Chris Rand, MXI Product Manager, Nordson Test & Inspection
Consumer electronics like smartphones and laptops are designed to be user-friendly. The early days of the personal computer, when early adopters needed to understand software programming to use the machines, are long behind us. Now, consumers expect a touchscreen and an intuitive user interface (UI).
They expect menus with options that are easy to understand and icons that make sense. Files are stored in folders. Unwanted files go into the trash. A single click selects an item, and a double click opens it. Easily accessible help menus clarify any unfamiliar features.
Why not use the same familiar interface for the industrial equipment that inspects the circuit boards inside those smartphones, tablets, and laptops? Just because the equipment is in an industrial setting, the software shouldn’t require extensive training to understand. There has been more attention on the design of human-machine interfaces (HMI) in recent years and efforts in multiple industries to create an HMI that is easy to understand and reduces the cognitive load on operators.
We propose that industrial software for semiconductor industry equipment need not be complicated. It does so with a concrete example. Manual X-ray equipment for inspection of surface mount technology (SMT) components is ready for a software upgrade.
Click here to read the full article in the October issue of Semiconductor Digest.