The reason why automated inspection is so difficult to implement is that there is a wide variety of defects to be inspected, and it is practically impossible to detect all of them with a single sensor. Conversely, using different sensors for different types of defects is time-consuming and costly, and as a result, it becomes a major barrier to automating the inspection process. Even though optical comb sensors can detect a very wide range of defects, optical comb sensors and optical cameras are still complementary in their detection capabilities. For example, a two-dimensional blemish can be detected by an optical camera, but not by an optical comb sensor. A foreign object made of the same material cannot be detected by an optical camera because there is almost no color difference, but it can be detected by an optical comb sensor. Having both an optical comb and an optical camera operating hand in hand in a single system would thus be a significant breakthrough in the world of visual inspection.

This is exactly what XTIA, in collaboration with its partner JUKI, offers with its hybrid solution: a fully automated system integrating both a 12 Megapixel optical camera and a high-resolution S40 optical comb sensor. The system maximizes resolution in all three directions for an optimal visual inspection and defect detection process. Furthermore, by taking advantage of the very high speed of the optical camera, our hybrid system can reduce the number of defects that needs to be scanned in 3D by the slower optical comb sensor, thereby greatly reducing the cycle time of the overall automated inspection process.