Gone digital

Martin Rowe- July 13, 2012

Test & Measurement World has gone all digital. With the launch of this new tmworld.com, we can best deliver news, technical information, and commentary about electronics test. We’ll engage in active, real-time information exchange and interaction in an environment custom made for any engineer involved in test. Not only is the site redesigned for look and feel, but we’ve rethought how we organize content and what the role of content is: a starting point for learning and discussion.
The site has five “Test centers.” They are:

•    Design and Prototyping Test Center: Here, you’ll find articles covering design-for-test, simulation, modeling, and PCB design.
•    Characterization Test Center. This large center covers signal analysis, signal integrity measurements, data acquisition and analysis, EMC test, product safety, and general-purpose measurements. Measurement articles include how to make four-wire measurements, power measurements, timing measurements, and so on. We also put many case studies here. Other articles cover programming techniques, and test circuits that you can build.
•    Manufacturing Test Center. Articles on boundary Scan, yield, throughput, statistical-process control, system integration, ATE programming, inspection, analog, digital, and mxed-signal IC test, board test, functional test, machine vision, and relevant case studies go here.
•    Field Service Test Center. A somewhat new area for us includes content on electrical measurements, temperature measurements, RF site measurements, and calibration.
•    Failure Analysis Test Center. Look here for articles on how to diagnose electrical and mechanical failures using numerous techniques, particularly in ICs. You’ll also find articles on accelerated life testing

Think of each test center as a community where you and fellow engineers can discuss projects, workarounds, and test techniques relating to that test center topic. All content on ththis site is free and available without registering, but if you’re inspired to comment, and we hope you are, a quick-start registration can get you started, but we suggest that you eventually go all-in and set up a profile where peers can find you. In doing so, you can follow specific articles or people, upload your own articles (we’ll vet them for you and guide you as to how to make them better). If, for example, one of our bloggers covers an area of interest; you can follow that blogger (or any registered user). Or, if you think you can do better, send in your own article.

My favorite reason for registering is the personal library, the digital equivalent of tearing out pages. Every article has a button where you can save that article to your library. I’ve already saved several articles.
We’ll work day and night to keep the site fresh and relevant, but we need your help and guidance. If you have an article idea, let us know. If you’d like to blog on a topic near and dear to you, let us know. Do you have images of a recent test rig you set up? Send them in. Perhaps you have a measurement or programming technique to share. The new www.tmworld.com is the forum for sharing it. We’ll connect you with like-minded engineers who can help you get your design tested and to market as quickly as possible. Contact me at martin.rowe@ubm.com for Design and Prototyping, Characterization, and Field Service. Contact my colleague, Janine Love at janine.love@ubm.com for Manufacturing and Failure Analysis. If you’ve never contributed before, now is the time. If you’ve contributed before, we welcome your new content ideas.