Newbury, Berkshire based Garner Osborne
is a leading provider of printed circuitboard (PCB) manufacturing and assembly
services. The company is able to meet allprospective customers’ requirements, fromsmall, low-cost or medium-sized orders,
to design and prototyping or large scale
offshore manufacture.
Now in its 29th year of operation, theexpertise of Garner Osborne’s dedicatedstaff and the use of first-class manufacturing,assembly and inspection facilities has
enabled the business to gain a reputation
as a technical leader in the field of PCB
production. In addition to several otherequally demanding industries, Garner
Osborne serves the medical, aerospace,automotive and broadcasting sectors.
Due to the critical functions Garner
Osborne’s PCBs perform, quality checks
are performed throughout all stages ofmanufacture and assembly. In addition
to these intermediate checks, 100% final
inspection is carried-out to ensure that every
PCB meets customers’ requirements.
As electronic components are getting eversmaller and PCB assemblies are becoming
more complex, a search was recently madefor an advanced vision system that could
cope with these challenges.

www.visioneng.com

Case StudyGARNER OSBORNE‘FOCUS’ ON 3D PCB QUALITY

Havingbeen
impressedwith previously
purchased Vision
Engineering products, such as the company’s
Mantis microscope, Garner Osborne CEM
Operations Director, Steve Honeybun wasinterested to hear about the high-profile
launch of Vision Engineering’s unique DRV-Z1(Deep Reality Viewer). The DRV-Z1’s cuttingedge 3D vision capabilities, the qualityof the images and the ease of operation
proved perfect for a range of demanding PCB
assembly and inspection tasks.
With its unique ability to generate digitalstereo 3D image, the DRV-Z1 provides acomfortable and natural view of the subject.
Creating an image using innovative opticaland digital configurations, the revolutionary
new offering delivers a 3D view with sharp
details, vivid colour and excellent contrast.
A long working distance, large field of view andwide zoom range renders the DRV-Z1 suitablefor countless applications and supports precise
hand-to-eye co-ordination and the use of tools.

Vision Engineering Ltd.

The DRV-Z1’s ergonomic design enables
operators to maintain good posture andto enjoy fatigue free working, helping toimprove productivity and work quality.
The DRV-Z1 is the first 3D stereo digital
display that allows remote viewing,
capture and sharing of the image. The
ability to share live 3D images in real time
across networks creates completely newopportunities for collaboration between
customers, colleagues and suppliers.

For instance, now our operators don’t needto tilt a PCB to view its solder joints. Also,
the addition of a free standing flat screen
allows several operators to view a board
together and to discuss their observations.
As the DRV-Z1’s controls are so easy to use,following the short training course given to
our operators, they became adept at the useof the DRV-Z1 on the day it was installed.

“As a result of its generation ofhigh-resolution 3D images, the use
Garner Osborne CEM Operations Director, of our DRV-Z1 is now helping toSteve Honeybun enthused.
ensure the quality of our PCBs and“Garner Osborne is certified by various assisting us in reducing our alreadynational and international bodies within thelow rework and scrap levels.“industry and we hold numerous accreditations.
We constantly strive to meet the highest PCB
quality, assurance and testing standards for
quality and service in all areas of our business.
“Our newly acquired ability to view PCB’s
in 3D under magnification has further
improved the efficiency of ourassembly and inspection
functions.

It is proving particularly useful for verifying
first-offs where we require a greater levelof clarity related to possible design/process
issues, so that we do not end up with
unnecessary and costly rework.

Vision Engineering Ltd.

Due to thequality of the 3D
images the DRV-Z1 provides
and its large field of view,
as well as improving the accuracyof our tasks, it has increased the speed andefficiency of our work.

“In addition to the advantages
the DRV-Z1 has provided to ourassembly and inspection functions,as the welfare of our staff is one of ourmost important considerations, it isa major benefit that it also delivers
a fatigue free operator experience.“
The DRV-Z1 has also given us an enhancedmeans of communicating, for instance, whenrequired, we are able to capture sharp PCB
images and send them to our customers forclarification. Given the DRV-Z1’s prominent
position on our shop-floor and its uniqueability to present magnified 3D images of
PCB’s, it is the first piece of equipment ourexisting and prospective customers see when
they visit our Final Inspection area.

We always demonstrate its capabilities to ourvisitors, and it has been very well received by
all who has viewed the remarkable images itdelivers.” Manufacturers of advanced PCBs
know that meeting the quality expectations ofcustomers is vital to their success. Identifying
PCB shorts, PCB voids, opens, misalignmentsand solder integrity of area-array chippackages is crucial, therefore the use ofadvanced inspection aids, such as the newDRV-Z1, is becoming essential.
Headquartered in Send, Surrey, Vision
Engineering have been involved in the design
and manufacture of world leading Stereo
Microscopes for over 60 years. Engineers andscientists worldwide use the company’s highquality systems for a wide range of inspection
and measurement applications across a wide
range of industries. Renowned for pioneering
optical design, Vision Engineering’s
microscope and metrology systems perform
to the highest standards.

www.garnerosborne.co.uk
www.visioneng.com
Vision Engineering Ltd.