Looking at trends in AOI
29 May 2007
Founded in 1984, CyberOptics is a recognised leader in process yield and throughput improvement solutions for the global electronics assembly and semiconductor capital equipment markets. Headquartered in Minneapolis, CyberOptics conducts operations in North America, Asia and Europe. In a recent discussion with Sean Langbridge, CyberOptics’ European Managing Director, EM&T discovered some interesting information about the company.
EM&T: Some electronics manufacturing companies historically have tried to avoid using optical inspection because they say it does not add value to the process. What is the current situation in Europe?
Sean Langbridge: In the past, many if not most electronics manufacturers did try to avoid inspection systems such as AOI or solder paste inspection (SPI); however, this has changed rapidly over the last few years. We now anticipate that the need, and implementation of AOI and SPI, will grow substantially in Europe, and other major markets.
Customers today are focusing more on yield improvements to reduce total costs. An inspection machine that is just used to catch defects after reflow, for example, is not being fully utilised. Best-in-class manufacturing teams are using the results from inspection systems in an SPC framework to make process adjustments, improve production yields, reduce scrap and rework costs, and lower total operating costs. Also, preventing defects occurring in the first place by
utilising process measurement systems, and advanced SPC features, can provide significantly
more value than traditional automated inspection methods.
EM&T: Why is 3-D Solder Paste Inspection becoming so popular, and how is CyberOptics continuing to develop this segment of the inspection market?
Sean Langbridge: 3-D solder paste inspection is becoming more popular with the increased use of BGA and CSP type packaging as well as the increased use of 0201 components in many different types of products. Customers are also interested in process control in order to save costs and improve line process yield. The most important paste parameter you can measure that affects line process yield is paste volume. By accurately measuring that the paste volume on each pad is correct you will have improved yield, and reduced solder joint failures post reflow. This volume control becomes even more important with BGA and CSP type packaging where you cannot directly inspect those solder joints using AOI after reflow. So 3-D solder paste inspection is essential to achieve a full SPC-based yield improvement strategy.
CyberOptics continues to lead the 3-D SPI market with best in Class Measurement GR&R and accuracy on paste deposits down to 01005 levels. CyberOptics also continues to implement frequent roadmap releases meeting its specific customer needs and is committed to increased inspection speeds, easier-to-use operator interfaces, and improving programming times. Our new Micro Pad inspection sensor takes the SE300 Ultra solder paste measurement capability to new
levels of accuracy, and repeatability, on features down to as small as 100 microns.
EM&T: This industry changes very quickly. How are customers keeping up with market trends?
Sean Langbridge: Customers are interested in purchasing systems that will keep up with their requirements as their business grow and change over time. For instance, as advanced packages and components have been reducing in size, inspection systems have had to develop to keep pace with these industry trends. For example customers are now specifying systems with 0201 and 01005 component size capability, although most are not inspecting parts that small today, they have plans for these parts on their product development roadmaps. Obsolescence, and cost of ownership, are key elements of the overall investment decision, hence the systems have to be capable of supporting their product development plans over time. The 3-D solder paste inspection and AOI systems from CyberOptics have the capability to keep pace with these latest industry trends and are fully capable of inspecting down to 01005 component sizes.
EM&T: In Europe electronic manufacturing facilities tend to be low volume high mix, not
high volume, how are CyberOptics responding to this challenge?
Sean Langbridge: Traditionally automated inspection systems were only used in high volume manufacturing lines. This was mainly due to the lengthy and difficult programme tuning requirements of the systems at this time. Also customers could not afford the time, and resources, to continually change and amend programmes for anything less than real high volume production runs. Due to constant improvements in both hardware technology, and more importantly vision image analysis, there are now systems that can perform very well on small production batch sizes. This is a very important development for the European (and especially the UK) market as manufacturing quality and process control are key elements in remaining competitive, and 100% product inspection is a key contributor in achieving these goals. CyberOptics are constantly improving their inspection products in this area, and currently offer systems with programme creation and fine tuning measured in minutes, not hours, therefore greatly increasing the return on investment for the customer.
EM&T: What additional changes do you see at CyberOptics in the near future?
Sean Langbridge: From a corporate perspective we are continuing to invest heavily in our inspection systems business, we have aggressive roadmap schedules planned to keep the products at the forefront of the market, and to meet our customers’ requirements.
From a European perspective, we have increased the number of sales and applications personnel in order to become more responsive to customer needs. We have also strengthened our distribution partner network throughout Europe, to ensure we offer first class local support.
This combination of increased product development investment and Asia customer support infrastructure should ensure that CyberOptics remains a prominent supplier in the advanced automated inspection system market.
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