X-ray component counter

What is an X-ray component counter?

It is a cabinet that counts the parts left on a reel by reading a radiograph instead of unwinding the tape. You load reels, the machine images them and returns a count with the operator kept out of the arithmetic. Ours is an AI-powered counter that reads the reel in under seven seconds at better than 99% accuracy, including the tiny 01005 package, and writes the result straight into ERP and MES.

See: How the counter works and what it reads, Where it fits an electronics line

How fast can an X-ray reel counter count a reel?

The cycle runs under seven seconds, and up to four reels of 178 mm can sit in the cabinet at once. Speed only matters if the count is right, so the figure to hold a supplier to is accuracy at that speed: ours is stated at better than 99%, including 01005 components, which are small enough to defeat a manual count entirely.

See: Cycle time and reel capacity

How accurate is automated X-ray component counting?

We publish better than 99% accuracy, measured with the awkward parts included rather than excluded: the 01005 package is in the figure, not carved out of it. AI-driven software reads the radiograph and produces the count, so the number does not drift with which operator is on shift or how tired they are. Ask any vendor whether their accuracy claim covers your smallest package or only the large, easy ones.

See: Accuracy including 01005 parts, Why the small-package figure matters

Does an X-ray counter need a licensed radiation operator?

Ours is built so it does not become a specialist job. The cabinet is AERB type-approved with multiple safety interlocks, including an emergency stop, and the X-ray source is sealed and enclosed so the counting happens inside the machine rather than in a controlled area. Operator radiation-protection duties still follow your own national regulator, so confirm the local training requirement, but the design intent is a machine production staff run after minutes of instruction.

See: Cabinet safety and approval

X-ray component counter that writes counts straight into our ERP and MES

That connection is the point of buying one rather than counting by hand. The counter carries ERP and MES connectivity for real-time inventory updates, with barcode scanning and label printing on the cabinet and API-based automation support for later line integration. So a counted reel updates stock the moment it is read, and the printed label travels with it, instead of a number being keyed in twice and drifting between systems.

See: Integration, barcode and label printing, The imaging and data layer behind it

Reel counter for a high-mix SMT stockroom running many reel sizes

A high-mix room lives or dies on knowing what is actually on each reel. The cabinet takes up to four reels of 178 mm and a maximum reel diameter of 400 mm, so a mixed batch goes through in one cycle under seven seconds rather than one reel at a time. Barcode scanning ties each count to the part, and the ERP and MES link keeps the stockroom figure honest across many part numbers at once.

See: Reel capacity and diameter, How it stops inventory drift

Counting 01005 and other ultra-small parts a manual count keeps getting wrong

Ultra-small parts are exactly where hand counting breaks down and where an X-ray read earns its keep. The counter is specified to hold better than 99% accuracy with 01005 components in the mix, and the AI software reads the radiograph rather than asking an operator to eyeball a dense reel. If your losses concentrate on the smallest packages, that is the number to specify against.

See: Accuracy on the smallest packages

Footprint and power for a counter that has to fit on a busy production floor

The cabinet is 950 mm wide, 1,000 mm deep and 2,100 mm high and weighs around 800 kg, so it sits as a single floor unit rather than a walk-in cell. It is a plug-and-play design meant to run after minimal operator training. Confirm floor loading and the door swing for reel loading at survey, and check your supply against the installed cabinet, but the intent is a machine that drops onto the floor near the line it feeds.

See: Dimensions and weight

How much maintenance does an X-ray counting cabinet need?

The source is the part that usually drives service cost, and ours is sealed and high-resolution with zero routine maintenance and a long service life. That is the honest reason the cabinet can be run by production staff: there is no periodic source procedure for an operator to schedule. Budget the way you would for any interlocked enclosure, meaning periodic safety and interlock checks under your regulator, rather than a source maintenance cycle.

See: Sealed source and cabinet design

Inventory drift keeps wrecking our build schedules. Will an X-ray counter actually fix that?

It fixes the measurement, which is usually the root of the drift. When reel counts are estimated or copied forward, stock records and reality separate quietly until a build stops for want of a part that the system said was there. A counter that reads each reel in under seven seconds at better than 99% accuracy and writes the result into ERP and MES in real time closes that gap at the point the reel is handled. The machine cannot fix a bad process around it, so pair it with a rule that every reel is counted on receipt and return.

See: Speed, accuracy and live inventory updates, The case for counting at the reel

We want to automate reel counting into a wider line later. Is the counter open enough for that?

It is designed with that step in mind. Alongside the ERP and MES connectivity it carries API-based automation support for future line integration, so the cabinet can start as a staffed station and later be driven as part of an automated flow without replacing it. Bring your line control and handling plan to the technical review so the API and the physical loading are scoped together rather than bolted on afterwards.

See: API and integration support, Test and automation across the line

Does buying an X-ray counter mean our operators need radiation-safety qualifications?

The cabinet is built to keep this out of specialist hands: it is AERB type-approved, the source is sealed and enclosed, and there are multiple safety interlocks including an emergency stop, so counting happens inside a shielded machine rather than in an open beam. What no vendor can waive is your own national radiation authority, which sets the operator and registration rules for the site. So the realistic answer is minimal training to run the machine, plus whatever registration your regulator requires for an enclosed X-ray cabinet.

See: Approval and interlocks

For defence electronics, does it matter that the counter and its software come from a non-aligned supplier?

It matters more than for a commercial line, because reel counts feed the inventory record for parts going into fielded systems. A counter reads and stores what you hold and, through the ERP and MES link, where it goes next. Keeping the cabinet, its AI software and that data with an independent, non-aligned supplier means the record stays inside your jurisdiction and the machine is not sustained on someone else's export calendar. The counting itself is the same physics either way; the supply relationship is what differs.

See: Non-aligned origin and data flow, The imaging software behind the count

Can one counter serve both an assembly line and a depot receiving mixed reels from many sources?

Yes, because it does not assume a single upstream feed. Up to four reels of 178 mm go in per cycle, the maximum reel diameter is 400 mm, and barcode scanning with label printing ties each count to its part regardless of where the reel came from. On a line that keeps the build inventory honest; at a receiving depot it verifies what arrived against what was ordered. The same cabinet covers both jobs, so specify against the widest range of reels either use will present.

See: Reel handling and labelling, Depot receiving against line feed

What is the largest reel this counter can take, and what happens with parts outside that range?

The published limits are a 400 mm maximum reel diameter and up to four reels of 178 mm per cycle, and those are the numbers to design around. We do not publish handling for cut tape, trays or loose stock, so if your stockroom carries formats beyond taped reels, put them on the table at survey rather than assuming the cabinet covers them. The honest planning move is to measure your reel population against the 400 mm and 178 mm figures before committing.

See: Published reel limits

What is X-ray component counter?

X-ray component counter is Unstrat's Land (Land Domain) capability: The X-ray component counter answers a question every electronics production line asks daily: how many components are actually left on that reel? Instead of unspooling and hand-counting, an operator loads up to four reels, and in under seven seconds the system X-rays them and counts every component with better than 99% accuracy, down to 01005 parts smaller than a grain of sand. AI-driven counting software reads the radiograph, writes the result back through barcode scanning and label printing, and connects to ERP and MES systems so stock records update in real time rather than at the next physical audit. The cabinet is AERB type-approved with safety interlocks and a sealed X-ray source that requires no maintenance, and the plug-and-play design means production staff run it after minutes of training, not weeks. For a defence electronics plant accounting for every component on a certified assembly, or any SMT line where inventory drift silently stops production, it removes the manual count as both a bottleneck and an error source.

How does X-ray component counter work?

X-ray component counter delivers its effect through counts up to four reels in under seven seconds with better than 99% accuracy, including ultra-small 01005 components, AI-driven counting software reads the radiograph and takes the count out of an operator's hands and ERP and MES connectivity for real-time inventory updates, with barcode scanning and label printing, capabilities matched to the requirement and confirmed under briefing rather than published.

Who makes X-ray component counter?

X-ray component counter is built by The NDT Systems House, whose focus is non-destructive testing. Unstrat represents The NDT Systems House to government and enterprise buyers worldwide as an independent, non-aligned prime vendor.

Why choose X-ray component counter over a major-power alternative?

X-ray component counter is sourced from an independent, non-aligned manufacturer, so it carries no major-power disclosure rules, upgrade-locks or political ramifications. Concretely: Plug-and-play cabinet with a sealed, maintenance-free source: production staff run it after minutes of training. The capability is accountable to you, not to a foreign vendor's government and its release schedule.

How is X-ray component counter procured, and where can it be exported?

Reel counts in under seven seconds at better than 99% accuracy, written straight into ERP and MES, so inventory drift stops silently killing production schedules. Every engagement begins with a briefing, and export eligibility is confirmed per market under briefing rather than published. Where controlled capabilities are involved, the classification and end-user-certificate chain is confirmed first. X-ray component counter is then sustained in-region by one accountable team from briefing through long-term operation.