Nikon UK has developed its Nikon Excellent Intelligent Vision (NEXIV) video measuring system to meet a wide variety of individual measurement needs
Measurement of fine detail on micro-miniature and micro-electric components, and intricately detailed miniature dies and tooling, is crucial for ensuring reliable performance from microscopic and miniature components used in electronic and micro-mechanics manufacture.
Apart from 2D and 3D profiles, users also seek to check surface textures and colour, edge sharpness and integrity, and capture and process data in conformance with various standards.
Not every user requires all these facilities in one instrument, which is why Nikon UK has developed its Nikon Excellent Intelligent Vision (NEXIV) video measuring system to meet a wide variety of individual measurement needs.
Basically NEXIV offers CNC 10X high-speed zoom and higher magnification models, including U2-compliant types.
The CNC 5-step 10X zooming feature allows automatic correction for shifts in the optical axis caused by magnification changes, in other words, parcentricity is guaranteed.
It allows the user to zoom during measurement without affecting measuring accuracy.
Monitoring is in colour and the versatile illumination system uses through-the-lens (TTL) quadrant oblique illumination for standard magnifications.
Monitoring in colour, on a separate, dedicated monitor, facilitates identification of measuring points, making visual inspection of colourful workpieces, such as printed circuit boards, metallic inserts in a brightly-coloured plastics moulding or ceramic parts, much easier.
For example, the system allows diascopic and episcopic illumination, TTL quadrant illuminator for front, back, left and right attitudes and external quadrant oblique illumination for high magnifications. Tiltable fibre illumination and quadrant ring fibre illumination allow the detection of low-contrast edges with high precision. Tiltable fibre illumination has a variable illumination angle of 30-60 deg, and allows the observation of 'subtle' edges which cannot be readily measured using episcopic or TTL quadrant oblique illumination.
This feature is especially useful for measuring ceramic packages and boards and printed circuit boards. Light source systems available include Vision AF, Laser AF or TTL Laser AF.
The optional Laser AF-VM-LAF35 performs faster height measurement with greater accuracy, important for example in measuring surface-mounted devices in printed circuit boards. Workpieces include plastics, lead frames, metal (diffusion surface), ceramics and mirrors. For high magnification, the user can consider the TTL Laser AF VM-TTL 10 option which allows focusing on a narrow plane.
It emits a small diameter laser beam within the objective lens. Z-axis high precision measurement is also possible in the scanning mode.
In operation, the user has available user-friendly, multi-window screen operation, scanning measurement and video edge detection through grey scale processing.
Edge detection can be pre-selectable.
Evaluation of results is ISO-based including detailed graphical display for roundness, flatness and straightness.
In the grey scale method, the black and grey portions of a workpiece are digitally classified into 256 gradation levels, then the edges are detected and processed according to the digital classification.
It prevents measurement data from being affected by changes in illumination.
Nikon's User-Selectable Edge Detection Function allows the easy selection of edges within a multi-edged workpiece within a given calliper.
Or, where edges have too low a contrast which normally makes edge detection very difficult.
The function graphically profiles the contrasts of the image within the calliper using a multi-grey level scale.
It enables the user to select any one of a number of edges by clicking the appropriate icons on the edge-detection menu and entering a threshold using the PC mouse.
Further aids to speed the measurement process include an Auto Position Search, so the operator does not have to align a workpiece on the stage.
Also, Multi Pattern Search corrects deviations between the edge-probing points programmed in a 'Teaching' file as well as irregular feature positions without edge-probing error.
The CAD Interface teaching Support Program imports CAD data through IGES, DXF, Gerber or Excellon and displays graphics in the NEXIV AutoMeasure graphic window using the NEXIV CAD Reader.
A teaching file can be made automatically from the CAD data and conversion data can be used as nominal shape data during profile measurement.
Programs also include off-line teaching and a free-format function for developing inspection table formats. There is also a 2D profile shape analysis program, the NEXIV Profiler.
This program allows the measurement and assessment of 2D profiles in a workpiece that cannot be measured in a normal geometric mode.
The user can take more accurate quantitative measurements when compared with the chart comparison method using profile projectors or conventional measuring microscopes. Connections to external hardware is through an RS-232C interface. For 3D surface analysis, Nikon offers NEXIV Bird's Eye View, an optional program which allows data, gained from the use of the TTL Laser AF, to be plotted in 3D format.
Afterwards, 3D shape analysis and 2D cross-sectional shape analysis can be carried out. The Series I is supplied with 6 x 6 stage or 12 x 8 stage and the higher accuracy Series II is offered in several versions. Measuring accuracies are 3.5 + L/100mm (including image processing) and 3.5 + L/200mm or with the U2 series, 3.5 + L/250mm (including image processing) respectively.
The NEXIV Series offers a highly versatile series of video measuring systems, with a wide range of options, to suit individual needs in miniature and micro-miniature component inspection.
These video measuring systems overcome difficulties experienced with conventional ones when measuring difficult-to-illuminate and/or multi-feature components. .
