Hamamatsu Photonics has developed a new pinhole inspection unit that quickly finds tiny pinhole defects in sheet workpieces down to a diameter of only 1 micron. Sales of this new pinhole inspection unit begin March 2nd, 2020

2020/02/17

Pinhole inspection unit C15477 (right), light source unit L12057 series (left back) and light collector unit A12159 series (left front)

Pinhole inspection unit C15477 (right), light source unit L12057 series (left back) and light collector unit A12159 series (left front)

By making use of a photomultiplier tube with a large photosensitive area and a noise-suppression signal processing technique, Hamamatsu Photonics has developed a new pinhole inspection unit, the model C15477 that quickly finds pinhole defects as small as 1 micron (millionth of a meter or μm hereafter) in diameter in sheet workpieces. This new product can detect tiny pinhole defects only a quarter of the size of pinholes detectable up to now, and so will improve inspection accuracy for tasks such as inspecting pinhole defects in fuel cell separators for fuel cell vehicles and aluminum laminate films for pouch rechargeable batteries. This product is available as a set with a light source unit and a light collector unit optimized for inspecting pinhole defects in sheet workpieces such as large thin metal sheets measuring 480 mm wide by 180 mm deep. Sales begin Monday, March 2nd, 2020 chiefly for domestic and overseas automotive-related manufacturers.

This product will be on display at the world’s largest exhibition ”The 11th International Rechargeable Battery Expo (Battery Japan)” held in Tokyo Big Sight (Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan) for 3 days from Wednesday, February 26th to Friday, February 28th, 2020.