Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/564614
66 SMT Magazine • September 2015 by stephen Las marias i-connecT007 Nori Koike, COO of Japan-based Saki Corp., one of the leading providers of AOI systems, discusses with I-Connect007's Stephen Las Ma- rias how the latest trends in the automotive electronics space is driving the developments in AOI technology. Stephen Las Marias: what major changes or trends have you witnessed in the automotive elec- tronics industry? Nori Koike: From the SMT equipment point of view, obviously the amount of production has increased. This has been stated by various au- tomotive electronics manufacturers, but it is a fact. Various functions in the automotive are changing the structure to use the PCB, and this trend shall continue. While it has acted as a re- placement of old functions which contributed to improving the function, except navigation, now it will add value that automotives didn't have in the past (i.e., auto driving, traffic con- trol, network, and electric power source), to name a few. Las Marias: automotive electronics manufactur- ers need to build reliable electronic products with increasing density, complexity and sophistication. where does saki come in to help your customers achieve this? Koike: Saki is an inspection company using various image processions. We acquire images through 2D, 3D, and X-ray, because inspection is becoming impossible only with 2D, when considering the increasing density and com- plexity of the boards. Any kind of inspection needed for parts on the PCB will be covered by these technologies. Also, many of the automo- tive electronics manufacturers grow their busi- ness on a global base. They will need to control the quality at the same level in each area. To realize this, they need the same inspection re- sult in the same production. Looking from the inspection point of view, it will need simpler programming with higher accuracy. 3D and X- ray technologies will contribute in this area us- Addressing the need for reliable, Accurate inspection results FeAture interview