Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1541670
44 SMT007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2025 actives—especially CPUs and GPUs—are starting to require BGAs at or in excess of 100 millimeters on a side. These extremes exert widely different func- tional pressures on inspection equipment. Omron has addressed the competing require- ments for small vs. large component sizes. "There continues to be a need for electronics to shrink in size, whether it be for portability or more complicated applications," Fieldshouse said. "Natu- rally, smaller components have smaller features to inspect. This makes it crucial to select a resolution that is appropriate for the feature's size." "Obviously," he said, "a high resolution is mandatory when inspecting 0402 solder joints. In some cases, the large BGA with a 150 μm pitch used on an assembly may exceed the field of view for the desired resolution. "In this scenario, we may choose to virtually divide it into different sections and inspect them individu- ally before stitching back together," Fieldhouse said. "This enables us to maintain high-resolution, high-quality results." Fieldhouse understands the buzz about AI and said Omron is experimenting with differ- ent ways to add it to their systems, believing that AI implementation should focus on helping users create programs faster and enable machines to identify the most subtle defects. "Our newest AOI software is designed to perform both tasks," he said. "With one-click program creation and sophisticated AI algorithms, our customers spend less time fine-tuning programs, enabling them to focus on other issues on the SMT line." Both Phung and Fieldhouse spoke about current trends that will accelerate in the future. "A boom for AI server PCB inspections is definitely underway," Fieldhouse said. "The circuit boards that drive ChatGPT or Google Gemini are a huge topic of conversation; they can push the limits of inspec- tion machines simply due to the size of the board and the complexity of the components on it." Phung believes there will be more stabilization in the geopolitical arena, and that companies will outsource less, however, it was unclear whether that will mean more in-house assembly by OEMs or, instead, a shifting of production away from China and Asia back to North America. "We are observing a rebalancing between general EMS outsourcing and OEM in-house assembly," he said. "The EMS industry will continue to grow, driven primarily by high-volume production demands, yet many small and mid-sized OEMs are beginning to bring SMT assembly back in-house." This shift is motivated by several factors, including geopolitical considerations, tariffs, supply chain control, and the protection of intellectual property. "This return to in-house manu- facturing isn't expected to reach the levels seen in previ- ous decades," Phung said. "Outsourcing will remain an essential strategy, diversify- ing across multiple geographic regions to prevent the types of bottlenecks experienced during the pandemic. Addi- tionally, large-scale offshoring may become more geographically balanced, with greater emphasis on nearshoring to neighboring countries such as Mexico." The perspectives shared by Phung and Field- house were generally consistent with our conver- sations across the inspection equipment sector. Manufacturers are updating inspection equip- ment to meet the upcoming capacities and techni- cal capabilities required by their customers. Some OEMs are returning to in-house assembly lines, while others are directing new projects to domes- tic service providers, and potentially moving current overseas work closer to home. SMT007 Brittany Martin contributed to this article. " " There continues to be a need for electronics to shrink in size, whether it be for portability or more complicated applications. —Nick Fieldhouse