Protect your reputation with test and failure analysis
At the Advanced Engineering Show, 2022, members of the Cupio team were on hand to discuss all aspects of test or failure analysis.
Cupio Services provides X-Ray, Acoustic, Optical and electronic test, inspection and analysis services.
These services are specifically for those who only require them occasionally; therefore, the requirement to purchase dedicated equipment may not be necessary; this is where Cupio Services is the answer.
The company’s 3,000 sq.ft facility is located within Chineham Business Park in Basingstoke and services clients across the UK and Europe.
No manufacturing process can be guaranteed 100%, and there will always be a need for inspection and test, and in the event of a final product issue, failure analysis. Cupio’s skill lies in identifying which equipment can be the best fit for the purpose based on the material, projected fault type, invasiveness and level of detail required. Once the correct equipment is agreed upon, the company goes to work identifying areas of non-compliance and reporting our findings.
Cupio’s state-of-the-art analytical equipment has four core areas:
SAM is a non-invasive and non-destructive technique used to inspect for defects within solid samples, components and materials or structures. Predominantly used in failure analysis, the Scanning Acoustic Microscope can also be used in research and development, reliability or process control by identifying delamination, voids, cracks, bond lines, seal issues in microelectronics, encapsulated devices and materials.
X-RAY is the most well-known technique for failure analysis due to its non-destructive ability to image the interior of products to identify hidden defects. Whilst Cupio tends to work mostly within the electronics manufacturing market, X-Ray techniques apply to many materials, mechanical assemblies and manufacturing processes such as laser welding. Having the highest resolution possible with the best imaging capability is essential to imaging the tiny faults that cause reliability issues.
AOI or Automated Optical Inspection is an automated visual inspection where a camera is used to autonomously scan the device or board under test for both catastrophic failures, such as a missing component, and a quality defect, such as a shape or component skew or soldering defect.
Electrical Test, where some faults in boards and devices can’t be seen and must be tested for. These days we must do more to reuse, repair and recycle, so electronic testing plays an important part in fault identification to keep products in use, as is picking counterfeit parts from genuine ones, keeping us all safer.
Cupio Services sells the systems, with support for the lifetime of the product, and provides a full contract inspection and analysis service at its facility in Basingstoke.
It can cost millions when products are recalled or returned. The further down the manufacturing process it gets, the higher the cost. A recall being the costliest of all. The sooner the fault is identified, the lower the cost involved.
Reputation can be the lifeblood of a company. Cupio tells its clients not to risk it, protecting their brand from the stigma of a product return.
