DFT factors are equally important and should be integral to PCB assembly. For instance, when test points are evenly distributed on the circuit boards, they can be easily accessed by all test probes. This not only improves assembly speed, it ensures that testing will be as accurate and beneficial as possible. For more mature products, OEM typically deploys customized jigs or other equipment so that your project is seamless and free of any errors. Although this requires an investment, we have found that over the time value of this approach will be realized in product stability and reliability. Also, because fixtures can reduce manual handling time on mature products, there are additional savings in using this method.
Products consisting of multiple PCBs require special attention to detail during the planning stage to make sure individual boards as well as the fully functioning systems are thoroughly tested and debugged. TechnoTronix believes that testing technicians should have clearly defined guidelines so that testing is efficient at the individual board level where debugging is easier to perform.
To maximize testing efficiency, we provide test technicians with written, easily understood instructions for each of our production PCB assembly projects. It's important to know that boards with few components may require a different strategy than a board with a thousand or more pieces where appropriate in-place fixtures for In-Circuit Testing (ICT) are indicated. We make sure our test technicians have the troubleshooting guides, diagnostic tests and the associated documentation they need to support ICT or other testing strategy is being used.