Altus Group, a leading distributor of capital equipment for the electronics manufacturing industry in the UK and Ireland, has helped electronic design and manufacturing services provider
Norcott Technologies gain greater insight into solder paste deposition at the earliest stage of SMT production.
The project has seen Norcott invest in a KY8030-2 True 3D solder paste inspection system from
Koh Young, a global leader in 3D measurement and inspection technology. Now operating at Norcott’s Cheshire facility, the system is already providing measurement data to support decisions on stencil design and printer program optimisation.
Norcott identified solder paste inspection as a priority investment in 2025. Building on its established printing process, the company wanted to strengthen its ability to identify solder paste variations before boards progressed to component placement, supporting higher first-pass yields and minimising downstream rework.
The project coincided with Productronica in Munich, where Norcott was able to assess the leading technologies available and gain hands-on experience of potential solutions. An initial Koh Young demonstration at the exhibition was followed by detailed scoping, sample validation and practical demonstrations conducted with Altus in the UK.
The KY8030-2 measures the height, area and volume of individual solder paste deposits, providing quantitative data rather than relying solely on two-dimensional images. Its dual-projection Moiré technology creates a three-dimensional representation of the deposits while helping to address the shadows and reflections that can affect inspection accuracy.
The system also incorporates active warp compensation, which detects and compensates for variations in the PCB substrate to maintain measurement accuracy across the board. Beyond pass-or-fail inspection, the resulting data can be used to monitor the printing process and support continuing process optimisation.
Pete Lomas, managing director of Norcott Technologies, said: “We are very happy with how our solder paste inspection process improvement has progressed. Koh Young technology has an excellent reputation, and the performance of the system is extremely high. The Altus team has been on hand throughout to make the implementation as straightforward as possible, and our previous experience with the technology has enabled us to put the equipment to work very quickly.”
He continued: “Accurate solder paste deposition is fundamental to the performance of an SMT line. It gives us confidence to know that every inspected board has the best possible foundation before moving to the next stage of production.”
Steve Leake, sales manager at Altus Group, said: “It has been a pleasure to support Norcott with this project and introduce the team to Koh Young. Our pre-sales validation demonstrated how the system could meet Norcott’s technical and process requirements, while giving its engineers the opportunity to assess the technology before investing. The implementation has been a great success, and we look forward to continuing to support Norcott and building on our relationship over the years ahead.”
By combining accurate 3D inspection with useful measurement data, the installation strengthens Norcott’s process control while supporting its continued focus on quality, first-pass yield and manufacturing efficiency.