Hi Donald:
If you are running small lots (in the hundreds or less) and you are not looking at an excessive amount of test points or nets on the parts, a flying probe is the best way to go. Without knowing how complex the boards are I can't really qualtify 100 boards a month. We have parts that test in 5 seconds and some that take an hour or two But we are a Qucik turn prototype PWB house, and we have run upwards to 9000 pieces a month through our Probot. (working 5 days a week on 1 shift.(Probably not alot of those long tests that month) And ours is a slow one--only 11 points per second.
Fixture (pin testers) take a ton of time to set up but once up, you can run thousands of pieces through in no time at all. But you have to build or buy fixtures, store them and so on, and then re-pin them the next time you build the part. With a probe, you need to program the data into a test program, but once its done its plug and play. (We program ours in under 15 minutes.)
As far as wear, its not really an issue. We have minimal maintenance- -keep the dust down (Vacuum it out once or twice a year), and lube the rails every now and again. Very simple. And very limited parts inventory. (Some test tips, and test targets)
They do not take up alot of room either, and most new ones have excellent software for fault identification. (Pin testers (Fixture testers, clam shells etc;) are great at that too though.)
They also happen to be alot of fun to watch. Every tour we give hangs out at the flying probe tester. (Ours has only 4 arms. Some have 6 and probably more.)
Hope that helps.
Steve MacDonald
Mass Design.com
Original Message -----
From: Donald Kyle
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, November 06, 2002 10:28 AM
Subject: [TN] Flying Probe testers
Hi all,
Can any of you share your experience or opinions on Flying Probe board testers?
Out there in the real world, at what production levels do you think a tester like this would become useful?
Our card room is looking at buying one. Our production level is low, maybe 100 boards per month.
What type of product best fits this type of tester?
What about maintenance? Wouldn't there be a lot of moving parts to wear out?
Donald Kyle C.I.D.+
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