Exciting projects have been in motion this summer at Mek! Following several highly successful years, Mek has grown substantially. To keep pace with an expanding team, and to ensure our global workforce has the space and tools they need to do their best, most collaborative work, the Mek European headquarters in Tilburg, Netherlands, needed to grow as well. After months of planning we’ve moved into our new office space which we have acquired by taking… Read the full article…
What about inspection quality?
3D AOI connectivity is exceptionally important, but what about inspection quality? 3D automatic optical inspection systems (3D AOI) have become a critical component of production lines in electronics manufacturing Smart Factories as the hubs for quality control, giving valuable feedback to the production machines. But Smart Factories with AOI can only work if the AOI results are reliable… Of all the systems in a SMT/THT assembly line, automatic optical inspection systems have the most scope… Read the full article…
5 reasons why THT components and mixed technology boards are not going away any time soon
The majority of PCBs produced today use Surface Mount Technology SMT whereby the components are mounted directly onto the surface of the PCB. SMT, adopted in the 1980s, has massively reduced the costs of manufacturing because it allows for far greater levels of automation. SMT components are much smaller and hence a much higher number can be fitted onto the board allowing for much denser, smaller PCBs with a higher performance. Does that mean that… Read the full article…
Mek (Marantz Electronics) holds annual Global Technical Meeting virtually
The Mek Annual Global Technical Meeting took place last month. The three primary aims of the annual meeting are: communication, motivation and education. Updating the global team on AOI and SPI product developments, catching up with colleagues and making plans for the year as a team, is an essential part of the company’s communication strategy and sales success. Usually held in Japan, due to Coronavirus and related travel restrictions, the 4 day conference this year… Read the full article…
5 reasons why a Z-axis is needed on the optical unit of an Automatic Optical Inspection Machine
1. A must have to allow for PCB warpage if the AOI machine has angular cameras The center of the field of view (FoV) of angular cameras are set to be on the center of the FoV of the main camera. The optimal focal point of the main camera lens is on the printed circuit board (PCB) surface. A main camera lens typically has a focal depth of a few millimetres, a height range in… Read the full article…
Mek launches MekCare, a portfolio of new AOI & SPI support and maintenance services
Mek (Marantz Electronics), has now launched MekCare, a range of flexible service plans designed to meet differing support requirements for Automatic Optical Inspection (AOI) and Solder Paste Inspection (SPI) technologies, all at a pre-determined cost. Three levels of service & support contract are on offer: Remote Maintenance & Calibration Warranty Plus All the plans give users unlimited access to Mek’s iMentor for online access to software downloads, an online self-training portal, application notes and a… Read the full article…
Fast & Simple PCB Conformal Coating Inspection
Conformal coating inspection, (CCI) is an essential stage of the conformal coating process and yet one that very few companies undertake, aside from a brief manual visual inspection. Manual inspection is an extremely difficult job due to factors such as eye strain and concentration drift, while slow throughput makes it economically challenging… The Solution Mek automated CCI systems for automatic inspection of conformal coatings and defect detection see more than an operator ever could and… Read the full article…
Simultaneous bottom and top inline inspection
The Mek PowerSpector BTL Bottom & Top In Line Automatic Optical Inspection Systems offer synchronized inspection of the top and bottom side of PCBs to deliver the fastest inspection Reflow, Wave or Selective soldering & placement of SMT & THT components. Patented synchronized lighting technology brings new capabilities. 9 cameras per side, with both heads inspecting the PCB at the same time, give the fastest inspection times but without the high power lighting system of… Read the full article…
Mek Conformal Coating Inspection
The new Mek iSpector JUz CCI system is designed to provide high detail and flexible conformal coating inspection and automated optical inspection in the same unit. All approved conformal coatings contain a UV tracer and the coating glows bright blue under a UV light. By switching between its main white light and high intensity UV LED light source, iSpector JUz makes conformal coating inspection simple and is able to inspect both component bodies and coatings to… Read the full article…
3D AOI system with Artificial Intelligence based 100% automatic programming
The ISO-Spector M1A 3D Automated Optical Inspection system introduces Artificial Intelligence based 100% automatic programming for solder joints in 3D and semi-automatic programming of component bodies. Measurement results are completely operator independent. Production-ready programming time averages under 2 minutes per unique part number, from scratch. The sophistication of the M1A AOI software further includes push button switchable IPC Class I II or III values and single click detection of a full range of foreign material,… Read the full article…