Automation of Anti-Bending Fixture Positioning beneath The Flying 4-Probe Machine and integration of automation steps with the SPEA Procedure

Testing of electronic boards is becoming more challenging with time and the advance of smaller and more complicated Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). However, new testing technologies are also becoming more advanced, optimized and automated in order to keep up with the raising complexity of the Unit Under Test (UUT). On the other hand, testing of flexible boards in the 4-probe machine still requires an operator to physically access the flying probe machine and reasonably place a fixture beneath the board in order to avoid bending of the board which would cause Test Point (TP) locating error. However, if the goal of automation is to be achieved, full automation of the testing procedure of the flying probe should imply placing the board onto the machine’s entry conveyer by means of a prior conveyer and then have it come out of the machine’s exit conveyer with all tests performed and results attained. For the reasons of automation benefits and process integration, this paper aims to advance the testing procedure a step closer to achieving full automation using a simple 2D mechanism to position fixtures automatically beneath the board as an integration in the existing SPEA tpgm procedure. Moreover, the paper discusses a simple approach proposal for integrating the automation modifications to the current test program generation and implementation procedure and assessing benefits of implementing such an integration.