Integrated Electrical Test Within the Production Line

Michael Smith.
Teradyne Inc.
North Reading, MA USA

Many companies use "one stop testing" as a solution to the test issues in a manufacturing environment rather than discrete "islands of test". Low volume, high mix electronic manufactures are concerned about floor space, which can be expensive.

As well as operator training, which can be considerable if a separate test solution is used for each product manufactured. Very high volume manufacturers can also benefit from a single stage electrical test solution if the test times are less than the beat rate of the line. This is especially true if the system in fully automated. As with low volume manufacturers floor space and operator training costs can be reduced, but the significant saving is in early defect detection that helps reduce scrap rates
and improves line efficiency.

By combining electrical test into one system and having the system directly integrated into the production line, the system can detect defect at the earliest stage of the board manufacture. As a base, incircuit test (ICT) is a well-established electrical test technique and has been used successfully for a number of years and has a long history of being integrated into the production line. PXI has established itself as the standard for cost effective integrating of functional instruments into a test system. By combining ICT and PXI into one solution, it can perform incircuit test, help overcome ICT access issues and perform functional tests.

This universal test solution provides a smaller footprint, consistent operator interface and overall a
lower cost of test. This paper will discuss the advantages of a universal integrated electrical test solution, at the normal Incircuit Test stage of production, to minimize production costs and help improve product quality using two case studies. One is a low volume high mix manufacturer and the other a
high volume automotive electronics manufacturer.

With tight integration then combining ICT with functional test to perform electrical test in the production line does reduced fixture and tooling costs, lower handling costs, reduced development costs, requires fewer test operators, allows faster production beat rate, and greater system utilization. The standard DPMO model is also a good method of determining operational cost savings from the diagnostic, repair and scrap area which are on top of the capital cost savings and reduction in labor costs. Combining electrical test leads to a reduction in the overall cost of test and thus manufacturing costs.