Adaptix’ commercial director NDE, Andy Barnes, introduces inspection technologies designed to stop counterfeits in their tracks while letting genuine parts flow freely
AdaptixNDE is using ECS to launch and demonstrate four technologies. Firstly, a 3D component-counting capability which images a stack of reeled components inside their box without breaking the manufacturers seal. Secondly, 3D intelligent inspection for a stack of reels and/or trays to visualise missing or different/suspect components. Next comes component inspection, the essential requirement for 2D and 3D x-ray to see components down to 25 microns per AS6081 x-ray requirements. Finally, alpha-prototypes of automated BGA and bent-pin inspection.
ERAI reports an increase in suspect counterfeit and non-conformance parts over the last three years with a staggering 35 per cent increase in the last year (per its recently published 2022 Annual Report).
There is an obvious reason this has increased: higher customer demand for faster component delivery, coupled with a lack of manufacturing supply capability. This isn’t just an economic problem for the sourcing industry as counterfeit components go into critical systems with life-threatening consequences.
If a counterfeiter is ‘peppering’ a batch to avoid detection, a solution is faster inspection, to a higher standard, with more data. This allows for increased, economically feasible, sampling for electronics brokers which is and acceptably timely for customers.
AdaptixNDE’s product roadmap includes delivery of a benchtop lab-in-a-box utilising multi-modal inspection, by bringing its transformative Digital Tomosynthesis 3D x-ray to the market allowing greater inspection capability and reduced work-flow times during inspection.
This will be followed by automation and then data collection from good-actors in the broker channel to differentiate those and increase that barrier to counterfeit ingress.