printed circuit board manufacture

Abstract

Method and systems for circuit board manufacture and inspection are provided. A captured image of a circuit board is compared with a target image of a reference circuit board at a similar stage in manufacture. The target image and a captured image are aligned. The captured image is divided into a plurality of image regions. A primary image region within the captured image is selected, and a target image region within the target image is selected and properties of the primary image region and the target image region are compared.

1 . A method of manufacturing a first printed circuit board, the method comprising:
 performing a manufacturing operation on the first printed circuit board; and   inspecting a result of the manufacturing operation by comparing a captured image of the first printed circuit board having the manufacturing operation applied thereto with a target image of a second printed circuit board to which the manufacturing operation has been properly applied.   
     
     
         2 . The method of manufacturing the first printed circuit board of  claim 1 , wherein inspecting the result of the manufacturing comprises:
 receiving the captured image;   aligning the target image and the captured image;   dividing the captured image into a plurality of captured image regions, wherein each of the captured image regions has at least one property;   dividing the target image into a plurality of target image regions, wherein each of the target image regions has at least one property;   selecting a primary captured image region comprising at least one of the plurality of captured image regions;   selecting a first target image region from the plurality of target image regions; and   comparing one or more properties of the primary captured image region to a corresponding one or more properties of the first target image region.   
     
     
         3 . The method of manufacturing the first printed circuit board of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 assigning a first score indicating a difference between the one or more properties of the primary captured image region and the corresponding one or more properties of the first target image region;   selecting a next target image region;   comparing one or more properties of the primary captured image region to a corresponding one or more properties of the next target image region; and   assigning a second score indicating a difference between the one or more properties of the primary captured image region and the corresponding one or more properties of the next target image region.   
     
     
         4 . The method of manufacturing the first printed circuit board of  claim 3 , wherein for each of a predetermined number of regions in the target image, the method further comprises repeating:
 selecting a target image region;   comparing the one or more properties of the primary captured image region to a corresponding one or more properties of the target image region; and   assigning a score indicating a difference between the one or more properties of the primary captured image region and the corresponding one or more properties of the target image region.   
     
     
         5 . The method of manufacturing the first printed circuit board of  claim 4 , further comprising finding a best match between the primary captured image region and one of the predetermined number of regions in the target image. 
     
     
         6 . The method of manufacturing the first printed circuit board of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 selecting a next primary captured image region in the captured image;   selecting a target image region;   comparing one or more properties of the next primary captured image region to a corresponding one or more properties of the target image region; and   assigning a score indicating a difference between the one or more properties of the next primary captured image region and the corresponding one or more properties of the target image region.   
     
     
         7 . The method of manufacturing the first printed circuit board of  claim 2 , wherein the manufacturing operation corresponds to a solder paste application. 
     
     
         8 . The method of manufacturing the first printed circuit board of  claim 2 , wherein said manufacturing operation corresponds to a component placement operation. 
     
     
         9 . The method of manufacturing the first printed circuit board of  claim 2 , wherein said manufacturing operation corresponds to a solder reflow operation. 
     
     
         10 . The method of manufacturing the first printed circuit board of  claim 2 , wherein said manufacturing operation corresponds to a solder joint inspection operation. 
     
     
         11 . A non-transitory storage medium with computer-readable instructions for manufacturing a first printed circuit board, the instructions comprising code for:
 performing a manufacturing operation on the first printed circuit board; and   inspecting a result of the manufacturing operation by comparing a captured image of the first printed circuit board having the manufacturing operation applied thereto with a target image of a second printed circuit board to which the manufacturing operation has been properly applied.   
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory storage medium with the computer-readable instructions for manufacturing the first printed circuit board of  claim 11 , wherein the inspecting the result of the manufacturing operation includes:
 receiving the captured image;   aligning the target image and the captured image;   dividing the captured image into a plurality of captured image regions, wherein each of the captured image regions has at least one property;   dividing the target image into a plurality of target image regions, wherein each of the target image regions has at least one property;   selecting a primary captured image region comprising at least one of the plurality of captured image regions;   selecting a first target image region from the plurality of target image regions; and   comparing one or more properties of the primary captured image region to a corresponding one or more properties of the first target image region.   
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory storage medium with the computer-readable instructions for manufacturing the first printed circuit board of  claim 12 , wherein the instructions further comprise code for:
 assigning a first score indicating a difference between the one or more properties of the primary captured image region and the corresponding one or more properties of the first target image region;   selecting a next target image region;   comparing one or more properties of the primary captured image region to a corresponding one or more properties of the next target image region; and   assigning a second score indicating a difference between the one or more properties of the primary captured image region and the corresponding one or more properties of the next target image region.   
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory storage medium with the computer-readable instructions for manufacturing the first printed circuit board of  claim 13 , wherein for each of a predetermined number of regions in the target image, the instructions comprise code for:
 selecting a target image region;   comparing the one or more properties of the primary captured image region to a corresponding one or more properties of the target image region; and   assigning a score indicating a difference between the one or more properties of the primary captured image region and the corresponding one or more properties of the target image region.   
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory storage medium with the computer-readable instructions for manufacturing the first printed circuit board of  claim 14 , wherein the instructions further comprise code for finding a best match between the primary captured image region and one of the predetermined number of regions in the target image. 
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory storage medium with the computer-readable instructions for manufacturing the first printed circuit board of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions further comprise code for:
 selecting a next primary captured image region in the captured image;   selecting a target image region;   comparing one or more properties of the next primary captured image region to a corresponding one or more properties of the target image region; and   assigning a score indicating a difference between the one or more properties of the next primary captured image region and the corresponding one or more properties of the target image region.   
     
     
         17 . A system for processing images of a first printed circuit board, the system comprising:
 a manufacturing component configured to perform a manufacturing operation on the first printed circuit board; and   an image processing component configured to inspect a result of the manufacturing operation by comparing a captured image of the first printed circuit board having the manufacturing operation applied thereto with a target image of a second printed circuit board to which the manufacturing operation has been properly applied.   
     
     
         18 . The system for processing images of a first printed circuit board of  claim 17 , wherein the image processing component is further configured to:
 receive the captured image;   align the target image and the captured image;   divide the captured image into a plurality of captured image regions, wherein each of the captured image regions has at least one property;   divide the target image into a plurality of target image regions, wherein each of the target image regions has at least one property;   select a primary captured image region comprising at least one of the plurality of captured image regions;   select a first target image region from the plurality of target image regions; and   compare one or more properties of the primary captured image region to a corresponding one or more properties of the first target image region.   
     
     
         19 . The system for processing images of a first printed circuit board of  claim 18 , wherein the image processing component is further configured to:
 assign a first score indicating a difference between the one or more properties of the primary captured image region and the corresponding one or more properties of the first target image region;   select a next target image region;   compare one or more properties of the primary captured image region to a corresponding one or more properties of the next target image region; and   assign second a score indicating a difference between the one or more properties of the primary captured image region and the corresponding one or more properties of the next target image region.   
     
     
         20 . The system for processing images of a first printed circuit board of  claim 19 , wherein the image processing component is further configured to finding a best match between the primary captured image region and one of a predetermined number of regions in the target image.