ZEISS Smartzoom 5 can conduct failure analysis

May 30, 2014. The Microscopy business group of ZEISS has presented its first automated digital microscope. The device is designed to make operation as easy as possible for the user.

In an industrial environment, the company reported, optical inspection is an important part of production-related quality testing. Parts such as screws, printed circuit boards, and metal elements need to be examined for defects. Often companies have neither much time to inspect these parts, nor do they always have experts in using microscopes available, however.

“In this context, the microscope is one of many tools, just like pliers or a wrench. And it must work just as intuitively and reliably,” said Wolf Jockusch, product manager for ZEISS Smartzoom 5. The device is the first integrated complete system from ZEISS comprising an optical engine (which itself consists of a zoom, camera, and illumination), a stand with sample stage, objective lenses, the operating unit, and software.

ZEISS Smartzoom 5 is equally suited to conducting failure analyses—that is, the close examination of a defective part—as well as routine inspections, during which the same material sample needs to be repeatedly inspected using the same workflow. Once quality inspectors have placed a sample under the microscope, they no longer have to switch back and forth between the device and the software, but instead can carry out all the necessary steps right on the screen. They can also save this workflow so that it is always available at a later time. “This makes the analysis reproducible and independent of the user,” said Jockusch. Furthermore, the Best Image feature allows users without any prior knowledge to achieve optimal results—the system shows a preview of different illumination options, and the user only needs to select the best one. In addition, the device is calibrated at the factory and can be used immediately without requiring any further adjustment.