Serialisation
Boards are serialised where the build requires it, so a single unit can be tied to one work order, one panel position and one production date rather than to a general batch range.
Quality & inspection · Shenzhen
10 inspection stations. 100% AOI on every SMT line.
ISO 9001:2015 certified and audited annually by SGS, UL 796 recognised, RoHS and REACH compliant. Nine SMT lines feed one inspection chain, and every board passes it.
Certificates and audit bodies
Who certifies us, and who audits us
Certification is only worth what the audit behind it is worth, so the issuing and surveillance bodies are named on this page. Where a standard describes process capability rather than a held certificate, we say exactly that.
ISO 9001:2015, certified
Quality management system covering design, manufacturing, assembly and test. Audited annually by SGS, with an internal audit programme between surveillance visits.
UL 796, recognised
Recognised printed wiring board manufacture under UL 796, for end products that need UL component recognition. Thermal stress is verified to the UL 796 and IPC-6012 method: 288 °C solder float for 10 s.
RoHS & REACH, compliant
Lead-free production lines with per-board material declaration reports available with the shipment, and a 3TG conflict-minerals policy with a CMRT supplied on request.
IPC process standards, applied
IPC-A-600 and IPC-6012 for bare boards, IPC-A-610 Class 2 and Class 3 for assembly, J-STD-001 for soldering and J-STD-020 for moisture sensitivity. Saturn is an active IPC member.
IATF 16949 process capability · PPAP + IMDS
ISO 13485 process capability · serialised traceability
ISO 14001 environmental management practices
Export-control-aware procedures · denied-party screening
CE: supports your submission
Supports your FCC submission
The four credentials above are written to the level of evidence we actually hold: certified where a certificate exists, recognised where a recognition exists, and process capability with documentation where the evidence is a PPAP, IMDS file or serialisation record rather than a certificate. The scans we hold are published in full on the evidence page, numbers and dates included, so nothing has to be taken on trust here. Full scanned certificate package released on request, under NDA.
Ten-station inspection chain
From incoming material to the shipping carton
A board does not pass one test; it passes a chain. Count the stations below, IQC at one end, OQC and traceability at the other, and eight gates in between.
01 IQC incoming inspection. Bare boards are visually inspected, dimensionally verified and checked against a test coupon; components are checked for production date code, quantity and solderability.
02 3D SPI paste inspection on a Koh Young system measures volume, area, height and alignment. An out-of-tolerance print automatically triggers a stencil wipe and reprint, and the data can be reported per panel.
03 3D AOI on Omron VT-RNS and SAKI BF-18D stations runs on 100% of boards across all nine SMT lines, checking missing parts, polarity, offset, tombstoning and joint quality.
04 Digital X-ray on a Nordson DAGE XD7600NT inspects hidden BGA, QFN and LGA joints. Voiding, ball shape and bridging are judged to J-STD-001 on a minimum of 5 boards per batch.
05 Flying-probe test on a Takaya APT-1500F with 4 heads running simultaneously, fixture-free, with fast programme generation for prototypes and low volumes.
06 ICT in-circuit test on an Agilent i3070 with 3,072 test points: opens, shorts, resistor and capacitor values, diode orientation and IC connectivity, with a pass/fail record per board.
07 FCT functional test on a custom fixture that simulates real operating conditions: power-up, signal integrity, firmware programming and system-level verification. Test scripts are developed with your engineering team.
08 FVI final visual inspection to IPC-A-610 Class 2 and Class 3, with an inspector stamp, a serial number where required, and digital photographs archived per batch.
09 OQC outgoing inspection checks packaging, labels, quantity and the accompanying documents, CoC, test report and packing list, on samples drawn to AQL ANSI/ASQ Z1.4 (general inspection level II, single sampling, normal severity, AQL 0.65 for major defects).
10 Traceability and improvement. Serialisation, photographic archives and material certificates travel with the goods; a monthly quality review, 8D/CAPA corrective actions and an annual internal audit close the loop.
Station equipment matrix
Each station, the machine on it, and what it measures
Six named equipment families and four fixtures, with the measurement each one contributes and the document that judges the result.
| Station | Equipment | What it measures | Judging basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| IQC | Visual station, dimensional tools, test coupon | Solderability, date code, quantity, board dimensions | IPC-A-600 incoming criteria |
| 3D SPI | Koh Young 3D SPI | Paste volume, area, height, alignment | Per-panel report, reprint on deviation |
| 3D AOI | Omron VT-RNS, SAKI BF-18D | Missing parts, polarity, offset, tombstoning, joints | 100% of boards, all 9 SMT lines |
| X-ray | Nordson DAGE XD7600NT | BGA, QFN and LGA voiding, ball shape, bridging | J-STD-001, minimum 5 boards per batch |
| Flying probe | Takaya APT-1500F, 4 heads | Net continuity, opens and shorts without a fixture | Programme generated from the netlist |
| ICT | Agilent i3070 | 3,072 points: values, diode orientation, IC connectivity | Per-board pass/fail record retained |
| FCT | Custom fixture and test script | Power-up, signal integrity, firmware, system behaviour | Script co-developed with your engineers |
| FVI | Bench inspection with magnification | Solder joints, cleanliness, marking, workmanship | IPC-A-610 Class 2 and Class 3 |
| OQC | Packing and document check | Labels, quantity, CoC, test report, packing list | AQL ANSI/ASQ Z1.4 (general inspection level II, single sampling, normal severity, AQL 0.65 for major defects) sampling |
| Traceability | Serialisation and photographic archive | Board identity, batch, material certificates | Records retrievable by work order |
Coverage and sampling
Quality is a coverage figure, not an adjective
Three stations inspect every unit. Three more run to a per-batch or per-board floor. Nothing on this page is a defect rate, because a defect rate quoted without the batch behind it means nothing.
Industry data puts 3D AOI defect capture at 85-95% of placement, bridging and missing-part defects, which is exactly why X-ray, electrical test and functional test sit behind it rather than beside it. Every product passes at least three independent inspection gates per batch: in-line AOI, electrical test, and final visual inspection.
Hidden joints
You cannot inspect a BGA from above
Ball-grid, quad-flat no-lead and land-grid joints are underneath the package. A digital X-ray cabinet is the only way to see whether the joint formed, and the judgement has to follow a published standard rather than an opinion.
- Nordson DAGE XD7600NT digital X-ray with oblique viewing
- Voiding, ball shape and bridging judged to J-STD-001
- BGA pitch capability down to 0.25 mm; fine pitch to 0.3 mm
- Images archived per batch and available with the shipment
Traceability
Six months later, we can still find your board
Traceability is a retrieval exercise: given a serial number or a work order, we can produce the records that describe how that unit was built.
Photographic archive
Final visual inspection photographs are archived per batch, alongside SPI data and AOI or X-ray images when the assembly class calls for them, and can be attached to a shipment on request.
Certificates and reports
Material declarations for RoHS and REACH, component certificates and lot numbers, ICT or FCT pass records and a certificate of conformance ship with the carton; a first-article report is available for series releases.
Corrective action
A defect closes through eight documented steps
Not "we will improve". An 8D report with a named owner per action, a CAPA record, and a verification run that proves the escape route is shut.
01
Detect and contain
The station stops, the suspect quantity is quarantined and traced back through serial numbers to the originating panel.
02
Problem statement
QA, process engineering and the line leader write the defect as a measurable statement with a defined batch boundary.
03
Interim screening
The affected batch is screened 100%, and stock, work in progress and finished goods are checked for the same signature.
04
Root cause
3D SPI, 3D AOI, X-ray, ICT or FCT data and material certificates are compared, then the cause is confirmed by changing one variable.
05
Corrective action
A machine, profile, stencil, fixture or supplier change is defined with a named owner and a completion date.
06
Validate
A first article and a verification run prove the escape is closed; the added check is written into the station control plan.
07
Prevent recurrence
Control plans, DFM notes and inspection programmes are updated so the same failure cannot pass the same gate twice.
08
Review and close
The 8D report and CAPA record are filed against the work order and reviewed in the monthly quality review, internal audit and SGS surveillance cycle.
Responsibility boundary
Who owns a defect, class by class
Buyers ask this because vague answers cost money later. Here is where the boundary sits, what standard decides the argument, and what happens next.
| Defect class | Where it is caught | Judging basis | Handling path |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incoming material | IQC, or the first article of the run | Incoming specification, test coupon, IPC-A-600 | Quarantine, supplier claim with photo evidence, replacement or rework, and a tightened IQC check on the next receipt |
| Process defect | 3D AOI, X-ray, ICT, FCT or FVI | IPC-A-610 Class 2 and Class 3, J-STD-001 for hidden joints | Rework or remake on the same lines, 8D and CAPA against the work order, re-verification of the affected serial numbers |
| Customer-supplied material | IQC, or in process | Same incoming criteria as purchased material | Photographed and date-coded, held in quarantine, handled to the consignment agreement; we do not substitute without your written approval |
| Design-related | DFM review before the PO, or first article | The released Gerber, stackup and assembly drawing | The DFM report records the item and its process risk before release; changes run on your written ECN or PCN approval |
Inspection floor
The four stations your auditor will stand at
Incoming inspection, AOI, first article and white-glove final visual , the four places where evidence is created.
3D AOI, 100% of boards on all 9 SMT lines
IQC, dimension check, test coupon, date codes
First article, line released only after sign-off
FVI, IPC-A-610 Class 2 and Class 3
Quality document pack · 24-hour response
Ask for the documents, not the brochure
Certificate set, material declarations, an example first-article report and the inspection programme for your assembly class, released under NDA within one working day.
