Measurement Sensors

Connector Pin Position Inspection and Measurement

Connector pins are everywhere; they're in our smartphones, laptops, audio devices… in fact, nearly all electric and electronic devices contain them. They're crucial to the device's operation, and faulty pins result in a faulty device.

Because connector pins are so important, most electronics undergo a thorough connector pin inspection during production and assembly.

Challenges in Connector Pin Inspection

Inspecting the position of connector pins isn't without its challenges, especially in the densely-packed, tightly-encased electronics of today. This alone necessitates extremely precise measuring and detection equipment to ensure proper alignment and functionality.

Additionally, connectors often come in different geometries and with different pin counts, making access and visibility for standard connector pin inspection methods not only time-consuming but often inconvenient due to their minute design—a smartphone display connector, for example.

Lastly, most modern electronics are assembled by robots in high-speed assembly lines. Traditional inspection methods typically can't keep up without compromising quality. Fortunately, KEYENCE's connector pin inspection sensors (such as the LJ-X8000 Series) resolve these issues.

Benefits of Using KEYENCE's Measurement Sensors

KEYENCE is the world's leading provider of precision technology for measurement, analysis, and monitoring. Our laser displacement sensors, laser profilers, and vision systems can provide precise connector pin measurements and check the presence or absence of connector assemblies themselves.

This ensures that only the products that meet the quality criteria reach the next stage of production or are delivered to end customers. Here's the breakdown of benefits offered by our technology:

Eliminate Defects

KEYENCE's connector pin measurement sensors (like the LJ-X8000 Series) help accurately detect and eliminate defects by providing precise pin position measurements.

In addition to measuring position, the LJ-X8000 Series can confirm pin orientation compared to the overall assembly and perform presence/absence checks. This ensures that connectors are adequately soldered to the board and in the correct orientation. Our pin measurement tools are also capable of detecting cold solder joints, which are otherwise undetectable to the naked human eye.

Reduce Reworks

While defective products often make it to rework and back onto the production line, frequent defects often indicate a problem in the production process. Identifying these defects early allows for immediate corrections to the manufacturing process or equipment before further damage occurs… thus saving time, money, and man-hours otherwise spent on rework.

Enhance Product Quality and Reliability

Accurate pin position measurements ensure that each connector meets the design specifications and marries well with the adjacent connector. This is important since pin connectors are typically used for electrical power delivery and signaling.

Modern connectors are designed in a way in which a bent pin prevents two connectors from interlocking together, which indicates a connector problem in itself. However, a bigger problem is when pins are missing—this type of defect is much more likely to occur during production, and it's much easier for the end-user to miss.

KEYENCE's pin measurement sensors don't just detect pins that are bent or misaligned. They also detect any pins that might be missing inside the connector casing. This ensures product quality and reliability, as well as providing end users with confidence that their connectors work as intended.

Improve Manufacturing Efficiency and Throughput

As previously explained, relying on laser profilers to detect pin connector position and measurements provides several benefits, and improved efficiency and throughput stem from those benefits.

This is particularly true when it comes to eliminating defects from active production, sending them to rework, and reducing the necessary rework through better measurement feedback. All of this increases the efficiency of your production process, which positively affects your throughput.

Final Thoughts

KEYENCE is the world's leading provider of precision technologies that also caters to the electronics and electrics industry, which relies on pin connectors for the connectivity of their devices' basic components. If you're looking to enhance the precision and accuracy of your connector pin inspection and measurement, contact KEYENCE, and we'll discuss integrating our equipment with your production line.

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