Standard Fixture for Flex Circuit & PCB Test

Standard fixture Standard fixture

The 'Standard Fixture' is a generic test fixture for testing electronic assemblies in a high volume production environment. Located inside the 'Standard Fixture' is the 'Product Fixture' which is custom engineered for the specific electronic assembly under test. The 'Product Fixture' comprises of the top and bottom plates used for probing the top and underside of the electronic assembly and usually include locating guides to accurately position the UUT.

The two key mechanical components of the 'Standard Fixture', which provide repeatable precision accuracy, are the X-Y adjustable table and the matched linear fixture guide slides. One of the primary design features of the 'Standard Fixture' is that the product moves up to the fixed position top probe plate (reverse gravity effect) under precise pneumatic control which eliminates broken probe / control wiring due to flexing inherent when the probe block is moving. The benefit of having the X-Y adjustable table (graduated knob providing 0.01mm resolution) is quick alignment of the test probes to the component contact points and this provides an added benefit in production by allowing small adjustments for product variation. Control of the 'Standard Fixture' is achieved by a microprocessor-controlled card (left hand box) which interface's with a PC's DIO port. The microprocessor card also controls the Up, Down & Vacuum switches (two switches for safety) Auto/Manual, Vacuum On/Off switches and fixture status LED´s.

The 'Standard Fixture' provides the user with a simple highly reliable and strong test platform coupled with fast product load/unload, resulting in very low test cycle time and high product throughput rate. The 'Standard Fixture' is small enough to be bench mounted for user comfort, which also saves valuable production space. An additional product feature for testing Flex Assemblies is the vacuum that holds the flex tightly in position and used in conjunction with the X-Y adjustable table, provides easy alignment which eliminates product test failure due to misalignment.