Universal Instruments, CyberOptics form partnership

Minneapolis, MN—CyberOptics Corp. and Universal Instruments Corp. recently agreed to integrate CyberOptics' new Embedded Process Verification (EPV) inspection technology into Universal's latest-generation electronic component placement systems.

By Control Engineering Staff February 24, 2004

Minneapolis, MN— CyberOptics Corp. and Universal Instruments Corp. recently agreed to integrate CyberOptics’ new Embedded Process Verification (EPV) inspection technology into Universal’s latest-generation electronic component placement systems. Universal will offer the CyberOptics EPV sensor system as a feature on its recently released Genesis and AdVantis platform placement machines that incorporate its new Lightning placement head. Introduction of the EPV sensor is currently planned for the second half of 2004.

‘EPV is one of the most exciting innovations in this industry in recent times,’ says Ian McEvoy, Universal’s president. ‘To achieve the goal of less than 10 defects per million for SMT circuit board assembly, you have to verify each component placement. CyberOptics’ EPV is the first sensing system to enable placement verification within the placement machine.’

Universal demonstrated an EPV prototype at the Productronica trade show in Munich, Germany, in November 2003. Both companies planned to demonstrate the product at IPC’s annual APEX trade show in Anaheim, CA, this month. EPV technology is the latest family of sensing products being offered by CyberOptics.

‘Unlike traditional inspection systems that are positioned after the placement machine in an electronics assembly line, EPV puts the inspection process right at the point of action, inside the pick-and-place machine,’ says Steven Case, CyberOptics’ chairman and founder. ‘Ultimately, the EPV sensor may enable the correction of detected defects while the circuit board is still within the placement machine, helping to deliver the highest first-pass yields on an SMT production line.’

Kitty Iverson, CyberOptics’ CEO, adds that, ‘Embedding inspection within the placement machine results in significant cost savings for circuit board assembly plants. This should make inspection technology more affordable to a larger market.’

Control Engineering Daily News Desk
Jim Montague, news editor
jmontague@reedbusiness.com