Testing of Electronic Connectors
Testing of Over 1.7 Million Pins per Day
The automotive industry has developed rapidly in recent years. Nowadays, almost every function in a vehicle is electronically controlled, from window operation to automatic light control. Electromobility in particular is playing an increasingly important role: in large markets such as China, electric vehicles now account for around 40% of cars sold, underlining the rapidly growing transition to electromobility. In Germany, too, the proportion of e-cars is now around 25%, a significant increase that illustrates the growing acceptance and spread of this technology. This technological evolution has led to an increasing demand for high-precision electronic connectors, which act as the backbone of the vehicle control system. A modern car contains up to 5,000 different connectors, totaling around 100,000 pins. These connections are essential for the functionality of vehicles, especially in the area of electronics and automation. Each of these pins must therefore undergo a strict quality check before installation, as even a single defective pin can cause the entire electronic system to fail.
This is where the expertise of aku.automation GmbH from Baden-Württemberg comes in. As one of the leading system integrators for image processing solutions, the company has developed an application in collaboration with the northern German technology leader AT Sensors that enables extremely precise inspection of pins. This inspection is carried out in continuous operation on up to 40 machines simultaneously, which means that more than 1.7 million pins can be inspected every day.
Challenge
The biggest challenge when testing the pins is to ensure that they function perfectly even after assembly under a wide range of external influences, such as vibrations or moisture. The solution lies in the use of the revolutionary 3D dual-head sensors from AT’s new XCS series. These sensors make it possible to scan the pins of electronic connectors simultaneously from two sides, thus avoiding shadowing (occlusion) and achieving the highest possible precision.
Solution
The XCS sensor is also characterized by its optimized laser and a very small field of view of only 53 millimetres. The XCS series laser offers a uniform line thickness along the entire laser line, which is achieved by special optics in the laser projector. This homogeneity of the line thickness allows for high-precision scanning of the smallest structures, regardless of whether the object to be inspected is in the center or at the edge of the line. This is a decisive advantage for the quality control of pins, as an exceptionally high level of accuracy and repeatability is achieved.
Another outstanding feature of the XCS sensors is the clean beam technology developed by AT. This function protects the laser from external interference factors, such as optical anomalies, and ensures extremely precise and focused laser projection. Clean Beam also guarantees a uniform intensity distribution, which leads to consistent and reliable results.
Dual Head Sensor
Precision
