Circuit Check
Encyclopedia
Circuit Check is an American company with over 175 employees and seven direct operations in four countries (the U.S., Mexico, China, and Malaysia). Headquartered in Maple Grove, Minnesota
, it is one of the largest manufacturers of electronic and mechanical test fixture
s in North America,
. The company also manufactures Automatic Test Equipment
for end-of-line manufacturing test. The company uses both a Microsoft Excel
-driven "CCITest" software platform, and the National Instruments
LabVIEW
software platform.
drilling service bureau, "CircuitDrill." The initial product was test fixture
s for bed of nails testers.
Over the following years, the company developed many innovations for in-circuit test
and functional test or FCT
. Notably, the pneumatically-actuated "clamshell" test fixture, which electrically probes a circuit from both sides of the board was developed by Circuit Check.
The company successfully combined in-circuit test
with functional test in the same test fixture
in 2004, by developing and patenting the two-stage fixture having pins of two different lengths, and compressing to two different heights.
design occurred when Circuit Check's engineers devised a method for applying strain gage testing to determining the stresses placed on circuit boards by the hundreds or thousands of test probe
s used to make electrical contact therewith. This is significant because each test probe
(a.k.a. "pogo pin
") exerts several ounces of force on the DUT (Device Under Test). When the test fixture
has thousands of test probe
s, the sum of the individual probe forces can be several hundred pounds. This massive force is sufficient to deform the DUT (a printed circuit board
, for example) to the point where the attached inflexible electronic component packages (such as Ball Grid Array
s) may break, or their solder
joints may fail. Strain gage testing can reveal areas on the DUT where these net forces are excessive when the DUT is clamped into the test fixture
, thus showing where supports must be added to the test fixture
on the side opposite the test probe
s, to counteract the test probe
forces. Where a support counteracts the test probe
forces, the test probe
force is converted from a deformative force distorting the DUT to a compressive force, squeezing the DUT circuit board without deforming its generally planar shape.
Maple Grove, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 50,365 people , 17,532 households, and 13,955 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,532.3 people per square mile . There were 17,745 housing units at an average density of 539.9 per square mile...
, it is one of the largest manufacturers of electronic and mechanical test fixture
Test fixture
A test fixture is something used to consistently test some item, device, or piece of software.-Electronics:Circuit boards, electronic components, and chips are held in place and subjected to controlled electronic test signals. One example is a bed of nails tester.-Software:Test fixture refers to...
s in North America,
. The company also manufactures Automatic Test Equipment
Automatic test equipment
Automatic or Automated Test Equipment is any apparatus that performs tests on a device, known as the Device Under Test , using automation to quickly perform measurements and evaluate the test results...
for end-of-line manufacturing test. The company uses both a Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...
-driven "CCITest" software platform, and the National Instruments
National Instruments
National Instruments Corporation, or NI , is an American company with over 5,000 employees and direct operations in 41 countries. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, it is a producer of automated test equipment and virtual instrumentation software...
LabVIEW
LabVIEW
LabVIEW is a system design platform and development environment for a visual programming language from National Instruments. LabVIEW provides engineers and scientists with the tools needed to create and deploy measurement and control systems.The graphical language is named "G"...
software platform.
History
Circuit Check was founded in 1978 as a spin-out of a printed circuit boardPrinted circuit board
A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...
drilling service bureau, "CircuitDrill." The initial product was test fixture
Test fixture
A test fixture is something used to consistently test some item, device, or piece of software.-Electronics:Circuit boards, electronic components, and chips are held in place and subjected to controlled electronic test signals. One example is a bed of nails tester.-Software:Test fixture refers to...
s for bed of nails testers.
Over the following years, the company developed many innovations for in-circuit test
In-circuit test
In-circuit test is an example of white box testing where an electrical probe tests a populated printed circuit board , checking for shorts, opens, resistance, capacitance, and other basic quantities which will show whether the assembly was correctly fabricated...
and functional test or FCT
FCT
-Politics:*2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship*Federal Capital Territory, an early name for the Australian Capital Territory*Federal Capital Territory, the region where the National Government of Nigeria is based.-Education:...
. Notably, the pneumatically-actuated "clamshell" test fixture, which electrically probes a circuit from both sides of the board was developed by Circuit Check.
The company successfully combined in-circuit test
In-circuit test
In-circuit test is an example of white box testing where an electrical probe tests a populated printed circuit board , checking for shorts, opens, resistance, capacitance, and other basic quantities which will show whether the assembly was correctly fabricated...
with functional test in the same test fixture
Test fixture
A test fixture is something used to consistently test some item, device, or piece of software.-Electronics:Circuit boards, electronic components, and chips are held in place and subjected to controlled electronic test signals. One example is a bed of nails tester.-Software:Test fixture refers to...
in 2004, by developing and patenting the two-stage fixture having pins of two different lengths, and compressing to two different heights.
Innovations
A significant contribution to the art of test fixtureTest fixture
A test fixture is something used to consistently test some item, device, or piece of software.-Electronics:Circuit boards, electronic components, and chips are held in place and subjected to controlled electronic test signals. One example is a bed of nails tester.-Software:Test fixture refers to...
design occurred when Circuit Check's engineers devised a method for applying strain gage testing to determining the stresses placed on circuit boards by the hundreds or thousands of test probe
Test probe
A test probe is a physical device used to connect electronic test equipment to the device under test . They range from very simple, rugged devices to complex probes that are sophisticated, expensive, and fragile.- Voltage probes :Voltage probes are intended to measure voltages on the DUT...
s used to make electrical contact therewith. This is significant because each test probe
Test probe
A test probe is a physical device used to connect electronic test equipment to the device under test . They range from very simple, rugged devices to complex probes that are sophisticated, expensive, and fragile.- Voltage probes :Voltage probes are intended to measure voltages on the DUT...
(a.k.a. "pogo pin
Pogo pin
A Pogo pin is a device used in electronics to establish a connection between two printed circuit boards. Named by analogy with the pogo stick toy, the pogo pin usually takes the form of a slender cylinder containing two sharp, spring-loaded pins...
") exerts several ounces of force on the DUT (Device Under Test). When the test fixture
Test fixture
A test fixture is something used to consistently test some item, device, or piece of software.-Electronics:Circuit boards, electronic components, and chips are held in place and subjected to controlled electronic test signals. One example is a bed of nails tester.-Software:Test fixture refers to...
has thousands of test probe
Test probe
A test probe is a physical device used to connect electronic test equipment to the device under test . They range from very simple, rugged devices to complex probes that are sophisticated, expensive, and fragile.- Voltage probes :Voltage probes are intended to measure voltages on the DUT...
s, the sum of the individual probe forces can be several hundred pounds. This massive force is sufficient to deform the DUT (a printed circuit board
Printed circuit board
A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...
, for example) to the point where the attached inflexible electronic component packages (such as Ball Grid Array
Ball grid array
A ball grid array is a type of surface-mount packaging used for integrated circuits.- Description :The BGA is descended from the pin grid array , which is a package with one face covered with pins in a grid pattern. These pins conduct electrical signals from the integrated circuit to the printed...
s) may break, or their solder
Solder
Solder is a fusible metal alloy used to join together metal workpieces and having a melting point below that of the workpiece.Soft solder is what is most often thought of when solder or soldering are mentioned and it typically has a melting range of . It is commonly used in electronics and...
joints may fail. Strain gage testing can reveal areas on the DUT where these net forces are excessive when the DUT is clamped into the test fixture
Test fixture
A test fixture is something used to consistently test some item, device, or piece of software.-Electronics:Circuit boards, electronic components, and chips are held in place and subjected to controlled electronic test signals. One example is a bed of nails tester.-Software:Test fixture refers to...
, thus showing where supports must be added to the test fixture
Test fixture
A test fixture is something used to consistently test some item, device, or piece of software.-Electronics:Circuit boards, electronic components, and chips are held in place and subjected to controlled electronic test signals. One example is a bed of nails tester.-Software:Test fixture refers to...
on the side opposite the test probe
Test probe
A test probe is a physical device used to connect electronic test equipment to the device under test . They range from very simple, rugged devices to complex probes that are sophisticated, expensive, and fragile.- Voltage probes :Voltage probes are intended to measure voltages on the DUT...
s, to counteract the test probe
Test probe
A test probe is a physical device used to connect electronic test equipment to the device under test . They range from very simple, rugged devices to complex probes that are sophisticated, expensive, and fragile.- Voltage probes :Voltage probes are intended to measure voltages on the DUT...
forces. Where a support counteracts the test probe
Test probe
A test probe is a physical device used to connect electronic test equipment to the device under test . They range from very simple, rugged devices to complex probes that are sophisticated, expensive, and fragile.- Voltage probes :Voltage probes are intended to measure voltages on the DUT...
forces, the test probe
Test probe
A test probe is a physical device used to connect electronic test equipment to the device under test . They range from very simple, rugged devices to complex probes that are sophisticated, expensive, and fragile.- Voltage probes :Voltage probes are intended to measure voltages on the DUT...
force is converted from a deformative force distorting the DUT to a compressive force, squeezing the DUT circuit board without deforming its generally planar shape.