✅ What is Etching?
Etching is a surface treatment process that uses:
Strong acids (chemical etching)
Mechanical polishing
Electrochemical methods
Etching is used in many fields — from traditional metal processing to high-tech semiconductor manufacturing.
In PCB (Printed Circuit Board) production, etching is a key process. If something goes wrong during etching, it often affects many PCBs at once, causing big quality problems.
⚠️ What Are the Common Issues in PCB Etching?
One of the biggest problems is called “side etching”.
That means the etching process not only cuts downwards into the material, but also sideways, which can reduce the accuracy of the copper lines on the PCB.
Even though etching methods and materials are improving, customers now expect higher quality than ever before. Tiny defects can cause major product failures.
❌ Why 2D Vision is Not Enough
Traditional 2D vision systems are no longer good enough for this task.
For high-precision PCB inspection, we need 3D imaging.
3D sensors can clearly show issues like:
Breaks or gaps in the copper lines
Depth and width of etched grooves
Small surface defects
✅ The Solution: HPS-LCF1000 3D Line Confocal Sensor
For this application, we used the HPS-LCF1000 sensor.
This sensor uses chromatic confocal technology, which is perfect for high-precision Z-axis measurement.
Z-axis repeatability: 0.1 μm
Line length: 5.9 mm
Measuring range: 3 mm
Scan resolution: 2048 points/line
X-axis point spacing: 2.8 μm
Compatible with many materials: transparent, mirror, high-reflection
🔍 What Was Measured?
Application: PCB Etching Inspection
Sensor used: HPS-LCF1000
Measurement goals:
Groove depth
Groove width
Broken or missing lines
📊 Result
The sensor scanned the PCB and successfully captured the fine details of the etched structures.
This allows for reliable quality control in PCB manufacturing, ensuring defects are caught before the product moves forward.
