Introduction of a Base-Model for Eddy Current Testing of Printed Circuit Boards

In this paper we propose a model to reproduce printed circuit board (PCB) pattern eddy current testing signals based on 3D finite-element method (FEM) package and scanning simulation. In this method we consider some common PCB elements as test pieces while a simple Meander-type coil is utilized as excitation coil above the elements. Numerical solution to the above problem with the help of a 3D FEM provides the magnetic flux density in the region above the PCB test elements. Shifting the test element's position step by step and repeating the numerical calculation for each of the test elements new positions, the scanning process of a PCB test piece is simulated. Analysing and smoothing the magnetic field data from all of the aforementioned steps provide the final PCB pattern signal. Image processing technique was applied to obtain the PCB part image.