Illustration by Àngels Pinyol
How customized test boards improve competivity
Article by Albert Escala
Competitive driven markets, such as automotive, require cost-effective solutions to survive in a global market underpin by cost and excellence. The most reliable way to do it is with a customized EOL functional tester.
The cost for EOL functional testers is a big part of the manufacturing investment.
Current vehicle architectures tend to concentrate functionalities in a few boxes. This trend dramatically increases the complexity of the electronic developments, with smart body controllers featuring cents of GPIO, multiple communication buses such as CAN, LIN, Ethernet, Broad-Reach and Flex Ray. In addition, they include several microcontrollers that have to be programmed to close the validation loop.
This device under test (DUT) complexity does not end with the finishing of the development phase. How will you test it then? As a quality assurance method, each part must pass the validation process, which includes a functional tester to make sure that each single function works properly. You already know how much does it cost and how big it is an end-of-life test machine with test boards from the shelve.
1. And what about the variable cost for the whole manufacturing life?
But costs are not only paid with the purchasing of the machine. Depending on the EOL tester performance, each manufactured DUT lasts time during the validation process. And time means money. Just wonder how much competitivity a company loses with a long, ineffective test implementation. It’s like attaching a 10€ banknote to each manufactured DUT instead of attaching a 10 € cent coin. Competitivity is damaged day by day.
2. Have you thought in developing a customized test box?
We have the solution. Customized embedded developments are a great partner for EOL testers. Why not investing in the development of a customized smart test board that fits DUT coverage requirements? Imagine all features you need to accept your DUT as a valid part, embedded in a single, small size PCB. It is a considerable spending for a unique EOL tester, but when it has to be replicated to absorb huge manufactured volumes, the investment then makes a lot of sense.
Customized test boxes are key factors that increase the competitivity in high manufacturing volume companies, such as in automotive Tier 1. Investing money in the development of a customized EOL test solution has several advantages, such as:
But be careful when choosing your test partner. Proper experience in automotive developments must be demonstrated in order to succeed with these high complexity projects.
