True Height Measurement in Solder Paste Inspection

SPI equipment is routinely used in Printed Circuit Board (PCB) manufacturing to monitor and control one of the most crucial steps affecting the finished quality of circuit board. Solder paste deposition is the key process in board assembly operations using SMT techniques. Our LSM™ system was the industry's first popular method of manually inspecting solder paste; our SE systems revolutionized SMT production by offering an automated method for performing in-process 3D inspection on the assembly line. SPI systems measure the height and volume of the solder pads before the components are applied and the solder melted, and when used properly, can reduce the incidence of solder-related defects to statistically insignificant amounts. Critical to the SPI measurement is the accuracy of the height measurement because that has a direct correlation with solder volume and defects....