METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR INSPECTING INTEGRATED CIRCUIT LEAD BURRS

Burr inspection system (120) inspects an electrical lead for a burr (112) in association with the operation of a machine vision lead inspection system (10) and includes machine vision circuitry (50) for forming an image (70) of the electrical lead (72) using machine vision lead inspection system (10). Edge detecting instructions (120) associate with machine vision circuitry (50) for determining a plurality of edges (89, 91) associated with the electrical lead (72). Scan line determining instructions (128) calculate a plurality of scan lines (88, 90) each corresponding to the contour of a selected one of the plurality of edges (89, 91). The scan lines (88, 90) are separated from edges (88, 90) and image (70) by a preselected distance (92). Inspecting circuitry (130) inspects each scan line (88, 90) to detect whether a burr image (112) crosses the scan line (88, 90) to determine the presence of a burr on the electrical lead.