Crossed post from another sub-forum. But I just wanted to give an update here:
Well...We have been using the Agnospcb service
a lot for the last 10 days (more than 550 boards inspected). And finally... we have adopted it.
We were skeptical about it, but it works very well (although not at first). It is fast and more important, reliable.
We had problems taking good pictures of the PCBAs during the trial phase (we are not photographers), but between the help of the Agnospcb staff and the fact that we finally switched to using a good camera (canon m200), the change has been spectacular. They offer an "official" inspection platform, but with our "DIY installation" in the factory - the mentioned camera and good and uniform light- we are just fine. We'll see if it's enough, but for now, it's working very well.
I have to point this out: they
should not indicate that using a smartphone's camera during the trial stage can be an option. The difference a good camera makes
is huge when talking about detecting faults. It is impressive how their system can work with low quality images, but a regular camera may lead to not appreciate the real capabilities of this AOI.
In short: for now Agnospcb (and its potential) is the winner for the small and fast runs we have in production. We have even tested it during the pre-oven stage, where the components are placed on top of the solder paste,
and it worked! The missing / misplaced elements are a pain in the ass at this stage but all the defects were highlighted.
Agnospcb support told us that that was not the intended use (but that they are working on it and a new upgrade for the service will be released soon with this capability). From my point of view... it is already working.
If we find any important other point to be mentioned, I will post it in this forum. I have attached Agnospcb service detected faults examples. Screen captures from their inspection tool software.
Top square image: reference board,
middle: location of the fault.
Bottom: the inspected board.
The thing is: minor geometrical differences are not taking into account, but the important defects are. Check the drill holes and the silk layer. They are never the same among PCBs, and of course, they are not pinpointed as faults.