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68 SMT Magazine • May 2014 Because of limited factory floorspace, some au- tomation solutions may end up placing the ICT system instrument bay behind the handler rather than under it; this results in extra-long cables (two feet or more) between the test in- struments and the test fixture which can nega- tively impact the capacity of the ICT system to perform accurate and re- liable tests. When an integration ap- proach that significantly in- creases the measurement path is used, the ICT system is still capable of detecting many electrical defects, but it will most likely no longer be able to meet the full accuracy and instrument performance speci- fications that are outlined in its technical product documents. Ease of maintenance & Repair Automated manufacturing lines are only productive when the equipment on the line is up and running properly. Any equipment on the line that malfunctions can halt manufacturing, resulting in costly delays and lost production time. Therefore, it is important to be able to quickly service and repair the equipment on the line when something does go wrong. The goal is to keep maintenance times as short as possible so that the manufacturer achieves high equipment utilization. ICT systems have unique service and main- tenance challenges compared to other equip- ment in the automated production line. The probes used to make electrical test contact in the tester receiver interface and the test fixture are subject to wear after repeated use and the relays that make up the switching subsystem may need to be replaced after their rated lifes- pan is exceeded. The electrical specifications of the tester instruments must also be calibrated to external standards at regular intervals to identify when there is any loss of precision that could affect test measurements. The maintenance and repair of automated ICT systems has historically been difficult and time consuming. because the test fixture and sometimes even the conveyor automation hardware, needs to be removed from the test equipment so the service technician can run the diagnostic programs and get access to the tester electronics. Replacing a faulty instrument or relay on some automated ICT sys- tems requires technicians to pull out the instrument from un- der the handler and rotate the pin cage to perform a simple board exchange. After repla- cing the board, technicians must put the whole system back together and make sure it is aligned and operating properly. The additional complexi- ties associated with servi- cing automated ICT systems contributes to longer down times, lower equipment utili- zation rates and the need for manufacturers to keep highly trained technicians on staff to troubleshoot and fix equipment failures. Solving ICT automation Challenges Many of the challenges previously described are directly related to the fact that most ICT systems are not designed with automation in mind; and most automation equipment is not designed with ICT in mind. Historically, combining automation and ICT was performed as an afterthought, an ar- rangement that typically resulted in trying to adapt manual test systems by adding conveyors and special tooling or by imposing a tax on au- tomation equipment to support the space and routing demands of electrical test equipment. Designing an ICT System with automation in mind A project team of engineers and designers were commissioned to create a new brand of ICT system designed from the ground up with automation in mind, having the features and characteristics necessary to resolve the pre- viously outlined challenges. The probes used to make electrical test contact in the tester receiver interface and the test fixture are subject to wear after repeated use and the relays that make up the switching subsystem may need to be replaced after their rated lifespan is exceeded. " " THE CHaNGING ECoNomICS oF IN-CIRCUIT TEST continues feATuRe