San Jose Test Engineering
ph: 408-890-2200
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For reasons of economy and simplicity, a test strategy know as "hot-mockup" can be employed for initial engineering design verification or for testing an initial low-run number of factory production units.
A hot-mockup consists of all parts of a top level assembly, often constructed with sub-assemblies fully exposed in order to facilitate component access and probing.
One sub-assembly is removed from the set of "gold" sub-assemblies, then like untested sub-assemblies are installed, tested, and routed for final assembly.
A medical device sub-assembly used to test a critical embedded processor
Side view of the medical sub-assembly hot-mockup showing pogo-pin connections
In the above images, a customer required a test for a pre-programmed embedded controller. However, due to FDA requirements, they could not redesign the board to accommodate a required socket. As designed, a socket would not fit on a the "gold" UUT. We developed this innovative and low cost fixture to transfer all controller signals to the "gold" UUT via pogo-pins. This design also has the advantage of allowing quick replacement of the "gold" board, should it fail.
Pros: Duplicates actual product operation; does not require custom electronic interfaces; requires nominal mechanical interfacing.
Cons: Testing is slow, manual, and prone to operator error; failed assemblies often cause secondary failures in the "gold" boards; in general, failed assemblies can be identified, but only grossly so and there is little fault isolation, adding to the time and cost of repair; factory technicians are not generally well protected from high voltages and currents that may be in use; connectors between sub-assemblies are easily overstressed, leading to secondary failures outside the desired board to be tested.
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San Jose Test Engineering
ph: 408-890-2200
info