High-quality PCB components (PCBA) have become a major requirement in the electronics industry. PCB Assembly acts as an integrated component for various electronic devices. If the PCB component manufacturer is unable to perform the operation due to a production error, the functionality of various electronic devices will be threatened. To avoid risks, PCBS and assembly manufacturers are now performing various types of inspections on PCBas at different manufacturing steps. The blog discusses the various PCBA inspection techniques and the types of defects they analyze.

PCBA check method

Today, due to the increasing complexity of printed circuit boards, the identification of manufacturing defects is challenging. Many times, PCBS may have defects such as open and short circuits, wrong orientations, inconsistent welds, misaligned components, incorrectly placed components, defective non-electrical components, missing electrical components, etc. To avoid all these situations, turnkey PCB assembly manufacturers use the following inspection methods.

All of the techniques discussed above ensure an accurate inspection of electronic PCB components and help ensure the quality of PCB components before they leave the factory. If you are considering PCB assembly for your next project, be sure to get resources from trusted PCB assembly services.

First article inspection

The production quality always depends on the proper operation of SMT. Therefore, before starting mass assembly and production, PCB manufacturers perform first-piece inspections to ensure SMT equipment is properly installed. This inspection helps them detect vacuum nozzles and alignment problems that can be avoided in volume production.

Visually inspect the

Visual inspection or open – eye inspection is one of the most commonly used inspection techniques during PCB assembly. As the name suggests, this involves examining various components through an eye or detector. The choice of equipment will depend on the location to be inspected.For example, placement of components and printing of solder paste are visible to the naked eye. However, paste deposits and copper pads can only be seen with a Z-high detector. The most common type of appearance inspection is performed at the reflow weld of a prism, where the reflected light is analyzed from various angles.

Automatic optical inspection

AOI is the most common but comprehensive appearance inspection method used to identify defects. AOI is typically performed using multiple cameras, light sources, and a library of programmed leds. AOI systems can also click images of solder joints at different angles and tilted parts. Many AOI systems can check 30 to 50 joints a second, which helps minimize the time needed to identify and correct defects. Today, these systems are used in all stages of PCB assembly. Previously, AOI systems were not considered ideal for measuring solder joint height on a PCB. However, with the advent of 3D AOI systems, this is now possible. In addition, AOI systems are ideal for inspecting complex shaped parts with spacing of 0.5mm.

X-ray examination

Due to their utilization in micro devices, the demand for denser and compact sized circuit board components is growing. Surface mount technology (SMT) has become a popular choice among PCB manufacturers looking to design dense and complex PCBS using BGA packaged components. Although SMT helps reduce the size of PCB packages, it also introduces some complexity that is invisible to the naked eye. For example, a small chip package (CSP) created with SMT may have 15,000 welded connections that are not easily verified with the naked eye. This is where the X-rays are used. It has the ability to penetrate solder joints and identify missing balls, solder positions, misalignments, etc. The X-ray penetrates the chip package, which has a connection between the tightly connected circuit board and solder joint below.

All of the techniques discussed above ensure an accurate inspection of electronic components and help PCB assemblers ensure their quality before they leave the plant. If you are considering PCB components for your next project, be sure to purchase from a trusted PCB component manufacturer.