Z-AXIS tests almost every board we make. That wasn’t always the case with electronic testing, but printed circuit board assemblies, or PCBAs, have become increasingly complex with finer pitches and a greater mixture of components.
Years ago, PCBAs had just a handful of parts. Today, they can have thousands of different components and use smaller board sizes. Component suppliers sometimes mismark reels, too. All of this makes electrical testing more important than ever, but also more challenging.
Watch the video above to learn how Z-AXIS performs electronic testing today.
Manual Testing vs. Automatic Testing
Manual testing can introduce human error, and automated flying probes can’t always test finer pitches. With our state-of-the-art equipment, however, Z-AXIS performs electrical testing reliably and efficiently. Our equipment includes a Mycronics pick-and-place machine, a radial inserter, a reflow oven, and automated optical inspection (AOI).
Mycronics Pick-and-Place Machine
At our Phelps, New York manufacturing facility, our Mycronics pick-and-place machine has a robot that grabs each part and puts it on a test bed. If the part passes, the robot places it on the board. There are different test pads for different types and sizes of components, too.
Radial Inserter for Through-Hole Components
For through hole parts, there’s a radial inserter that verifies the type of component leads. Because Z-AXIS builds Bear Power Supplies, we don’t just test surface mount technology, or SMT.
Reflow Oven
After a board is populated, it enters a reflow oven. Measuring the volume of solder paste helps to ensure reliable connections, but it’s also important to avoid creating solder bridges with inadvertent connections.
Automated Optical Inspection (AOI)
That’s why when the PCBA leaves the reflow oven, automated optical inspection, or AOI, checks the reflow. AOI also looks for missing parts and measures component height to ensure that the right parts are on the right pads. Because our AOI uses 3D instead of 2D technology, it can also capture hard-to-detect problems such as black parts that are missing from black boards.
Power Supply Testing
PCBAs aren’t all that we test at Z-AXIS, however. The Bear Power supplies that we make are put on a bed of nails for red light, green light testing. BP Series power supply certification testing meets UL, CAN/CSA, EN, and IEC requirements, Z-AXIS engineers can design test fixtures for boards, too.
Digital Board Testing
With our investments in testing technology, Z-AXIS is able to build a large variety of boards – and with increasing complexity – as we reduce our defects each year so that they’re now below 1%.
Contact us to learn more and to discuss your application.