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Problems with Vision and White Soldermask

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#76092

Problems with Vision and White Soldermask | 2 August, 2016

We are getting more and more customers wanting LED boards built on White Solder Mask. Well our printers do not get as much contrast between the white mask and the plated fiducial pad, and often the camera only sees white.

Other than playing with the lighting/ contrast/ and threshold sliders, is there a trick? Or perhaps something we could have the PCB House do to make the fiducials stand out?

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Tom

#76093

Problems with Vision and White Soldermask | 2 August, 2016

Leave a circular area around the fiducial without any mask so bare board is shown.

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Tom

#76094

Problems with Vision and White Soldermask | 2 August, 2016

Like this:

Attachments:

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#76095

Problems with Vision and White Soldermask | 2 August, 2016

Actually I considered that, but I was thinking to leave the fiducial pad bare copper.

These are customer supplied boards, but hopefully they will be willing to make the change for the next spin.

Any tricks for getting it to see the boards we already have in house?

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#76102

Problems with Vision and White Soldermask | 3 August, 2016

Rub the fid with an erasure and it might have better contrast. Minimize the search box area if your software allows.

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#76103

Problems with Vision and White Soldermask | 3 August, 2016

I did "scuff" the fid so it wouldn't be so shiny. Zero affect on contrast.

We ended up moving it to another printer. We have 3 essentially the same printers, two completely washed the image out, the third sees it perfect as if it were black and white.

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#76104

Problems with Vision and White Soldermask | 3 August, 2016

You don't say what kind of printers you are running, but if you had multiple light sources and independent control of direct an oblique lighting (either manual and software controlled) usually pretty "do-able". I have customer doing almost exclusively LED boards, but both white and dark brown / black boards without issue with manual control on oblique lighting.

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#76105

Problems with Vision and White Soldermask | 3 August, 2016

Sorry, Acculflexs

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#76115

Problems with Vision and White Soldermask | 5 August, 2016

I grabbed another White board that does have the "natural" board around the fiducials. Still no go. See pictures

Attachments:

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