Design and Implementation of a Cost Effective System for Module Test Automation

Module test is often required to test product functionalities and reliabilities. This paper presents the design of a cost effective system for module test automation. The system uses NI LabVIEW for Linux, data acquisition hardware, and interface circuit boards designed for the module under test. The system is designed to capitalize on the advantages of PC based LabWindows/CVI test systems, while eliminating the disadvantages. The new design principle holds prospects for significantly reducing the product test sustaining cost, while providing both improved stability and security of the test system. The test system hardware architecture and software component development strategy make it easy for customer specific module test applications and future test capability expansion. The data from one module reliability test shows that this system is very reliable. The test system hardware and major software components can also be configured for chemical detection and environmental monitoring using fluctuation-enhanced multiple-gas sensing techniques.

Design and Implementation of a Cost Effective System for Module Test Automation Conference Paper