Automated guidance for THT assembly ensures placement, real-time error detection, and integration, improving efficiency, accuracy, and traceability in PCB production.
Despite automation, assembling PCBs with THT components still requires manual work, especially for small batches and custom designs. To improve efficiency and accuracy, GOEPEL electronic developed Multi Line Assist, an AOI module that guides operators step by step and verifies placements in real time.
Multi Line Assist projects placement instructions directly onto the work surface, ensuring precise component positioning. After each placement, an integrated inspection system detects errors immediately, allowing corrections before soldering. The PILOT software identifies deviations and highlights them with projected markings.
Equipped with a 47-megapixel AOI module and a flexible LED lighting system, Multi Line Assist delivers high-resolution imaging across areas up to 660 mm x 450 mm. It verifies component presence, position, and color while reading barcodes, 2D codes, and text. With inspection speeds up to 800 cm²/s, entire PCBs can be analyzed in a single capture.
A built-in laser projector enhances manual placement by displaying chute/box, position, and component type directly in the operator’s field of view, minimizing errors and ensuring consistent results. It also highlights detected issues, making it easier to train new staff. Multi Line Assist checks key quality factors, including component presence, positioning, polarity, labeling (OCR), and completeness, ensuring reliable THT assembly.
A foot switch allows operators to start a new inspection or repeat the final inspection, ensuring ease of use in the assembly process. Multi Line Assist can be integrated into existing assembly tables or used with GOEPEL electronic’s optional height-adjustable placement table, which includes a PCB or product carrier holder and an integrated Multi Line Assist module.
For seamless traceability, Multi Line Assist connects with existing MES systems and logging solutions. It is part of GOEPEL electronic’s Multi Line product family, a platform of inspection systems designed to support the entire production process. The series features modular hardware and standardized, powerful software, reducing training and programming efforts while enabling flexible workforce deployment.
