In Circuit Test System with Everett Charles Technologies Pure ZOOM™ Fixtures

Flying Prober Alternative: Fixture development in 2-4 days with fast in-circuit test time

ZOOM Test System Solves Major Cost and Throughput Challenges for In Circuit Test of Large Node Count Circuit Boards

Everett Charles Technologies, the premier supplier of ATE fixtures, and CheckSum, a leading provider of loaded circuit board test systems developed the first in-circuit tester employing Pure ZOOM™ technology, which does not require an adaptor, capable of testing circuit boards of any size.

Pure ZOOM fixture technology, introduced at the 2010 APEX show, was developed and patented by Everett Charles Technologies.

Pure ZOOM probes deliver reliable test target access down to 0.015 inch (0.381mm), which is the smallest target size available on any fixture, perfect for today’s very large, very dense boards. An added bonus is that Pure ZOOM eliminates the almost impossible to service "rat’s nest" wiring common to high point count in-circuit test fixtures.

Compared to ordinary bed-of-nails test fixtures, Pure ZOOM fixtures cut the average per-pin cost by 60 to 70 percent, while simultaneously slashing delivery times from several weeks to just two to four days.

Pure ZOOM technology works only with non-multiplexed testers, which makes CheckSum’s field-proven Analyst in-circuit testers the ideal test platform for this fixturing system. The system is based on the same CheckSum test electronics that is currently testing some of the largest, most complex boards in the world.

This unique test/fixturing concept is the ATE industry’s first in-circuit tester using a low cost, fine pitch fixturing solution that provides high coverage test for both new product introduction (NPI) and high mix, low-to-medium volume production test applications, particularly for large (>2500) node count boards.

As the physical size, component density and complexity of circuit boards continues to increase, they’ve exceeded the capability of traditional in-circuit testers and fixtures. As a result, test coverage on traditional in-circuit testers plummeted, causing many OEMs and EMS providers to turn to flying probers as a possible solution. However, they’ve discovered that these systems are plagued with low fault coverage and extremely slow throughput.

Several OEMs have already turned to CheckSum test electronics for testing boards up to 5,000 nodes because of the tester’s excellent price performance. Until now, however, fixturing cost has been an obstacle to widespread adoption of in-circuit test of very large boards in the new product introduction (NPI) process and then in production test.

The Pure ZOOM system fully restores in-circuit test as the lowest cost of ownership for ICT test with the fastest, most economical, highest coverage means to fully test a loaded circuit board, regardless of its size and node count.

Everett Charles Technologies accomplished this with a technical solution that has unsurpassed target accuracy while cutting per pin cost by two thirds, and reducing fixture build time from weeks to days compared to conventional wired bed-of-nails fixtures. The electronics test community can finally enjoy the technical and economic fruits of a truly revolutionary test solution.

Demonstration System with Pure ZOOM

About Everett Charles