5DX

The 5DX is an automated x-ray inspection robot, which belongs to the set of automated test equipment robots and industrial robots utilizing machine vision. The 5DX is manufactured by Agilent Technologies. The 5DX is a non-destructive structural test x-ray machine, using laminography (tomography) to take 3D slices of an assembled printed circuit board. It is used in the assembled printed circuit board (PCB) electronics manufacturing industry to provide process feedback to a surface mount technology assembly line, as well as defect capture.

The 5DX is one of several tools used by many companies in the electronics manufacturing services sector to provide a means of structurally testing both the visible and hidden joints of components on assembled printed circuit boards for defects. These joints are referred to as integrated circuit to PCB interconnects.

tructural Defects

*Bridging (causing electrical shorts)
*Opens
*Missing/damaged components
*Non-wetting
*Billboards
*Tombstones
*Lifted leads
*Solderballs
*Voids (found in Ball Grid Arrays and paste)
*Insufficient solder
*Excess solder
*Misalignment

5DX Technology

The 5DX uses a gantry robot to move the assembled printed circuit board underneath an x-ray source to be able to see the components' joints that require inspection. The positioning of board is guided with the use of CAD data, which represents the outer layers of a printed circuit board's electrical design.

A predefined laser surface map is used to bring the PCB into the plane of focus (depth of field) so that a slice of the component's joints can be taken. A slice will remove obstructions above or below the plane of focus so that only the regions of interest remain (which would otherwise be visible in a 2D x-ray image).

History of the 5DX

*3DX (end of life) originally developed by Four Pi Systems which was acquired by Hewlett Packard.
*5DX Series I (end of life)
*5DX Series 2/II/2L (end of life)
*5DX Series 3
*5DX Series 5000
*x6000 (next generation)

External links

* [http://www.ndt.net/article/v04n07/bb67_11/bb67_11.htm Digital computed laminography and tomosynthesis - functional principles and industrial applications]
* [http://www.agilent.com Agilent Technologies]
* [http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/product.jspx?nid=-536900435.692508.00&cc=SG&lc=eng Medalist 5DX Automated X-ray Inspection System]
* [http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/product.jspx?nid=-536900435.655336.00&cc=SG&lc=eng Medalist x6000 Automated X-ray Inspection System]
* [http://www.evaluationengineering.com/archive/articles/0997icin.htm IC Inspection for Defect-Free Connections]