Circuit board inspection is a crucial step both before and after the boards are populated with components. In many cases inspectors must find if the correct components are mounted, if the components are mounted properly, and if damaged boards can be reworked. On many critical boards the end-user may require 100% inspection.

This work is typically done at relatively low magnification for reasonable perspective and clarity. It’s also useful to have a large field of view for efficient inspection over large or small areas.  Often it’s necessary to have a 3D view of the boards, especially to determine if delicate surface mount devices are evenly mounted on the board. For any or all of these situations, a stereomicroscope is the ideal solution, such as one of our Olympus SZX models. In all of these inspection situations digital imaging – such as our Discovery Series cameras and software – is often used to document any defects and to help train new staff or familiarize current staff with new products.

Do you need to inspect "raw", unpopulated boards?  This unique and complex photolithographic process can be inspected and often measured  with a stereomicroscope in a manner similar to that used on a populated board.  In addition, measurements may be carried out using software and a stereomicroscope or a Measuring microscope such as the Olympus STM 6.  In either case, Olympus offers a wide variety of solutions to evaluate the width of the lines, if there is any bridging, and even the grain structure of the metal.

As another quality control step, circuit board manufacturers must also measure the thickness of the metal runs as they are produced.  This is commonly done by measuring and mounting a "tag" on the board – a specially manufactured part of a test board that is designed to be embedded in epoxy or placed in a special mount for examination by a Inverted microscope such as the Olympus GX 51.

The GX 51 inverted scope minimizes preparation time and provides the complete power and flexibility of a compound microscope that also can be coupled with a Discovery Series digital imaging solution for crisp, easily-transportable digital images.