The new A8a bare-board test system from atg Luther & Maelzer combines the flexibility of flying-probe testers with high throughput. The A8a provides cost advantages compared to fixture testers for small and medium batches.
The A8a is equipped with eight test heads and four cameras for optical alignment. The A8a is able to test pad sizes down to 35 μm. Designed to test high-density-interconnect (HDI) PCBs for smart phones, tablets, and PC motherboards, it covers a test area of 18.0 x 12.0 inches.
The A8a offers a 4-wire Kelvin measurement capability with an accuracy of ±0.025 mΩ. The A8a is provided with a separate good and bad board stacker; the bad boards can be optionally labeled by a 2D code.
The A8a is prepared for lights-out operation. With the feeder capacity of 390 mm, it is possible to test 650 boards with a thickness of 0.6 mm in one run. This capacity guarantees an operator-free test over a night shift.
To fully meet the speed expectations the key feature of the A8a is a new dual shuttle system, which reduces the product exchange time to less than four seconds in automation mode. In combination with the fast test speed of up to 140 measurements/second the A8a will give customers a competitive test solution for batches up to 5,000 boards. A typical cycle time of a 4-up smartphone board is about 2 minutes.
Peter Brandt, Sales Manager Europe and Japan, explained, “The main advantage of the A8a for PCB producers is the significant cost savings compared to a fixture tester. The high costs of dedicated fixtures, which can range from $10k to 30k per fixture, justify the electrical test with a high-speed flying probe system.”
atg Luther & Maelzer is a company of Xcerra.
