April 22, 2008

Don't overspecify machine-vision cameras
Bruce Butkus of Edmund Optics recommends that you concentrate on the type of camera and lens you actually need rather than adding unnecessary "fudge factors" to your specifications. Read More

Small components challenge inspection throughput
Any discussion of printed-circuit-board inspection must address the tradeoffs between methods and process points. Josh Petras of YESTech explained how automated optical inspection combined with x-ray inspection can address this dilemma. Read More

An Internet show
How can engineers and managers evaluate and compare the latest inspection systems without spending the time traveling to all the vendor candidates and examining their offerings? Enter the "teleshow."
Read More

A maturing AOI industry moves forward
The benefits of automated optical inspection are rarely questioned, but several issues remain: cost of ownership, whether to use 2-D or 3-D inspection, and how to store image data. Read More

Rudolph broadens wafer inspection
In the wake of his company’s recent acquisitions of RVSI Inspection and Applied Precision, Rajiv Roy of Rudolph Technologies assessed the hot issues in wafer inspection. Read More

Learn about machine-vision lighting
To help you illuminate your products properly, National Instruments has posted three tutorials to its Web site that cover the topic of lighting in machine-vision systems. Read More

StingRay Optics offers 50-mm MWIR large-format lens
Intended for use with cooled cameras having focal planes of up to 28 mm diagonal, this lens assembly can be used stand-alone for large-format detectors or upgraded with microscanning and step-stare sensor capability for enhanced imaging requirements. Read More

Photron's 4-Mpixel camera delivers 1000 fps
Useful for automotive crash testing, ballistic and missile testing, and industrial motion analysis, the Fastcam SA2 video camera from Photron operates at 1000 fps at full resolution of 2K x 2K pixels. Read More

Agilent at APEX unveils AOI platform for SMT line inspection
Agilent Technologies at APEX introduced a new automated-optical-inspection (AOI) platform and showcased its new powered vectorless test capability, a high-speed solder-paste inspection system, a 3-D inline x-ray inspection system, an in-circuit tester, and process-control software tools. Read More

Oscilloscope Challenge:
Which features aid troubleshooting?
Answer our April oscilloscope challenge question correctly, and you could be eligible to win a prize.

Question: Which oscilloscope features are useful for serial-data-bus troubleshooting?
Prize: TomTom ONE GPS
Sponsor: Yokogawa

Take the Oscilloscope Challenge

April issue profiles award winners
T&MW has announced the winners of our Test Engineer of the Year, Test Product of the Year, and Test of Time awards. Check out our April issue to read profiles of the award recipients. Read it today!

Industry calendar of events
Upcoming events include The Vision Show (June), the Design Automation Conference (June), and Semicon West (July). For more information about these and other test-related events, visit our
online calendar.