The design of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) can be very complex, sometimes having over 2,000 different components.
It isn’t easy detecting tiny faults in PCB components of less than a millimetre, which is why thermal imaging is often the only solution.
Leading embedded electronics specialist 3T has been using thermal imaging cameras for many years throughout its different activities to detect hot spots of less than 125 microns. The 25-year old company is a provider of embedded electronics.
3T hardware engineer Ronald van der Meer said when something goes wrong in a PCB, whether it's improper soldering of a circuit or a failing component, the PCB will heat up.
“Thermal imaging is a very good way to diagnose PCB boards in an early stage of a problem. We use it in the design phase of a PCB, to test it before it is supplied to the customer or in the qualification stage,” he said.
3T uses the FLIR T420 bench test thermal imaging camera with 50µm close-up lens.
“The mass of the PCB components that we need to research is so little, and possible temperature changes are so small, that we really need a high level of detail which is why we use the lens,” he said.
The alternative for thermal imaging in the field of PCB electronics is the use of thermocouples, a temperature-measuring device consisting of two wire legs that contact each other at one or more spots.
“The problem with thermocouples for measuring micro-electronics is that these devices can actually disturb the measurement, because they need to make contact with the tiny components on the PCB board whereas thermal imaging is a non-contact technology, so you don’t have that problem,” van der Meer explained. The FLIR T420 boasts high image quality of 320 x 240 pixels.
For 3T, FLIR’s ResearchIR software for R&D applications was an essential part of the thermal imaging package.
ResearchIR allows researchers to make high speed recordings and perform advanced thermal pattern analysis.
“Recording a certain event helps us to reconstruct and analyse the problem more accurately,” he said.
“ResearchIR allows 3T engineers to better analyse PCB hot spots and find thermal peaks. Thermal imaging cameras produce images of invisible infrared or ‘heat’ radiation.
“It is an excellent tool for predictive maintenance, building inspections, research and development and automation applications.”
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