to raise test coverage further and attain the requisite flexibility at low cost.
Zollner wanted a solution that would be suitable in both large series production as well as high-mix low-volume. Uwe Schulze, responsible for AOI and AXI in the inspection technology area at Zollner, commented: 'The flexibility of the system was especially crucial for us, because the different assemblies also necessitate different AOI and AXI test concepts.'
Previously, Zollner employed X-ray inspection systems that had been designed exclusively for a pure 3D X-ray inspection. When deployed in series production, this restriction to full surface 3D AXI presented certain disadvantages. Schulze commented: 'It doesn't always make sense to 3D X-ray the entire assembly. The cycle time is simply shorter when an AOI is also used. The reason for us to search for new combined AOI/AXI inspection systems also was an expense factor, because full surface 3D X-ray inspection is very time-intensive and further, acquisition of these systems is very expensive. Viscom systems make it possible to graduate the inspection. The more I can inspect optically, the faster is the entire inspection. We have never had such flexibility before; this presents a true advantage.'
Zollner Elektronik deploys the X7056 systems for complex assemblies and especially for inspection of QFNs and BGAs. Schulze continued: 'With AOI, such features as presence, displacement, polarity and solder quality were checked. Among its other applications, the AXI function is used to inspect hidden solder joints, e.g. where hidden menisci are only visible with difficulty, but also where taller components introduce shadowing.'
