• The Test Philosophy
• The Benefits of Investment
• The Range of Test Services

The Test Philosophy

Customers increasingly expect more from today’s Contract Electronics Manufacturers (CEM) than just pcb assembly. When only the assembly work is contracted out the benefits are, whilst still potentially significant, less rewarding than if the test and diagnostics are also carried out by the CEM, freeing the customer’s valuable electronics engineers other duties. Receiving fully tested assemblies increases confidence and reduces timescales in the subsequent stages of system integration, helping achieve on-time delivery to the end customer.

The most appropriate level and nature of testing can be determined to balance complexity, style and product function. The route to cost effective testing includes the ability to provide comprehensive diagnostics such that manufacturing or component defects can be corrected in the minimum of time and least impact on the production cycle. High speed and high coverage tests will only be rewarded if faults are diagnosed and remedied quickly. CEM’s are increasingly being asked to meet those demands and that is why Ultra CEMS have a broad range of test services to complement their assembly activities by IPC qualified Ultra Cems training instructors.

The Benefits of Investment

Using state-of-the-art equipment, Ultra’s test engineers develop the optimum regime of test procedures and functions for each individual product in order to reduce debug and overall product manufacturing time. As products become increasingly complex the test strategy must also become more comprehensive, addressing the progressively increasing levels of functionality found on today’s PCB’s.

By analysing trends in test results Ultra Test Engineers are able to propose improvements to the production process and / or the product design, thereby improving production yield and potentially extending product life in the field.

The Range of Test Services

• In-circuit Test (analogue and digital)
  MDA or more comprehensive incorporating Boundary Scan, Test Jet and Q-test vectorless tests.
• Automated functional test ATE
  Interfacing to simulated and real loads.
• Combinational test
  Full coverage ATE testing with tailored requirements to provide a fully functional unit that might include Flash or other programming demands.
• Manual functional test
  • Simulation and real time testing
  • RF Test and diagnostics
  • Flying Probe MDA testing
  • Pressure testing of sub-sea equipment
  • JTAG test and diagnostics
  • X-Ray inspection
  • Automatic Optical Inspection
  • Vibration testing
  • XRF analysis
  • ESS thermal stress testing
• Design and implementation of optimum test solutions
  Ultra can provide the conversion of a customer Product Performance Specification into a test strategy and test solution be it a single PCB or multi-level assembly. This can be via a custom design or the customers' own test method and equipment.