PCB Manufacturing, Assembly & Test Blog

Hi there I have been posting comments on my blog now for a number of months. The topics have been based on the feedback and conversations I’ve had with many users of Process Engineering software, both Mentor Graphics and non-Mentor Graphics products, all around the world. Many of you have also taken the time to add comments on these postings which I really appreciate. I’d like to open … Read More

mixed vendor, Flying Probe, AOI, ICT, BOM, boundary scan, AVL, bill of materials, documentation, data preparation, Design For Test, Planning, testability, vPlan, stencil, programming, process

Hi there I spent last week in the wonderful town of Zug about 45 minutes from Zurich in Switzerland. My European colleagues organized a two day seminar for over 60 of our Valor MSS Process Preparation customers at the Siemens facility in Zug. The agenda consisted of some Valor presentations, Valor demostrations of the upcoming software, presentations by actual users of the Process Preparation software … Read More

programming, AVL, process, AOI, data preparation, documentation, Flying Probe, bill of materials, ICT, BOM, Design For Test, vPlan, testability, VPL, stencil

Hi there As a follow up to my posting last week on measuring test coverage, which you can read from the following link: http://www.mentor.com/pcb-manufacturing-assembly/blog/post/how-do-you-measure-test-coverage–77cbb106-851f-4f26-a548-4857098f23d4 I would like to hear from test and process engineers on what types of equipment form part of your test and inspection strategy. How do In-Circuit … Read More

Design For Test, Flying Probe, AOI, testability, vPlan, ICT, data preparation, BOM, programming, boundary scan

Hi there With the Design For Test capability in Valor MSS Process Preparation, read details and see a video by clicking on the following link, we can analyze a board and determine the amount of physical test access to it. http://www.mentor.com/pcb-manufacturing-assembly/solutions/process-prep However the question of how to compare test coverage across multiple boards comes up from customers I talk … Read More

data preparation, Design For Test, ICT, Flying Probe

Hi there I have covered a number of areas of process engineering in this blog over the past few months and there is now an opportunity to see how these areas all come together next week in our Webinar titled “World Class Process Preparation”. We will be discussing a number of ways that the users of Valor MSS can streamline their process preparation tasks to make them more efficient and … Read More

Planning, AOI, mixed vendor, BOM, data preparation, documentation, AVL, Flying Probe, bill of materials, ICT, Design For Test, process preparation, vPlan, Webinar, testability, stencil, programming, Sequence

Hi there One of the least efficient areas in PCB assembly concerns the creation and management of package data that will be consumed across the shop-floor. For example DFM processes rely on accurate package data to determine component to component spacing issues or using accurate pin terminus contact data to ensure that solder joints will form correctly. Accurate package data is critical for DFT analysis … Read More

programming, AOI, bill of materials, mixed vendor, process, documentation, data preparation, Design For Test, Flying Probe, ICT, BOM, VPL, vPlan, stencil, testability

Hi there Within the Valor MSS Process Preparation suite, we have the best DFA capability that exists in the market. There are a number of checks that are performed that are necessary for PCB assemblers to execute prior to starting a design in production. Being able to know if fiducials on the board are near similar pads or vias is important to ensure that placement and inspection equipment don’t … Read More

Flying Probe, bill of materials, testability, vPlan, ICT, Design For Test, BOM, data preparation

Hi there Test Engineers are typically given the requirement to get 100% of nets probed at electrical test with the thinking that this delivers 100% testability. Unfortunately 100% accessibility is not the same as 100% testability. There are a number of reasons why this is not the case but here is a easy one. Typical boards contain integrated circuit (IC) components and power supplies. These power supplies … Read More

programming, data preparation, Design For Test, ICT, testability, Flying Probe

Hi there When providing accurate Design For Test (DFT) feedback to board designers, individual targets are usually inaccessible for a number of reasons. However, most DFT products only report the first reason a target is inaccessible. So this limited feedback is provided to the designer who corrects that single problem, only to find that when the analysis is run again on the new layout another reason … Read More

data preparation, Flying Probe, programming, ICT, Design For Test, vPlan

A lot of engineers take advantage of the software capability that is delivered with the various types of assembly, test and inspection equipment. However, there is a false economy here as these software applications are optimized for that machine, meaning they typically have very good support for programming the machine but do a less than ideal job of handling the challenges of different CAD/CAM/BOM … Read More

bill of materials, AOI, Flying Probe, programming, ICT, BOM, data preparation

Another area I discussed in my recent article for PCB007 was with Design For Test or DFT. Ensuring that accurate test or inspection techniques have been catered for before a layout is signed off will ensure that any assembly or component issues will be found as early as possible in the manufacturing process. For each additional step during the manufacturing process it is estimated that the cost of corrective … Read More

boundary scan, Design For Test, ICT, Flying Probe