The importance of mobile phones in everyday life
The hugely-built, fixed, home telephones of the past three decades have given way to a portable and convenient mobile phone.
The advancement in technology, especially over the past ten years, has seen the mobile phone move from just a luxurious communication device to something of a necessity with so many other functions.
Besides being able to call your friends and loved ones, mobile phone texting abilities are so important, and have seen a series of enhancements and upgrades from what we've been used to.
The most recent in the significance of mobile phones in daily activities is the change in work culture as we used to know it. Mobile phones are used as a tool by many individuals to work from home and receive orders for goods and services.
Others simply use it to send pictures of their products to prospective clients and even take stunning photographs of nature, wildlife, and arts without the need for a camera.
With other functions like video recorders, calendars, alarms, flashlights, clocks, maps, and so on, the mobile phone has become such an important instrument with so much benefit for everyone.
Mobile phone PCBs require x-ray inspection
The Printed Circuit Board (PCB) that enables the mobile phone's performance is laid out with so many tiny components that are invisible to the naked eye. Hence, checking the accurate arrangement of these mechanisms is such an important part of the production of phones.
PCB x-ray inspection is a non-destructive means of checking hidden areas on the circuit board, line connections, and soldering quality, with great accuracy.
A PCB x-ray machine enables the use of x-ray to penetrate between layers of soldered components and joints. This use of x-ray relies on its high penetration capacity, which disqualifies other means like Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) as a precise inspection method.
During a PCB x-ray inspection, an x-ray is passed through the test components with an x-ray detector placed on the reverse side of the PCB x-ray machine. The test sample absorbs the x-ray and is shown on the image produced as either light or dark shades based on the weights of individual components exposed to the x-ray.
The denser the component, the more will be the absorption of the x-ray, and the easier it is to locate where there has been a disconnection between the components or if there is inadequate soldering.
The casing of the phone needs x-ray inspection
The phone casing covers the phone's internal components, including the PCB, integrated circuits, batteries, and other interior gears. However, a phone casing must pass through specific quality assessment tests before being assembled as part of a phone.
The toughness specification of a phone cover enables it to maintain both internal and external parts' integrity after it has dropped from a height onto a hard surface. Its density always determines this toughness specification.
X-ray inspection of covers checks for durability by passing x-rays beams through the covers to reveal an image that can be inspected to ensure that the phone cover's right specification is used.
Some phone covers are designed to keep away water and some fine particles by ensuring that they are tightly covered.
The x-ray inspection checks if the specified degree of tightness has been achieved to keep away water and other particles as designed.
The battery of the phone needs x-ray inspection
Every mobile uses batteries to power its functions and therefore is an important part of the phone. Installing a bad battery or a wrong placement of battery within the phone compartment might lead to malfunctions or even an unsafe use of the phone.
Hence, using battery x-ray inspection offers a non-destructive method to confirm any anomaly in the installation of the batteries during the phone production and packaging.
Using an x-ray inspection of the battery can reveal any leakage in the lithium-ion content without any physical touch or prying. A leakage will make the battery unsafe and inappropriate for phone installation.
Battery x-ray inspection can also unveil if the required number of battery cells per module is assembled for multi-cellular batteries.
The connection of the batteries to the phone circuit board is another vital part of the phone assemblage. The x-ray inspection of batteries shows if it has been done correctly and if there is any weak soldering of the connecting cables to the board.
Conclusion
X-ray inspection may be the best non-destructive test and inspection method to ascertain the integrity and quality of individual members of your phone.
The PCB x-ray inspection clears any doubt about the accuracy of soldered parts and the proper connection between the integrated circuits and microdevices mounted on the board.
The battery x-ray inspection helps check for the adequacy of the battery cells, their placement, and their connection to the circuit board. This ensures that it delivers the right amount of power needed for the phone to function at optimum capacity.
The x-ray inspection also helps to check the phone cover for compactness, sturdiness, and tightness.
All these applications of x-ray for inspection will produce the best quality phones with the perfect components installed on the phone.