PCB Test Emphasized at Apex
Rick Nelson, Executive Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 3/1/2004
Complete APEX Coverage Optical and X-Ray Systems Products at Apex |
Board-test vendors CheckSum, Seica, and Digitaltest were on hand in an effort to grab business from ATE powerhouses Agilent Technologies and Teradyne.
CheckSum (www.checksum.com) introduced two new in-circuit-test (ICT) systems, which target OEMs as well as contract manufacturers. The Analyst ems costs less than $40,000 for an 800-point system; the $80,000 800-point Analyst ils adds fully-integrated in-line capability. Analyst ils can accommodate up to 2000 test points and boards as large as 10x13.4 in.
CheckSum CEO John VanNewkirk said the new systems target OEMs and contract manufacturers who are reassessing their tester requirements and who are finding that their installed base of systems are too expensive to maintain or unsuitable for today’s test tasks. Complex mixed-signal and system-on-chip devices, he said, are making traditional vector-based digital back-drive techniques obsolete, and he expects users to abandon their expensive back-drive ICT systems in favor of lower-cost, easier-to-program alternatives.
Seica (www.seica.com) demonstrated new bare-board and loaded-board test systems as part of its Apex exhibit. The S22 bare-board tester employs flying probes to make expensive fixtures and adapters unnecessary. Four completely independent test probes—two per side—simultaneously carry out tests on both sides of a board under test.
Targeting automotive, consumer, and military markets, the new S40 Valid for loaded boards can handle analog, digital, and high-frequency functional test. It can connect to a unit under test via a connector, a bed-of-nails fixture, or a custom adapter. An ergonomic receiver facilitates fixture changes. The modular system can interface with external PXI, VXI, and IEEE 488 instruments.
The company also demonstrated its S40 Pilot flying-probe tester for loaded boards and its S40 Trekker in-circuit-test system.
Digitaltest (www.digitaltest.net) demonstrated the latest additions to its test-system lineup, including the MTS888 ICT platform and the MTS500XL modular flying-probe system. The ICT platform supports up to 7040 analog or 3392 hybrid nonmultiplexed pins with automatic drive monitoring, one-logic-family-per-pin programmability, and a pin-memory depth of 256k. The new flying prober offers a 28x24-in. test area. Both systems offer analog and digital in-circuit and functional test capability, flash-memory programming, and integrated boundary scan.
The company also exhibited its new C-Link 2000 software, an intelligent schematic interface that supports over 60 CAD systems and 20 tester families. And it demonstrated a new MTS300 integrated test cell. Developed jointly with Rohwedder Pematech, the cell includes Digitaltest’s MTS300 Sigma tester and a handling system. The test cell’s arrangement supports rapid board loading and unloading and allows space for IEEE 488 or VXI instruments.
Agilent and Teradyne aren't conceding ground to their competitors, though. Teradyne (www.teradyne.com) was on hand to demonstrate its TestStation in-circuit test equipment with low-voltage SafeTest technology, designed for small device sizes and low maximum voltage thresholds that cause new devices to be particularly vulnerable to over-voltage and over-current during powered-up testing. Agilent (www.agilent.com), though not exhibiting at the show, held a forum where it described its inspection and electrical board-test systems.
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