6 Benefits of PCB X-Ray Quality Control and Inspection

by | Last Updated On September 20, 2022

6 Benefits of X-Ray Inspection of PCB for Quality Control

Have you ever wondered what benefits you stand to gain from inspecting your PCBs with an X-ray machine?

There are numerous benefits that X-ray quality control and inspection afford the manufacturer or even the inspector.

The high accuracy of the result and the ability to see hidden features might be the most important advantages. Nonetheless, other numerous benefits still exist to ensure that the best quality of PCB is produced.

This post will examine specific benefits related to the PCB and the X-ray method for inspecting PCB defects. So, if you are ready, let’s dive in.

1. Enable to inspect blind or buried vias

Vias are very important components of PCBs as they allow different layers of boards to be connected easily.

However, different vias are used to connect the boards, including blind vias and buried vias.

Since these vias are not easily seen with visual inspections, it creates a problem for the inspector to assess the integrity of these vias during quality inspection.

But the good news is that PCB X-ray machines can send radiations that penetrate through hidden and hard-to-reach spots making it easy for the inspector to assess the quality of the board connections and the components.

2. Help to check errors in landing patterns

Often, mistakes occur when assembling components on the PCBs (PCB Assembly) and one of these mistakes is the landing pattern of specific elements on the board.

If the components to be assembled on the board are not part of the components included in the library of commonly used SMD components, it poses the challenge of getting the landing pattern wrongly.

The design engineer is often required to generate a schematic of the newly introduced component and the landing pattern on the board.

There might be a mistake with the landing pattern when this schematic is missing, and it will be hard to notice using visual inspection.

However, it becomes pretty easy to assess a wrong landing pattern for an installed component on the board with a PCB X-ray machine.

3. Enable to see through BGAs

One benefit of Ball Grid Array (BGA) for component arrangement is that devices can become smaller and tiny components can be installed on the PCB.

However, BGA still has its drawbacks, especially for quality assessment and inspections. With the Ball Grid Array (BGA) system, components are often packed tightly on the board with little or no space between installed components.

This tight arrangement makes it impossible for an inspector to visually identify any defect within the board and the components installed.

A PCB X-ray machine is often the best method to assess the quality of the components and the board connection with its X-rays penetrating the BGA assembly.

This non-destructive test (NDT) enables the inspector to see individual components from the images generated from the PCB X-ray machine and identify any flaws.

4. Identify the wrong position of the decoupling capacitors

Decoupling capacitors are often an essential part of every electronic device as they not only ensure the stability of the power supply but also remove oscillations and transients.

These capacitors are always connected in parallel relative to the power supply. Also, they are placed as close as they can be to the components in contact with the power supply.

However, the wrong placement of these capacitors can often lead to unsatisfactory performance of the device and might even cause harm to the user in case of an explosion.

Due to the close installation of electronic components on the PCB, it might be difficult to spot a wrong connection with just visual inspection.

PCB X-ray machine enables the inspector to easily identify any wrong placements and correct this mistake before releasing the product.

5. Allows Inspectors to see solder voids

Soldering is the connecting means between the PCB and the components. If there is an error in soldering, the connection will be faulty and pose product quality challenges.

Also, the product might not work optimally and even pose a potential risk of causing harm to the user.

To avoid these challenges, inspectors check for solder voids that might lead to low-quality connections during an inspection.

However, because BGAs are closely packed during installation, it becomes very difficult to inspect the soldering satisfactorily using visual inspection.

PCB X-ray machine is often the preferred solution for this challenge as it enables inspectors to accurately detect solder voids that can lead to poor quality connection or product.

6. Easy to identify pin-hole fills

One method of connecting components on PCBs is a through-hole connection, especially for components that need a stronger connection when in layers.

However, certain defects often occur with this kind of connection, including pin-hole fills. This issue is usually because of escaped gas while soldering.

This gas is often water vapor and will always cause pin-hole fills if the heat of soldering is excessive, leading to the continuous escape of gas.

It is often very difficult to identify these anomalies using inspection methods like visual inspection and other inadequate means.

However, PCB X-ray machines offer the best, and accurate means of identifying pin-hole fills during a quality assessment to guarantee the integrity of the soldering operation.

Video: Multilayer PCB Design and Manufacturing Process

Conclusion

As you have seen, X-ray machine offers various benefits to the quality control of PCB during manufacture.

One other thing you should consider is the cost of failure as this cost can be very significant if the quality of your products is below standards.

Quality control with a PCB X-ray machine helps save the unnecessary cost of failures and recalls after products have been shipped out.

Hope now you understand the Benefits of X-Ray Inspection of PCB.

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Santosh Das

Santosh, founder of this Electronics Tutorial Website, is an Electronics Geek, Blogger and Young Entrepreneur. He possesses vast experience in the field of electronics, electronic components, PCB, Soldering, SMT, Telecommunication, ESD Safety, and PCB Assembly Tools, Equipment and Consumables. Keep visiting for daily dose of Tips and Tutorials.

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3 Responses

  1. Dianne Miller says:
    July 8, 2022 at 2:02 am

    A printed circuit board supports mechanically and electrically connecting electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces. I appreciate reading your article about how PCB in the x-ray machine works. This device helps ensure the machine will work and generate accurate results.

    Reply
  2. Dianne Miller says:
    July 14, 2022 at 10:40 am

    I appreciate reading your article about how PCB in the x-ray machine works. This device helps ensure the machine will work and generate accurate results. A printed circuit board supports electronic components mechanically and electrically, using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces. In this tiny device, technology proves that it can still be helpful regardless of size.

    Reply
  3. Dianne Miller says:
    August 9, 2022 at 8:35 am

    Thanks for sharing that A printed circuit board supports mechanically and electrically connects electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks, or signal traces. I appreciate reading your article about how PCB in the x-ray machine works. This device helps ensure the machine will work and generate accurate results. Its high impact accuracy and the ability to see hidden features might be the most important advantages.

    Reply

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