Development of an automated via inspection station

To produce smaller, more compact circuit boards many companies are turning to low temperature co-fired ceramic substrate technology. Critical to the process is the location and alignment of small holes, or vias, which allow electrical conduction between the different layers of the circuit board. Inspection of the vias continues to be carried out manually by most manufactures of these boards. This paper describes a Sr.Capstone project to automate the via inspection process and develop an automated via inspection station. Through research and experimentation it was found that camera resolution and magnification factor were two of the most critical requirements in developing an accurate via inspection station.