Siemens Dematic announces Siscan

Said to be the world's first automatic, optical inspection method for laser welded jointsSiemens Dematic Electronics Assembly Systems has announced Siscan, said to be the world's one and only automatic optical inspection (AOI) system for laser welded joints. The system, which is based on the confocal microscopy method, is expected to be of considerable use, particularly in the automotive industry.Up to now laser welded joints have been checked manually at several successive visual inspection workstations for porous areas, indentations, holes, craters, weld height and width. This cost-intensive inspection has now been automated for the first time by using the Siscan optical inspection method. The system measures the welded joints in three dimensions with a resolution of 10 µm in the xy plane at a z-resolution of 0.5 µm. Up to 384 million measurements per second allow a measuring speed of 100 mm/s at a scan width of 0.64 mm. This high speed enables the measuring system to be integrated synchronously in an existing short cycle welding line. Siscan can even be integrated into an existing welding station by the parallel use of a traversing device.Source: PCBnewsline