Whether you are writing a test architecture or using off-the-shelf products such as NI TestStand, complications may arise. Discuss the common pitfalls of test frameworks and how a good design allows for reliable test execution and flexibility to expand with the needs of a changing product or production environment.
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Automated Test
ATE Best Practices Presentation
August 14, 2014
Bloomy had a strong presence at NIWeek 2014, with the biggest Alliance Partner booth that included an engaging bicycle generator that hundreds tested their stamina on, as well as many presentations by Bloomy staff in various conference tracks.
Customer
Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co. KG is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacturing of electrical connection, electronic interface and industrial automation technologies.
Challenge
Phoenix Contact requires a highly flexible automated test cell capable of testing multiple products. The system must gate product flow at multiple stages, not allowing an operator to proceed with a product which has failed testing at any point.
Ensures functionality before final assembly
Customer
Raytheon - BBN Technologies
Challenge
Provide test and calibration capability for a 24 channel seismic sensor preamp using off-the-shelf PXI instrumentation packaged and interfaced to survive rough handling during transport, and for use in harsh outdoor and underground conditions.
Customer
Brooks Automation, a leading worldwide provider of automation, vacuum, and instrumentation for semiconductor manufacturing (www.brooks.com).
Challenge
Replace legacy automated test equipment with a “universal” Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) manufacturing test platform capable of functional testing a wide range of PCBAs. The legacy system employed scores of cable harnesses constructed with DB-50 style connectors. Operator errors in cable hookup risk damage to product and test equipment.
Customer
Symmetricom (now Microsemi) is the leading source of timekeeping and extremely precise synchronization technology for use by many industrial and government applications worldwide. Their Chip Scale Atomic Clock technology enables atomic clock technology in portable applications by its extreme size, weight and power reductions.
IC Screening for Failure Analysis Laboratories
Overview
Bloomy's Headless ATE is an automated test platform that is extremely simple to operate and does not require a PC. It consists of a 3U enclosure containing National Instruments' Single-Board RIO with LabVIEW software, a power supply, and preexisting commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) test instruments. The front panel contains just a couple of mechanical push buttons, and pass and fail LEDs. The test program, instrument configuration settings, and test limits are maintained by ATE Supervisor, a supervisory application that runs on a networked PC.
Customer
Zoll Medical Corporation (ZOLL), a leader in medical devices and software solutions.
Challenge:
Minimize the test engineering labor involved in the development and validation of manufacturing automated test equipment (ATE) for ZOLL’s defibrillator products. Replace a legacy in-house rack-and-stack ATE approach with a standardized functional test platform that can be quickly replicated and adapted for new products.
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