Demonstrating an AOI Machine on Your Own PCBs
A buyer's guide to requiring an AOI demonstration on the buyer's own printed circuit boards, with practical checks on resolution, speed, and 3D white-light inspection.
Make the demonstration run on your own printed circuit boards, not on a supplier sample board. That single decision determines whether the results tell you anything about your process. Ask the supplier to inspect boards that carry your real features, including the smallest pads and the tightest spacing you expect to see.
In the request for quotation, state how many boards and which defect types the demonstration must cover. The catalog lists 10 µm XY resolution and 0.45 s per field of view; treat these as reference values and ask the supplier to confirm what the offered configuration achieves on your boards. Compare 3D white-light projection with 2D imaging against your inspection needs: does the 3D data help with height-related features, and does the 2D image give the contrast your surfaces require?
For an acceptance test, agree on a sample set with known defects and known-good boards, then define pass and fail criteria in advance. Ask how the machine reports a defect and how long the run takes on your panel size.
Before requesting a quote, confirm with the supplier which configuration was used for the reference values, whether your board materials and surface finishes were tested, how the demonstration boards will be handled and returned, and what documentation of the demonstration results will be provided.