Automatic Visual Inspection Of Printed Circuit Boards

A description of research work on the automatic visual inspection of printed circuit boards is presented as an example of a practical industrial automation problem. The major goal of this research is to develop a programmable visual inspection system applicable to printed circuit boards and other electronic assemblies. Described methods are the dimensional verification technique and the pattern matching technique. In dimensional verification, the inspection is accomplished by verifying the dimensional accuracy of certain features of the board. In pattern matching, standard features of the board are extracted interactively. The inspection is accomplished by matching these standard features with patterns of the unit under test.