Inspection management system, inspection management apparatus, inspection management method, and program

Abstract

An inspection management system manages final inspection that inspects a finished product after a plurality of processes and intermediate inspection that is performed before the final inspection in a production line of a product having the plurality of processes and having a plurality of manufacturing devices and inspection devices corresponding to the plurality of processes, the inspection management system having: an inspection content data acquisition unit; an inspection result information acquisition unit; and an inspection content setting assistance unit that generates and displays an inspection performance graph as information related to an inspection item of one of the intermediate inspections, the inspection performance graph showing presence or absence of the product that is judged as defective in the final inspection together with information whether the product that is judged as defective in the final inspection is judged as defective in any of inspection items of other intermediate inspections.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to techniques for performing product inspections on a production line. Background Technology

[0002] In a product production line, inspection devices are installed at intermediate and final stages to detect defects and classify defective products. For example, in a component mounting substrate production line, the process typically includes printing solder paste onto a printed wiring substrate (printing process), mounting components onto the substrate with printed solder paste (mounting process), and heating the substrate after component mounting to solder the components to the substrate (reflow soldering process). Inspections are performed after each process.

[0003] During such inspections, it is necessary to set inspection criteria for determining good / bad products so that the inspection equipment can maintain a state that it can refer to. However, if the inspection criteria are inappropriate, products that are actually good will be over-inspected as bad, and products that are actually bad will be under-inspected as good.

[0004] Over-inspection leads to decreased yield and increased re-inspection costs, thus reducing inspection efficiency. Conversely, under-inspection results in remedial work, which in turn worsens the efficiency of subsequent processes or leads to defective products leaving the factory. Therefore, it is desirable to minimize both over-inspection and under-inspection. However, if inspection standards are made too strict to reduce under-inspection, over-inspection increases; if inspection standards are made too lenient to reduce over-inspection, under-inspection increases. Therefore, it is necessary to set appropriate inspection standards.

[0005] Furthermore, in the example of the component mounting substrate production line described above, the inspection performed after the reflow soldering process is for final good / defect determination of the product (hereinafter also referred to as final inspection). On the other hand, the inspections performed in each of the preceding intermediate processes (hereinafter also referred to as intermediate inspections) are generally performed as part of process management. That is, intermediate products that do not meet the specified quality level of each intermediate process (defective intermediate products) are identified, and the overall production efficiency of the production line is improved by preventing such defective intermediate products from flowing to subsequent processes, or it is confirmed whether an abnormality has occurred in the process where defective intermediate products were found.

[0006] To achieve this, inspection standards for each process (thresholds for determining whether intermediate products are qualified, etc.) can be set based on the quality level of any intermediate product required by the user. Therefore, in intermediate inspection, there is no clear method for determining inspection standards; in practice, they are set either leniently or strictly according to the user's preferences.

[0007] However, if intermediate products that could be deemed defective in the final inspection are classified as good in the intermediate inspection, the efficiency of subsequent processes will deteriorate. On the other hand, even if intermediate products that would be classified as good in the final inspection are classified as defective in the intermediate inspection, inspection efficiency will still deteriorate. Therefore, it is ideal to establish inspection criteria that minimize the inconsistency between the good / bad determination in the intermediate inspection and the good / bad determination in the final inspection. Furthermore, in the case of multiple inspection processes, classifying defective products as good in all inspection processes before the final inspection is called "missed inspection," and classifying products classified as good in the final inspection as defective in at least one inspection process before the final inspection is called "over-inspection."

[0008] Previously, techniques for optimizing the setting of inspection criteria in such intermediate inspections were known (e.g., Patent Documents 1 to 4). For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclosed the following: when setting an inspection criterion for an intermediate inspection, for each interval of the measured values ​​in the inspection items of that inspection, the number of good products and the number of defective products after the final inspection were counted and displayed as a histogram with color differentiation. Figure 1 The system displays lines indicating the inspection baseline. This clearly shows how good and bad products were determined during the intermediate inspection process, allowing even inexperienced users to confidently use this inspection baseline.

[0009] Based on the established inspection criteria, if defective products can be properly detected in intermediate processes, the yield rate can be increased by taking remedial measures, and the scrapping of products (e.g., components or component mounting substrates) that may occur if defective products are installed in the final process can be prevented.

[0010] Furthermore, from the perspective of preventing final missed inspections in production lines with multiple intermediate processes, if defects can be detected in any of the multiple inspection processes / items, missed inspections can be prevented. That is, a defect that can be detected in one intermediate inspection item does not necessarily need to be detected in other intermediate inspection items. Therefore, when setting the inspection criteria for a certain intermediate inspection item, if it is intended to detect all defects in that inspection item, a large number of over-inspections will occur. In such cases, sometimes by referring to the results of other intermediate inspection items, the inspection criteria can be relaxed to reduce over-inspections.

[0011] Existing technical documents

[0012] Patent documents

[0013] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-125693

[0014] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-125694

[0015] Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-43009

[0016] Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-317266 Summary of the Invention

[0017] The problem that the invention aims to solve

[0018] However, according to the existing technology, there is a problem: it is a very complicated and impractical task to refer to the inspection results of other intermediate inspection items whenever setting up an inspection item for an intermediate inspection.

[0019] The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned actual situation, and its purpose is to provide a technology that can efficiently and accurately set inspection criteria for intermediate processes in a production line.

[0020] Methods for solving problems

[0021] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention employs the following structure: An inspection management system manages a final inspection and multiple intermediate inspections in a product production line having multiple processes and multiple manufacturing and inspection devices corresponding to the multiple processes. The final inspection is an inspection of the finished product after the multiple processes, and the multiple intermediate inspections are inspections performed before the final inspection. The inspection management system is characterized by comprising: a display unit that displays at least information related to the intermediate inspections; an inspection content data acquisition unit that acquires inspection content data, the inspection content data including inspection criteria for each inspection item of each of the inspections of the product; an inspection result information acquisition unit that acquires information including the inspection results of the final inspection and the intermediate inspections; and an inspection content setting assistance unit that generates an inspection performance chart as information related to an inspection item of one of the intermediate inspections and displays it on the display unit. The inspection performance chart shows the presence or absence of products determined to be defective in the final inspection along with information that can identify whether products determined to be defective in the final inspection are determined to be defective in any of the other inspection items of the intermediate inspections.

[0022] Furthermore, the aforementioned "final inspection" includes visual inspection using the human eye, while "intermediate inspection" includes inspection of intermediate products prior to the final product and inspection of the final product using inspection devices prior to visual inspection. Moreover, in cases where there is a product assembly process and inspection is also performed in that process, the inspection during assembly can be considered the final inspection, and the inspections preceding it can be considered intermediate inspections. Additionally, "other inspection items in the aforementioned intermediate inspections" refers not only to inspection items in intermediate inspections of other processes but also to other inspection items in intermediate inspections within the same process.

[0023] In addition, in this specification, "inspection content" refers to, in addition to including the inspection items for each product and the inspection criteria for those inspection items (e.g., the threshold for determining good or bad), also including whether or not the process of comparing each item with the inspection criteria is performed (hereinafter also referred to as inspection ON / OFF). Furthermore, the inspection content data includes both current inspection content and candidates for new inspection content. Also, in this specification, the term "setting" is used to include the meaning of change. Furthermore, in this specification, the term "product" is used to include not only finished products but also so-called intermediate products.

[0024] With this system structure, users can easily determine the inspection criteria for excluding truly defective final products from an intermediate inspection by referring to the results of other intermediate inspections, based on the inspection performance chart. This helps to suppress the reduction in inspection accuracy caused by over-inspection and improves inspection efficiency.

[0025] Alternatively, the inspection performance chart may include at least an inspection baseline representing the current inspection baseline. With this structure, the relationship between the inspection results and the current inspection baseline can be intuitively understood, thus making it easy to determine whether the inspection baseline is appropriate.

[0026] Alternatively, the inspection performance chart can also be a histogram. With this configuration, it becomes easy to determine whether the final actual defective products can be detected in the intermediate inspections (or inspection items) that are the target, and whether unnecessary defect judgments, such as classifying good products as defective, have occurred. For example, by determining whether defects that could be detected in other intermediate inspections or other inspection items are not detected, and whether defective products with a high number of unnecessary defect judgments in any particular intermediate inspection or inspection item are not detected, it is possible to determine whether waste has occurred in each inspection process.

[0027] Alternatively, the inspection performance chart can also be a scatter plot. With this configuration, it becomes possible to determine whether unnecessary defect determinations occurred during intermediate inspections aimed at detecting the final actual defective products.

[0028] Alternatively, the inspection performance chart can also be a chart that distinguishes products that are deemed good in the final inspection, products that are deemed defective in the final inspection, and products that are deemed defective in other intermediate inspection items and are also deemed defective in the final inspection, by color in an identifiable manner, as information related to an inspection item in one of the intermediate inspections.

[0029] Furthermore, the inspection content setting assistance unit can also display the inspection performance chart on the screen when setting the inspection content for the intermediate inspection. With this structure, it is possible to refer to the inspection performance of the intermediate inspection as the target while simultaneously... Figure 1 By setting the inspection content for this intermediate check, the operation can be carried out efficiently.

[0030] Additionally, the present invention can also be understood as an inspection management device that manages final inspection and multiple intermediate inspections in a product production line having multiple processes and multiple manufacturing devices and inspection devices corresponding to the multiple processes. The final inspection is an inspection of the finished product after the multiple processes, and the multiple intermediate inspections are inspections performed before the final inspection. The inspection management device includes: an inspection content data acquisition unit that acquires inspection content data, which includes inspection criteria for each inspection item of each of the inspections of the product; an inspection result information acquisition unit that acquires information including the inspection results of the final inspection and the intermediate inspections; and an inspection content setting assistance unit that generates an inspection performance chart as information related to an inspection item of one of the intermediate inspections. The inspection performance chart shows the presence or absence of the product determined to be defective in the final inspection together with information that can identify whether the product determined to be defective in the final inspection is determined to be defective in any of the other inspection items of the intermediate inspections.

[0031] In addition, the definitions of "final inspection", "intermediate inspection" and "other inspection items of the intermediate inspection" mentioned here are the same as those above.

[0032] Additionally, the present invention can also be understood as an inspection management method for managing a final inspection and multiple intermediate inspections in a product production line having multiple processes and multiple manufacturing and inspection devices corresponding to the multiple processes. The final inspection is an inspection of the finished product after the multiple processes, and the multiple intermediate inspections are inspections performed before the final inspection. The inspection management method includes: an inspection content data acquisition step, which acquires inspection content data, the inspection content data including inspection criteria for each inspection item of each of the inspections for the product; an inspection result information acquisition step, which acquires information including the inspection results of the final inspection and the intermediate inspections; an inspection performance chart generation step, which generates an inspection performance chart as information related to an inspection item of one of the intermediate inspections, the inspection performance chart showing the presence or absence of the product determined to be defective in the final inspection along with information that can identify whether the product determined to be defective in the final inspection is determined to be defective in any of the inspection items of the other intermediate inspections; and an inspection performance chart output step, which outputs the inspection performance chart generated in the inspection performance chart generation step.

[0033] In addition, the definitions of "final inspection", "intermediate inspection" and "other inspection items of the intermediate inspection" mentioned here are the same as those above.

[0034] Furthermore, the present invention can also be understood as a program for causing a computer to perform the above-described methods, and a computer-readable recording medium that non-temporarily records such a program. Additionally, the above-described structures and processes can be combined with each other to constitute the present invention, provided that no technical contradiction arises.

[0035] Invention Effects

[0036] According to the present invention, a technique is provided that can efficiently and accurately set inspection criteria for intermediate processes in a production line. Attached Figure Description

[0037] [ Figure 1 ] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the inspection management system used in the application example.

[0038] [ Figure 2 ] Figure 2 This is a functional block diagram of an application example inspection and management device.

[0039] [ Figure 3 ] Figure 3 This is an example of an inspection performance chart generated by an inspection management device in an application example.

[0040] [ Figure 4 ] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing the general structure of the production line in the implementation method.

[0041] [ Figure 5 ] Figure 5 This is a functional block diagram of the inspection and management device in the implementation method.

[0042] [ Figure 6 ] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating the process of generating and displaying inspection performance charts in the inspection management device of the implementation method.

[0043] [ Figure 7 ] Figure 7 This is an example of an inspection result chart displayed by a display device representing an embodiment.

[0044] [ Figure 8 ] Figure 8 This is an example of an inspection result chart displayed by a display device representing an embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0045] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings. However, unless otherwise specified, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the constituent elements described in the following examples are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to them.

[0046] <Application Examples>

[0047] This invention can, for example, be used as Figure 1 The inspection management system 9 shown is used for application. Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the inspection management system 9 in the surface mount production line of the printed circuit board in this application example. Figure 1 As shown, on the surface mount production line of this application example, from the upstream side, there are solder printing device A1, solder printing post-inspection device B1, pick and place machine A2, mounting post-inspection device B2, reflow oven A3, and reflow soldering post-inspection device B3.

[0048] Solder printing apparatus A1 is an apparatus for printing solder on the electrode portion of a printed circuit board; pick and place machine A2 is an apparatus for placing electronic components to be mounted on the substrate onto the solder paste; reflow oven A3 is a heating apparatus for soldering electronic components onto the substrate.

[0049] In addition, each inspection device B1, B2, and B3 inspects the condition of the substrate at the exit of each process, automatically detecting the possibility of defects or faults. Hereinafter, the inspection performed by inspection device B1 will be referred to as post-printing inspection, the inspection performed by inspection device B2 will be referred to as post-assembly inspection, and the inspection performed by inspection device B3 will be referred to as post-reflow soldering inspection.

[0050] The aforementioned manufacturing devices A1, A2, and A3, as well as inspection devices B1, B2, and B3, are connected to the inspection management device C via a network such as a LAN. The inspection management device C consists of a general-purpose computer system equipped with a CPU (processor), main storage device (memory), auxiliary storage device (hard disk, etc.), input devices (keyboard, mouse, controller, touch panel, etc.), and output devices (monitor, printer, speaker, etc.).

[0051] Figure 2 This is a schematic block diagram showing the inspection management device C in this application example. (See diagram below.) Figure 2 As shown, the inspection management device C has a control unit C1, an output unit C2 (e.g., an LCD display), an input unit C3, and a storage unit C4. The control unit C1 also includes functional modules such as an inspection content data acquisition unit C11, an inspection result information acquisition unit C12, and an inspection content setting assistance unit C13. Each functional unit can, for example, be implemented by the CPU reading and executing a program stored in the storage device.

[0052] The inspection content data acquisition unit C11 acquires inspection content data containing the inspection criteria for each inspection item in each process. The inspection result information acquisition unit C12 acquires inspection result data containing the results of each inspection from the inspection devices B1, B2, and B3. The inspection content setting assistance unit C13 generates an inspection performance chart based on the information acquired by the inspection content data acquisition unit C11 and the inspection result information acquisition unit C12, and displays it on the output unit C2 as part of the inspection content setting assistance screen. Here, the inspection performance chart is a graph that shows the presence or absence of the product determined to be defective in the final inspection, along with information that can identify whether the product determined to be defective in the final inspection is determined to be defective in any of the other inspection items in the intermediate inspections, as information related to the inspection item of one of the intermediate inspections.

[0053] Figure 3 This is an example of a performance chart used in this application. For example... Figure 3 As shown, the inspection performance chart generated by the inspection content setting auxiliary unit C13 is a histogram as follows: In an intermediate inspection (e.g., post-assembly inspection), for each specified interval of the measured value of an inspection item (e.g., X-direction offset), the number of good products after reflow soldering and the number of actual defects after reflow soldering are counted and displayed. Moreover, in this histogram, the number of good products after reflow soldering, the number of actual defects after reflow soldering, and the number of products that were judged to be defective in other intermediate inspections (e.g., post-printing inspection) and became actual defects after reflow soldering are displayed in a recognizable manner.

[0054] exist Figure 3In the example of the inspection performance chart, the bars that make up the histogram are displayed with different patterns (shading, dots, fill) depending on whether the product is actually defective after reflow soldering, is judged as defective in other inspection processes and is actually defective after reflow soldering, or is judged as good. This allows for easy identification of the different judgments. Such a histogram is generated for each inspection item in each intermediate inspection.

[0055] Furthermore, the methods for indicating whether something is good or bad are not limited to this; they can also be differentiated based on color, brightness, etc. Additionally, the inspection baseline representing the currently set inspection standard can be displayed on the inspection performance graph.

[0056] According to the inspection management system 9 described above, users can efficiently set high-precision inspection standards (i.e., minimize the number of actual defects and over-inspections after reflow soldering) by confirming the inspection content settings auxiliary screen.

[0057] <Implementation Method>

[0058] Next, an example of a method for carrying out the present invention will be described in further detail.

[0059] (System Architecture)

[0060] Figure 4 This diagram schematically illustrates a structural example of a surface mount production line for a printed circuit board, which is part of the inspection management system 100 of this embodiment. Surface mount technology (SMT) refers to the technique of soldering electronic components onto the surface of a printed circuit board. A surface mount production line mainly consists of three processes: solder printing, component mounting, and reflow soldering (solder deposition).

[0061] like Figure 4 As shown, in a surface mount production line, as manufacturing equipment, a solder printing unit X1, a pick-and-place machine X2, and a reflow oven X3 are sequentially arranged from the upstream side. The solder printing unit X1 is a device that prints solder paste onto the electrode portions (called pads) of a printed circuit board using a screen printer. The pick-and-place machine X2 is a device used to pick up electronic components to be mounted on the substrate and place them onto the solder paste at the corresponding locations; it is also called a chip mounter. The reflow oven X3 is a heating device used to heat and melt the solder paste, then cool it to solder the electronic components onto the substrate. When the number and types of electronic components mounted on the substrate are large, multiple pick-and-place machines X2 are sometimes installed in the surface mount production line.

[0062] In addition, the surface mount production line is equipped with inspection devices Y1, Y2, Y3, and Y4 that automatically detect defects or the possibility of defects by inspecting the condition of the substrate at the exit of each process, including solder printing, component mounting, and reflow soldering. In addition to automatically classifying good and defective products, each inspection device has the function of providing feedback to the operation of each manufacturing unit based on the inspection results and their analysis results (e.g., changes in the installation procedure).

[0063] Solder printing inspection apparatus Y1 is used to inspect the solder paste printing status on a substrate removed from solder printing apparatus X1. In solder printing inspection apparatus Y1, the solder paste printed on the substrate is measured in two or three dimensions, and various inspection items are determined based on the measurement results to determine whether they are within the normal range (tolerable range). Inspection items include, for example, the volume, area, height, positional offset, and shape of the solder. In two-dimensional measurement of the solder paste, image sensors (cameras) can be used, while in three-dimensional measurement, laser displacement meters, phase-shifting methods, spatial coding methods, and optical cut-off methods can be used.

[0064] Post-installation inspection device Y2 is used to inspect the configuration status of electronic components on a substrate removed from the pick-and-place machine X2. In the post-installation inspection device Y2, components (which may be the main body of a component, electrodes, or other parts of a component) placed on solder paste are measured in two or three dimensions. Based on the measurement results, various inspection items are determined to be within acceptable limits. Inspection items include, for example, component positional offset, angular (rotational) offset, missing components, different components, different polarities (electrodes on the component side and the substrate side have different polarities), reversed orientation (components are positioned facing the back), and component height. Similar to solder printing inspection, image sensors (cameras) can be used for two-dimensional measurement of electronic components, while laser displacement meters, phase-shifting methods, spatial coding methods, and optical cut-off methods can be used for three-dimensional measurement.

[0065] The visual inspection device Y3 is used to inspect the soldering quality of substrates removed from the reflow oven X3. In the visual inspection device Y3, the solder portion after reflow soldering is measured in two or three dimensions, and various inspection items are judged to be within acceptable limits based on the measurement results. Inspection items include those similar to those for component inspection, as well as the quality of the solder joint shape. In solder shape measurement, in addition to the aforementioned laser displacement meter, phase shift method, spatial coding method, and optical cut-off method, a so-called color highlighting method can also be used (a method that uses R, G, and B illumination at different incident angles to illuminate the solder surface, and uses a top camera to capture the reflected light of each color, thereby detecting the three-dimensional shape of the solder as two-dimensional color information).

[0066] X-ray inspection apparatus Y4 is a device used to inspect the soldering condition of a substrate using X-ray images. For example, in the case of packaged components such as BGA (Ball Grid Array) and CSP (Chip Size Package), and multilayer substrates, the solder joints are hidden beneath the components and substrate, making it impossible to inspect the solder condition in visual inspection apparatus Y3 (i.e., in visual images). X-ray inspection apparatus Y4 compensates for this weakness of visual inspection. Inspection items performed by X-ray inspection apparatus Y4 include, for example, component positional deviation, solder height, solder volume, solder ball diameter, length of back solder pads, and solder joint quality. Furthermore, X-ray transmission images or CT (Computed Tomography) images can be used as the X-ray images. In the following description, visual inspection apparatus Y3 and X-ray inspection apparatus Y4 are sometimes collectively referred to as post-reflow inspection apparatus.

[0067] In addition, each of the inspection devices Y1, Y2, Y3, and Y4 in this embodiment may also be equipped with a display device for visually confirming the inspection object, and the visual display device may also be configured as a terminal separate from each inspection device.

[0068] In this embodiment, the substrate processed by the solder printing apparatus X1 and the pick-and-place machine X2 is an intermediate product, and the substrate removed from the reflow oven X3 becomes a finished product. Furthermore, the inspections performed by the post-solder printing inspection apparatus Y1 and the component inspection apparatus Y2 are intermediate inspections, while the inspections performed by the visual inspection apparatus Y3 and the X-ray inspection apparatus Y4 are final inspections. Hereinafter, the inspection performed by the post-solder printing inspection apparatus Y1 will sometimes be referred to as post-printing inspection, the inspection performed by the component inspection apparatus Y2 will be referred to as post-assembly inspection, and the inspections performed by the visual inspection apparatus Y3 and the X-ray inspection apparatus Y4 will be referred to as post-reflow inspection.

[0069] (Inspection and management device)

[0070] The manufacturing devices X1, X2, X3 and inspection devices Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4 described above are connected to the inspection management device 1 via a network (LAN). The inspection management device 1 is a system responsible for managing and controlling the manufacturing devices X1, X2, X3 and the inspection devices Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4. Although not shown in the diagram, it consists of a general-purpose computer system equipped with a CPU (processor), main storage device (memory), auxiliary storage device (hard disk, etc.), input devices (keyboard, mouse, controller, touch panel, etc.), and display device. The functions of the inspection management device 1, described later, are implemented by the CPU reading and executing programs stored in the auxiliary storage device.

[0071] Furthermore, the inspection management device 1 can be composed of one computer or multiple computers. Alternatively, all or part of the functions of the inspection management device 1 can be installed in the computer built into any of the manufacturing devices X1, X2, X3, and inspection devices Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4. Alternatively, part of the functions of the inspection management device 1 can be implemented through a server on a network (such as a cloud server).

[0072] Figure 5 This is a functional block diagram illustrating the inspection management device 1 of this embodiment. (See diagram below.) Figure 5 As shown, the inspection management device 1 includes a control unit 10, an output unit 20, an input unit 30, and a storage unit 40. The control unit 10 further includes an inspection content data acquisition unit 101, an inspection result information acquisition unit 102, an inspection content setting assistance unit 103, and an inspection benchmark calculation unit 104 as functional modules. Each functional module can be implemented, for example, by the CPU reading and executing a program stored in a storage device such as a main storage device.

[0073] Furthermore, the output unit 20 is a unit that outputs various information such as the inspection content setting auxiliary screen (described later), and is typically composed of a display device such as an LCD. Additionally, when the output unit 20 is a display device, a user interface screen can also be output to the output unit 20. Furthermore, the input unit 30 is an input unit for inputting information to the inspection management device 1, and is typically composed of a keyboard, mouse, controller, touch panel, etc.

[0074] Storage unit 40 is a storage device that stores various information such as inspection content data and inspection result data, which will be described later. For example, it may be a structure that includes an external storage device such as a server.

[0075] Next, the functional blocks of the control unit 10 will be described. The inspection content data acquisition unit 101 acquires inspection content data containing the inspection criteria for each inspection item in each process. Here, in "inspection content", in addition to the inspection items in each product and the inspection criteria for that inspection item (e.g., the threshold for good or bad judgment), it also includes whether to perform the comparison with the inspection criteria according to each item (hereinafter also referred to as inspection ON / OFF). In addition, the inspection content data includes both the current inspection content and the candidates for new inspection content. As will be described later, the inspection content data may be the value of the inspection criteria calculated by the inspection criteria calculation unit 104, or it may be the value input by the user via the input unit 30.

[0076] The inspection result information acquisition unit 102 acquires inspection result data (determination results of good or bad) from the inspection devices Y1, Y2, Y3, and Y4. In addition, the inspection content setting assistance unit 103 generates an inspection performance chart based on the information acquired by the inspection content data acquisition unit 101 and the inspection result information acquisition unit 102, and displays it on the output unit 20 as part of the inspection content setting assistance screen.

[0077] The inspection benchmark calculation unit 104 automatically calculates an appropriate inspection benchmark for each inspection item based on user instructions or at a predetermined time. Specifically, for example, an inspection benchmark that reduces missed inspections and / or over-inspections compared to the current inspection benchmark can be used as an appropriate inspection benchmark. Furthermore, the inspection benchmark can be calculated, for example, by performing simulated inspections based on the current inspection benchmark and inspection results from each inspection device Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4.

[0078] Next, based on Figure 6 The display process of the inspection content setting assistance screen in the inspection management device 1 of this embodiment will be described. The inspection management device 1 is triggered by user instructions, the arrival of a predetermined time, etc., and the inspection content data acquisition unit 101 acquires inspection content data (S101), and the inspection result information acquisition unit 102 acquires inspection result data (S102). Then, the inspection benchmark calculation unit 104 calculates the optimized inspection benchmark for each inspection item based on the information acquired in steps S101 and S102 (step S103). Next, the inspection content setting assistance unit 103 generates an inspection performance chart based on the information acquired in steps S101 and S102 and the inspection benchmark calculated in step S103 (S104), and the output unit 20 displays the inspection content setting assistance screen containing the inspection performance chart generated in step S104 (step S105), ending the series of processes.

[0079] Figure 7 This is an example of an auxiliary screen showing the inspection content settings in this embodiment. For example... Figure 7 As shown, in the inspection content setting auxiliary screen, as an inspection performance graph, for each specified interval of the measured value of the inspection item with X-direction offset in the post-installation inspection, a histogram is displayed, which separately counts the number of good products after reflow soldering and the number of actual defects after reflow soldering. Furthermore, this histogram clearly shows the number of good products after reflow soldering, the number of actual defects after reflow soldering, and the number of products judged as defective in other inspection items and thus becoming actual defects after reflow soldering. Overlapping with this histogram, the current inspection baseline A, representing the current inspection baseline, and the optimized inspection baseline B, representing the optimized inspection baseline calculated by the inspection baseline calculation unit 104, are also shown.

[0080] Additionally, the inspection performance chart displays the number of good reflow soldered products, the number of actual defective reflow soldered products, and the number of products that were judged as defective in other inspection items and became actual defective reflow soldered products, all under optimized inspection standards.

[0081] (Advantages of this implementation method)

[0082] By displaying the histogram (inspection performance chart) as shown above on the screen when setting inspection content, users can easily compare the optimized inspection criteria calculated by the inspection criteria calculation unit 104 with the current inspection criteria by referring to the histogram. Furthermore, the optimized inspection criteria make it easy to determine whether actual defects after reflow soldering can be appropriately detected in the intermediate inspections (or inspection items) targeted, and whether useless defect judgments have occurred as a result. For example, by determining whether defects detectable in intermediate inspections or other inspection items in other processes are not detected, and whether defective products with a high number of unnecessary defect judgments in any intermediate inspection or inspection item are not detected, it is possible to determine whether useless defect judgments have occurred.

[0083] If based on Figure 7 To illustrate the inspection results chart more specifically, under the current inspection standard (the area to the left of the current inspection standard A is considered good), actual defects after reflow soldering, which could also be detected in other inspection items, were detected, and over-inspection occurred where good reflow soldering products were also classified as defective. If the optimized standard calculated by the inspection standard calculation unit 104 is used (the area to the left of the optimized inspection standard B is considered good), then the previously over-inspected parts are correctly classified as good. Furthermore, in this case, the actual defects after reflow soldering that were previously detected are classified as good, but these are detected as defective in other inspection items, so it can be ensured that they will not ultimately become missed inspections.

[0084] <Variation Example>

[0085] Furthermore, in the above embodiments, the inspection results are displayed using a histogram, but the inspection results are not limited to the display format of a histogram. Figure 8 This is another example of checking the performance chart.

[0086] like Figure 8As shown, the inspection performance chart of this modified example is a scatter plot of the inspection results, with the X-axis set to the measured values ​​of the inspection items for the X-direction offset of the components in the post-printing inspection and the Y-axis set to the measured values ​​of the inspection items for the X-direction offset of the components in the post-reflow soldering inspection. Furthermore, this scatter plot clearly shows the number of good products after reflow soldering, the number of actual defective products after reflow soldering, and the number of products judged as defective in other inspection items and thus becoming actual defective products after reflow soldering. Additionally, the arrows R in the figure represent the range of measured values ​​judged as good in the post-reflow soldering inspection, and the arrows P in the figure represent the range of measured values ​​judged as good in the post-printing inspection.

[0087] By displaying the inspection results as a scatter plot, it is possible to determine whether useless defect determinations were made during intermediate inspections in order to detect actual defects after reflow soldering. Furthermore, it is possible to determine whether the detection of actual defects after reflow soldering was appropriately distributed among other processes and inspection items, and whether actual defects after reflow soldering that do not need to be detected in the displayed processes / inspection items were not being checked.

[0088] Additionally, in scatter plot type inspection performance charts, the current inspection baseline representing the current inspection baseline and / or the optimized inspection baseline representing the optimized inspection baseline can also be displayed.

[0089] In addition, when referring to the scatter plot, the situation in which a high-precision inspection benchmark can be set in the inspection process and inspection items that are the objects is when the correlation between the measured values ​​of intermediate inspection and post-reflow soldering inspection on the scatter plot is high, and the actual defects after reflow soldering are drawn at the ends of each distribution according to the distribution.

[0090] On the other hand, the correlation between measured values ​​from intermediate inspections and post-reflow soldering inspections is low, and actual defects after reflow soldering are plotted in off-center locations, making it impossible to detect actual defects with high precision. In other words, it is impossible to set appropriate inspection criteria by changing the inspection standards for this process / inspection item.

[0091] Specifically, for example, such as Figure 8 As shown in the inspection results chart, even products that fall within the acceptable range on the X-axis (post-printing inspection measurement value) are often located outside the acceptable range on the Y-axis (post-reflow inspection measurement value). In such cases, if the inspection benchmark shifted in the X-axis of post-printing inspection is adjusted towards a more stringent direction to eliminate actual defects after reflow soldering, more over-inspections will occur during post-printing inspection. Furthermore, even when there are many products that fall outside the acceptable range on the X-axis but are located near the center on the Y-axis, the over-inspections still increase because products that are acceptable after reflow soldering are considered defective during post-printing inspection.

[0092] Based on the above, it is possible to determine whether changing the inspection criteria for the process / inspection item that serves as the inspection criterion helps improve inspection accuracy. Specifically, for example, if the majority of parts judged as defective in intermediate processes have sufficient margin relative to the inspection criteria after reflow soldering, it is preferable to study the optimization of the inspection criteria in other processes / inspection items.

[0093] For example, in Figure 8 In the inspection performance chart, although multiple products are plotted outside the good product range on the X-axis but within the good product range on the Y-axis, multiple products are also plotted outside the good product range on both the X-axis and Y-axis, indicating that proper quality judgment was not performed. Furthermore, based on... Figure 8 The inspection performance chart shows that products outside the acceptable range plotted on the Y-axis were detected as defective through other inspection items. Therefore, it's clear that adjusting the current inspection criterion cannot improve inspection accuracy; optimization of inspection criteria for other processes / inspections should be investigated. Furthermore, in the absence of better alternative processes / inspections, the first-pass yield in intermediate inspections can be used to determine whether to compromise and use the current inspection criterion.

[0094] <Other>

[0095] The above description of the embodiments is merely illustrative of the invention, and the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. Various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention's technical concept. For example, in the above embodiments, histograms and scatter plots are shown as examples of inspection performance charts, but inspection performance charts can also be displayed in other ways. For example, it is also possible to set up a graph that displays a stacked bar chart in units of specified items (e.g., time periods), which clearly shows the number of good products after final inspection, the number of actual defective products, and the number of products judged as defective and becoming actual defective products in other inspection items.

[0096] Furthermore, the inspection content setting assistance unit can generate both histogram inspection results charts and scatter plot inspection results charts (or inspection results charts in other display formats) and display them on the same screen. In addition, the inspection content setting assistance screen can simultaneously display various information other than inspection results charts, such as information related to components and the inspection content input interface.

[0097] Furthermore, in the above embodiments, post-reflow soldering inspection is considered equivalent to final inspection, post-printing inspection, and / or post-assembly inspection is considered equivalent to intermediate inspection. However, it is also possible to consider the inspection by X-ray inspection device Y4 as the final inspection and include the inspection by visual inspection device Y3 in the intermediate inspection. Alternatively, visual inspection of products that do not utilize inspection devices may be considered the final inspection, and previous inspections using inspection devices may be considered intermediate inspections. Furthermore, if inspection is also performed during product assembly, the inspection during assembly may be considered the final inspection, and previous inspections may be considered intermediate inspections.

[0098] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the inspection content setting assistance unit is configured to output a screen containing the inspection results graph to a display device. However, it is not limited to this structure; the inspection content setting assistance unit may also simply generate data for displaying the screen containing the inspection results graph. The generated data can be sent to other devices via a communication unit or stored in a storage unit. That is, the present invention can also be applied to information processing devices that do not have a display unit.

[0099] Furthermore, in the above embodiments, a production line for component mounting substrates is used as an example, but as long as it is a production line for products with multiple intermediate processes, the present invention can also be applied to manufacturing equipment for products other than component mounting substrates.

[0100] <Postscript>

[0101] One embodiment of the present invention provides an inspection management system (9, 100) that manages a final inspection of finished products after the multiple processes and a plurality of intermediate inspections performed before the final inspection in a product production line having multiple processes and having a plurality of manufacturing devices and inspection devices corresponding to the multiple processes. The inspection management system (9; 100) is characterized by having: a display unit (C2; 20) that displays at least information related to the intermediate inspections; and an inspection content data acquisition unit (C11; 101) that acquires inspection content data, the inspection content data including information related to the... The product includes an inspection criterion for each inspection item of each of the aforementioned inspections; an inspection result information acquisition unit (C12; 102) that acquires information including the inspection results of the final inspection and the intermediate inspections; and an inspection content setting auxiliary unit (C13; 103) that generates an inspection performance graph as information related to the inspection items of the intermediate inspections and displays it on the display unit. The inspection performance graph shows the presence or absence of the product that was determined to be defective in the final inspection together with information that can identify whether the product that was determined to be defective in the final inspection was determined to be defective in any of the inspection items of the other intermediate inspections.

[0102] Another embodiment of the present invention is an inspection management device (C; 1) that manages a final inspection of finished products after the multiple processes and a plurality of intermediate inspections performed before the final inspection in a product production line having multiple processes and a plurality of manufacturing devices and inspection devices corresponding to the multiple processes. The inspection management device (C; 1) is characterized by comprising: an inspection content data acquisition unit (C11; 101) that acquires inspection content data, the inspection content data including inspection criteria for each inspection item of each of the inspections of the product; an inspection result information acquisition unit (C12; 102) that acquires information including the inspection results of the final inspection and the intermediate inspections; and an inspection content setting assistance unit (C13; 103) that generates an inspection performance chart as information related to the inspection items of the intermediate inspections, the inspection performance chart showing the presence or absence of products determined to be defective in the final inspection together with information that can identify whether products determined to be defective in the final inspection are determined to be defective in any of the inspection items of the other intermediate inspections.

[0103] Another embodiment of the present invention is an inspection management method that manages a final inspection of finished products after the multiple processes and a plurality of intermediate inspections performed before the final inspection in a product production line having multiple processes and a plurality of manufacturing apparatuses and inspection apparatuses corresponding to the multiple processes. The method is characterized by comprising: an inspection content data acquisition step (S101) for acquiring inspection content data, the inspection content data including inspection criteria for each inspection item of each of the inspections of the product; an inspection result information acquisition step (S102) for acquiring information including the inspection results of the final inspection and the intermediate inspections; an inspection performance chart generation step (S104) for generating an inspection performance chart as information related to the inspection items of the intermediate inspections, the inspection performance chart showing the presence or absence of products determined to be defective in the final inspection along with information that can identify whether products determined to be defective in the final inspection are determined to be defective in any of the inspection items of the other intermediate inspections; and an inspection performance chart output step (S105) for outputting the inspection performance chart generated in the inspection performance chart generation step.

[0104] Label Explanation

[0105] A1, X1: Solder printing device; A2, X2: Pick and place machine; A3, X3: Reflow oven; B1, Y1: Post-solder printing inspection device; B2, Y2: Post-installation inspection device; B3: Post-reflow inspection device; Y3: Visual inspection device; Y4: X-ray inspection device; C, 1: Inspection management device; C1, 10: Control unit; C2, 20: Output unit; C3, 30: Input unit; C4, 40: Storage unit.

Claims

1. An inspection management system for managing final inspection and intermediate inspection in a product production line having multiple processes and multiple manufacturing devices and inspection devices corresponding to the multiple processes, wherein the final inspection is an inspection of the finished product after the multiple processes, and the intermediate inspection is an inspection performed before the final inspection, the inspection management system being characterized by having: The display unit displays at least information related to the intermediate check; The inspection content data acquisition unit acquires inspection content data, which includes inspection criteria for each inspection item of each inspection of the product. The inspection result information acquisition unit acquires information including the inspection results of the final inspection and the intermediate inspections; and An inspection content setting auxiliary unit generates an inspection performance graph as information related to an inspection item of one of the intermediate inspections and displays it on the display unit. The inspection performance graph is a histogram or a scatter plot that shows the presence or absence of the product determined to be defective in the final inspection together with information that can identify whether the product determined to be defective in the final inspection is determined to be defective in any of the inspection items of the other intermediate inspections.

2. The inspection management system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inspection performance graph includes at least an inspection baseline representing the current inspection baseline.

3. The inspection management system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The inspection performance chart is a chart that, as information related to an inspection item in one of the intermediate inspections, distinguishes products that are judged as good in the final inspection, products that are judged as defective in the final inspection, and products that are judged as defective in other inspection items in the intermediate inspections and are judged as defective in the final inspection, by color in an identifiable manner.

4. The inspection management system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The inspection content setting auxiliary unit enables the inspection performance graph to be displayed on the screen when setting the inspection content for the intermediate inspection.

5. An inspection management device for managing a final inspection and multiple intermediate inspections in a product production line having multiple processes and multiple manufacturing devices and inspection devices corresponding to the multiple processes, wherein the final inspection is an inspection of the finished product after the multiple processes, and the multiple intermediate inspections are inspections performed before the final inspection, the inspection management device being characterized by having: The inspection content data acquisition unit acquires inspection content data, which includes inspection criteria for each inspection item of each inspection of the product. The inspection result information acquisition unit acquires information including the inspection results of the final inspection and the intermediate inspections; and The inspection content setting auxiliary unit generates an inspection performance graph as information related to an inspection item of one of the intermediate inspections. The inspection performance graph is a histogram or a scatter plot that shows the presence or absence of the product determined to be defective in the final inspection together with information that can identify whether the product determined to be defective in the final inspection is determined to be defective in any of the inspection items of the other intermediate inspections.

6. An inspection management method for managing a final inspection and multiple intermediate inspections in a product production line having multiple processes and multiple manufacturing devices and inspection devices corresponding to the multiple processes, wherein the final inspection is an inspection of the finished product after the multiple processes, and the multiple intermediate inspections are inspections performed before the final inspection, the inspection management method being characterized by having: The step of obtaining inspection content data involves obtaining inspection content data, which includes inspection criteria for each inspection item of each inspection for the product. The step of obtaining inspection result information involves obtaining information that includes the inspection results of the final inspection and the intermediate inspections; The inspection performance chart generation step generates an inspection performance chart as information related to an inspection item in one of the intermediate inspections. The inspection performance chart is a histogram or scatter plot that shows the presence or absence of the product determined to be defective in the final inspection together with information that can identify whether the product determined to be defective in the final inspection is determined to be defective in any of the other inspection items in the intermediate inspections; and The performance chart output step is to output the performance chart generated in the performance chart generation step.

7. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program that, when executed by a computer, performs the steps described in the inspection and management method of claim 6.

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