New era for SMT inspection equipment market

The cyclical nature of the electronics industry and purchasing behavior of customers have made it difficult for many SMT inspection companies to realize growth objectives. However, these trends have different impact on the automatic optical inspection (AOI), solder paste inspection (SPI), and X-ray inspection markets. The key challenge for SMT inspection companies is to find the ideal balance of contending with lowering price and rethinking product innovation.

Market Pulse

Overall, there are strong drivers for increasing adoption of SMT inspection equipment. Improving product technology, responsiveness, reliability, and quality of inspection are major drivers for the global SMT inspection equipment market. High performance devices in telecom, automotive, consumer electronics, and computing and storage are anticipated to further drive demand for SMT inspection in the next 3–5 years. As product requirements continue to grow, the demand for high quality assurance in production environment is rising. Another key driver for growth in the SMT inspection equipment market is the increasing miniaturization of electronic components. Inspection of miniaturized components and ball grid arrays, for example, are complicated. The products are also becoming more complex in terms of board design and functionality. The need for accurate defect detection has helped bolster demand for AOI, SPI, and X-ray inspection equipment.

According to an upcoming Frost & Sullivan research, the SMT inspection equipment market generated revenue worth $ 915.6 million in 2012. The market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 6.2% during 2012–2019.
Consumer electronics industry will continue to lead the demand for AOI, SPI, and especially X-ray inspection equipment.

The fastest growing market will be X-ray inspection equipment market. The automatic x-ray market is expected to grow at a faster pace, compared to manual x-ray inspection equipment market, due to increasing demand for high-reliability in-line inspection in medical, A&D, and telecom industries.

The demand for SPI equipment is also expected to grow strongly over the next 3 years. As the demand cycle peaks, the growth rate of SPI market is expected to stabilize during the later part of the forecast period.
Despite strong growth opportunities, there are some serious impediments to consider. There is an increasing price pressure on the SMT inspection market, especially the AOI market. The AOI market is further facing challenges of maturing technology. This has enabled new entrants to come up with their own versions of the technology and offer them at significantly low prices. Tier one AOI companies are currently facing rising competition from local, Chinese, and Taiwanese companies that are offering AOI products at almost half the price point. As the quality of products from these local brands continues to increase, the impact of the challenge will further intensify.

Product and Technology Trends

SMT inspection companies have turned to product and technology innovations to offer premium pricing before the technology becomes mainstream. The focus has been on improving yield, eliminating rework, reducing false call rates, and reducing costs.

SMT inspection companies, especially in the X-ray market, have also placed emphasis on increasing speed without compromising on inspection quality to adapt to new manufacturing requirements in the electronics industry. Additionally, newer developments in "add on CT" capability are rapidly gaining popularity in the X-ray inspection equipment market. The increasing focus will continue to be on improving sensor technology, camera technology, and overall software during the forecast period. As product differentiatioRopa y zapatillas de running para mujer