Rotary sensor system with a single detector

The system of the present invention reports a signal related to a physical condition of an object, such as an electronic component, with the most basic realization of the system including a vacuum quill for releasably holding the object and a motion control system for rotating the quill. The invention includes control electronics coupled to the detector for providing a trigger signal where the detector is oriented to view a stripe in a viewing plane perpendicular to the central axis of the quill, and to provide an image of the stripe. The control electronics sends a plurality of trigger signals to the detector while the motion control system rotates the quill, with each trigger signal triggering the acquisition of another image of a stripe. A processing circuit processes the plurality of images of the stripes to provide the signal related to the physical condition of the object, which can include the orientation or location of the component, the presence or absence of balls on a ball grid array, the height of a specific lead on a leaded component, the distance between the leads on a leaded component or the coplanarity of features on the component. A method for picking and placing components is also disclosed for use with the apparatus of the present invention.