Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) visually inspects products for defects using light and a camera or scanner. AOI is used in various industries, but is most intensive in the PCB industry. AOI is faster and more accurate than manual inspection, but may not be useful for products with many variations. AOI uses a master model or CAD data to compare products to a perfect model.
Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) is a system that can visually inspect products to see if they are perfect or defective. AOI systems are used on a variety of products, such as automotive parts, foods and labels. The most intensive automated optical inspection system is used in the printed circuit board (PCB) industry, due to the variety of small problems that can compromise the effectiveness of a PCB. An AOI program uses a combination of light and a scanner or camera to capture product information, then compares it to a master or digital data. While this is much faster than manually inspecting a product, industries that create products with many variations may not find AOI very useful, because this system can only handle similar products.
It used to be that when a product was being made, employees were hired to look into the product. They would manually look for defects and make sure that all parts were positioned correctly on the product. While effective at the moment, manual inspection is much slower and less accurate than automated optical inspection. That’s because the AOI system, unlike human inspectors, doesn’t strain your eyes or accidentally forget where a part should go.
Automated optical inspection is available for many different products, and each product receives its own set of inspection instructions. For example, if inspecting fruit, an AOI system will check for color change or bumps; for car parts, an AOI system will verify that the part is the right size, is shaped correctly, and has no manufacturing defects. The most advanced type of AOI is used with PCBs, due to their complexity. AOI systems must check for proper welding, that all parts are present, and that there are no defects.
To check a product, automated optical inspections use light and a camera or scanner. Light is needed to reduce visual noise and to make sure the camera or scanner can see the product without interference. A camera is less efficient in this field, because more than one may be needed for a proper inspection. Scanners digitize visual information and can easily compare it to models or data.
Ensuring that the product is perfect means that the automated optical inspection system needs to know what a perfect product is. One way to do this is to use a master model, which involves continuously scanning a perfect product model and comparing it to the inspected product. The second way is to input computer-aided design (CAD) data into the system, so that it can compare the product with the perfect data.
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