HEERBRUGG, SWITZERLAND - ESCATEC, the EMS innovator, has just installed a Nikon XTV160 2.5D X-Ray inspection system as part of its continual upgrade programme. This €150,000 installation is used for inspecting solder joint quality of PCBA for hidden interconnections and features, like BGA balls, QFN interconnections or bond wires.
"Electronics continue to shrink," said Dr. Martin Muendlein, Engineering Manager at ESCATEC Switzerland, "increasing the need for sophisticated techniques to ensure that every solder joint is perfect. Visual inspection is increasingly impossible as more and more components are stacked on one another with the solder joints only detectable by using X-rays. This new X-ray machine will enable us to inspect hidden solder joints with magnifications up to 2400 times and an image resolution of up to 1micron, so that we are ready to meet the increasing demand for X-ray inspection."
The X-Ray system will be used in parallel with SMT production for optimizing production process and maintaining it at a high quality level. According to the defined sample rate, PCBA are automatically inspected and analysed immediately after the reflow process. All findings from this analysis are feedback to SMT line to continuously optimize production parameter and the results are stored in test logs for analysis and traceability.
Variable magnification and tilted viewing angle allow detection of defects which cannot be found with a top viewing system (e.g. Head in Pillow).