Automotive, Aeronautical and Engineering
Broken wedge bonds, lifted ball bonds, wire sweep and die attach.
View surface mount defects i.e. misaligned devices, solder joint porosity, bridging. Detailed inspection of vias, through hole plating and multi-layer alignment. BGA and CSP inspection. Non-lead solder inspection.
Determine fibre structure and alignment in carbon fibre devices, see porosity and inclusions in plastic components.
See porosity, cracks and inclusions in aluminium engine castings and large cast or single crystal turbine blades.
Inspect welds in pressure vessels for cracks, inclusions, micro-porosity, non uniformity.
X-Tek Microfocus X-Ray sources and complete Real-time systems are used in a wide range of Engineering sectors for non-destructive testing. Typically our systems have been used to detect porosity, inclusions, cracks and even grain structure within a variety of cast components and in welded joints.
Traditionally soldering inspection has been possible with the use of both optical inspection systems and X-ray systems. With the advent of many newer type components such as BGA and flip-chip devices, optical inspection is no longer an option as the majority of solder connections to the PCB are hidden from view. This means that the ability to produce good quality real-time X-ray images is more important than ever before.
The main problems with soldering fall into the following categories:
The ease of seeing these defects depends very much on the resolution (i.e. sharpness) of the image. Some defects, such as bridging and gross misalignment, are fairly easy to see, even with relatively crude X-ray equipment. Others, such as voiding, require X-ray tubes with a resolution down to one micron, and power in excess of 100W, particularly for devices such as micro-BGAs.
Dry joints can be the most difficult defect to find. Inspection for dry joints requires high resolution (1 micron), high magnification (100X to 5,000X), complex sample manipulation (to tilt and rotate the PCB or the imaging system), and sophisticated image-processing software. X-Tek has products that combine all these functions into one very user-friendly system.
Our systems are also ideally suited to the inspection of the latest ceramic, plastic and composite structures as well.
Researchers at the University of Southampton use CT to research into tissue engineering and living composites.
With the recent purchase of an X-Tek Benchtop CT system at the University of Southampton, their first paper featuring results from the CT system investigates the complex field of tissue engineering and living composites.
We are a leading supplier of Real-Time X-ray Systems for non intrusive examination of low level/intermediate Nuclear Waste in Drums. Inspection of both 200 and 500 litre drums, including conveying, x-ray booth, x-ray imaging system and control / storage software. Our technology allows the entire drum to be inspected in real-time as a single seamless image and powerful 3D Computed Tomography enables detailed examination of the contents.
FFRESHeX X-ray Imaging System is new technology designed specifically for the inspection of welds (and other long, thin objects). The sensor technology is unique in its ability to scan continually along the weld at high speed, presenting high quality digital image data.
In an exciting link up between high-tech industry and international universities, including Cardiff, Athens and Thessalonika, the secrets of a two-thousand-year-old astronomical calculating device, the Antikythera Mechanism, are exposed for the first time with a unique 400kV microfocus Computed Tomography System.