Industry
Precision electrical, low-power and environmental test instruments for component, board and product verification.
Electronics manufacturing has an instrumentation requirement that is unusual in one respect: the quantities are small, fast and frequently invisible. Voltages and currents are low, signals switch quickly, tolerances are fine and the defect being looked for may be a fraction of a millimetre. That places the emphasis on resolution, bandwidth and stability rather than on range, and it means a general-purpose industrial instrument is often unsuitable even where its measuring range appears to cover the duty.
The second characteristic is that the environment is itself a controlled variable. Clean areas, electrostatic protection, humidity control and temperature stability are part of production rather than comfort for the operators, and instruments are used to demonstrate that those conditions hold. A clean-area classification is a measured state rather than a design intention, verified with particle counting and differential-pressure measurement.
The third is thermal. Soldering, reflow, curing, thermal cycling and reliability testing all depend on a temperature profile being delivered accurately and repeatedly, so thermal measurement appears throughout the process rather than only at the end. As with the electrical measurements, the profile is normally the result that matters, not a single reading taken at one moment.
Screening, deposition, placement and reflow. Thermal profiling, humidity control and dimensional inspection of the board and the stencil, where the features being checked are small enough that optical measurement is normally required.
Reflow, wave and selective soldering. Temperature profiles, conveyor speed and atmosphere are measured together, and the profile has to be repeatable rather than merely correct once.
In-circuit test, functional test, electrical safety and automated optical or radiographic inspection. Electrical measurement dominates, and the fixture is frequently as critical as the instrument.
Clean rooms, dry rooms and electrostatic-protected areas. Particle counting, differential pressure, humidity and temperature are measured to demonstrate that the classification is maintained rather than to control a process.
| Measurement | What is measured in this sector | Instruments commonly specified |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical | Voltage, current, resistance, capacitance, power and insulation on boards, modules and power supplies | Digital multimeters and LCR meters for bench work, power analysers where the waveform is not sinusoidal, insulation testers for safety verification, and acquisition channels with bandwidth matched to the switching |
| Temperature and thermal profiling | Reflow, wave and curing profiles, component and board temperature, and chamber conditions | Thermocouples and profiling systems for process development, RTDs where a stable chamber reading is wanted, and non-contact measurement for hot or moving parts |
| Clean-area monitoring | Particle counts, differential pressure between areas, humidity and temperature | Airborne particle counters, differential-pressure instruments and environmental loggers, sited so that the sampling point represents the area being classified |
| Dimensional and optical | Board and stencil dimensions, pad geometry, placement accuracy and solder joint condition | Optical measurement and vision-based inspection, plus dimensional instruments for the mechanical parts that have to fit the board |
| Moisture and atmosphere | Humidity in storage and dry areas, and atmosphere in soldering and curing equipment | Humidity transmitters and dewpoint instruments, plus gas measurement where a controlled atmosphere is part of the process |
| Environmental and safety | Solvent vapour, combustible gas and general air quality around coating, cleaning and storage areas | Volatile organic compound detectors and fixed gas detection, with the sensor matched to the solvent actually in use rather than to a general category |
The range of a general industrial instrument frequently covers the duty here, but its resolution, bandwidth or stability may not. Those three characteristics are what an enquiry should state.
Frequently asked
The questions that come up in this sector before an order. If yours is not here, send it with the duty and we will answer it alongside the quotation.
Because the quantity is usually small and switching quickly, and the useful information sits in how it changes. An instrument with a wide range and a slow response will show a plausible average of something that is actually varying, and the variation is normally the point of the measurement. Where the waveform is not sinusoidal, the conversion principle matters as much as the bandwidth, since a mean-sensing instrument understates the value.
By the profile the process has to deliver, not by a single peak temperature. The ramp, the soak, the time above liquidus and the cooling rate all affect the joint, and the requirement is that the same profile is repeatable from board to board and across the width of the oven. Profiling is carried out with thermocouples attached to a representative board, and the results are compared against the process window rather than against one number.
That the area meets its classification at the sampling points used, under the conditions present at the time. It is a measurement of a state rather than a permanent property, which is why monitoring is continuous or periodic and why the sampling position matters. A count taken at a point that is not representative of the working area demonstrates very little, so the sampling plan belongs in the specification.
From the standard the product has to satisfy, because that fixes the test itself - what is applied, at what level and for how long - and the instrument follows from it. Where the result forms part of a product release, the instrument also has to be calibratable and the record retained. State the standard and the production rate, since both affect the instrument and the fixture.
Where solvents, fluxes or coating materials are stored or used, yes, and the sensor is matched to the specific substance rather than to a general category. A volatile organic compound detector responds to a broad range and is useful as an indicator, while a specific toxic gas requires an electrochemical cell chosen for that gas. The choice follows from what is actually in the store and in the process.
The measurement and the resolution, bandwidth or stability it requires; whether the signal is fast or switching; the thermal profile if the duty is thermal; the clean-area classification and sampling point if the duty is monitoring; and the standard the result is reported against. Range alone is rarely the deciding figure in this sector, so stating it on its own tends to produce the wrong instrument.
Published products
DMM-600 · Digital Multimeters Reference listing
True RMS benchtop digital multimeter for voltage, current, resistance, capacitance and continuity, with a CAT III safety rating and data logging output.
DVC-150 · Digital Calipers Reference listing
Stainless steel digital caliper with a capacitive encoder, 0.01 mm resolution and four measurement functions, in hardened and hardened stainless construction.
IPS-M18 · Proximity Sensors Reference listing
Non-contact inductive sensor detecting ferrous and non-ferrous metal targets, with an M18 barrel body, PNP or NPN output and a shielded or unshielded sensing face.
Send the process conditions and the standard you have to meet, and we will confirm the instrument, availability and documentation that can accompany the order.
Request for quotation
Send the technical detail and we will confirm availability, lead time and terms. In-stock items ship within 48 hours; customized specifications typically take 2-10 days. Minimum order quantity is 1 pc.