Productronica Exhibits Span Bed-of-Nails to RF Instrumentation
-- Test & Measurement World, 11/21/2005 6:46:00 AM
Exhibits related to electrical test at Productronica (Munich, Germany, November 15-18) included board testers from Digitaltest, Everett-Charles, and Seica, boundary-scan offerings from Goepel electronic and JTAG Technologies, a rework station from FineTech, a bond tester from Dage, LXI and PXI products from Pickering, and RF instruments from Rohde & Schwarz.
Digitaltest (www.digitaltest.com) debuted its Lambda concurrent in-circuit/functional test system, which is based on the company’s MTS technology but priced under 100,000 euros. The system employs parallel testing to increase in throughput. The company also highlighted its Condor 500 second-generation flying-probe system, which operates 30% faster performance and 25% lower cost than previous-generation implementations. The new system features integrated boundary scan and a soft-landing tool.
Digitaltest also described PXI functional test enhancements as well as a new fixture lifting mechanism for its MTS300 hybrid test system, which accommodates up to 3456 nonmultiplexed pins and numerous functional test modules for automotive and telecomm applications and for flash on-board programming operations. The system now supports wireless fixturing.
The company also presented new C-LINK software modules, including C-LINK DFM, which checks layout with reference to production requirements. In addition, it described its work with Goepel electronic to add boundary-scan capability to Digitaltest in-circuit testers.
For its part, Goepel electronic (www.goepel.com) launched a new series of low-cost series of boundary-scan controllers that will complement its high-performance ScanFlex line. The first member of the new family is the ScanBooster/PCI, which includes two separate TAPS and supports programmable TCK frequencies to 16 MHz. It features a dynamic 32-bit parallel I/O capability and can handle gang testing of up to eight DUTs.
Goepel also introduced its PXI 4009 high-density resistance-simulator card, which covers the 0 to 1 megohm range at 0.5-ohm resolution in PXI applications. Finally, the company debuted its new OptiCon BasicLine 1M/4M AOI system for the European market.
Seica (www.seica.com) announced the addition of several new and enhanced products within its new VIVA Integrated Platform that augment board-test automation. The products include the Strategy.sl, a fully automated in-circuit/functional bed-of-nails tester; the Pilot VIP system, an automated flying probe tester for loaded boards; the S24 BBT flying-probe tester for bare boards; and the Firefly, a laser selective soldering system.
Seica’s new products all meet the GEM (Generic Model for Communication and Control of Manufacturing Equipment) standard. In addition, the mechanical interface on these products also adheres to the SMEMA (Surface Mount Equipment Manufacturer’s Association) standard.
Everett-Charles Technologies' ATG Test Systems division (www.ectinfo.com) demonstrated its Eliminator integrated flying-probe test cell for high-throughput electrical measurements. The system handles conventional PCB panel test, IC package test, and PCB inner-layer electrical test. It meets the IPC-9252 electrical test specification and can perform continuity and isolation measurements, make DC measurements, and pass ("eliminate" from redundant tests) good nets. According to Radu Dinica of Dynamic Details (www.ddiglobal.com), "Based on my Eliminator Test Cell beta experience, I can reduce my annual fixture expense by at least 80%, retire my four existing prober systems, and end up with more total test capacity."
FineTech (www.finetech.de) highlighted its FinePlacer Micro HVR system for high-volume rework applications in which hundreds or thousands of boards must be repaired because of component failure, assembly error, device revision, or firmware updates. The system, offering lead-free-soldering capability and having a placement accuracy of better than 10 micron,* automatically sequences the repair steps: component (including shield cans) de-solder and discard, residual solder removal, and component re-solder. The FinePlacer pivot arm, with component-rotation capability, is automated for hand-free placement.
Dage Precision Industries (www.dage-group.com) introduced its 4000HS high-speed bond tester for measuring solder-bond reliability. The system makes use of the relationship between test speed and solder strength to ensure that the component whose strength is tested is the bond itself--not solder ball or bump. The company reports that its high-speed-test results correlate well with drop testing, brittle fracture-joint failure analysis, lead-free solder-bond reliability evaluation, and the shear testing of multiple bonds simultaneously.
JTAG Technologies demonstrated its recently introduced TapCommunicator, which is based on the TapSpacer technology from Patria Advanced Solutions (www.patria.fi). TapCommunicator supports full-speed (40 MHz) boundary-scan functionality between a controller operating at an unlimited distance from a board under test; uplink and downlink modules convert the boundary-scan data stream for transmission over Gigabit Ethernet networks. TapCommunicator supports wireless LANs to facilitate boundary-scan-based firmware upgrades to equipment mounted in inaccessible locations.
Pickering Interfaces (www.pickeringtest.com) introduced PXI and LXI products, including an LXI switching chassis and power sequencer as well as PXI amplifiers and attenuators.
Rohde & Schwarz (www.rohde-schwarz.com) complemented the dedication of its new R&D facility with a slew of new-product demonstrations at Productronica. Among the highlights, the company presented its TS712x shielded RF test chambers, announced that it has optimized its new NGPL6/5 quadruple programmable power supply for mobile-phone production-line final test, and introduced version 2.3 of its enhanced generic test software library (EGTSL) for its CompactPCI/PXI-based test platform.
In addition, the company introduced its FSL-K91 option, which adapts the FSL spectrum analyzer for WLAN applications. The FSL features an I/Q demodulation bandwidth of 20 MHz, a displayed average noise level of –152 dBm (1 Hz), and a total measurement uncertainty of under 0.5 dB. With the new option, the R&S FSL can perform all spectrum and modulation measurements on signals in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/j WLAN standards.
Finally, Rohde & Schwarz announced that its SMATE vector signal generator and the FSU television test platform are compatible with the LXI standard and are expected to be validated at the next official test at the end of November.
*Corrected June 19, 2006. The original version of this article included an incorrect accuracy spec.
