Electronic Product Design & Test - Features

Features - Test/Measurement

Applications that benefit from PXI oscilloscopes

Thermochromism compensation enables 100% inline inspection in plastics production

Cellular connectivity for IoT: the case for NarrowBand-IoT

Do more, with less: the challenges of maintenance in a digital & wireless world

The benefits of cloud computing in the manufacturing industry

Challenges in wireless test system design

- Scoping portable requirements (25/10/2017)
  
  All products need testing, both in the design and development phase, as well as once they move into production – with different requirements at each phase. Another consideration sometimes overlooked is the need for engineers to test products post-manufacturing in the field.
- Laser-based PCB assembly inspection (20/09/2017)
  
  Electronic products typically have stringent testing requirements, particularly as the PCBs that power them have become more complex, miniaturised and mass-produced. Accurately and repeatedly inspecting PCB assemblies improves product quality and ensures reliability in use, helping to reduce the negative impact of field failures and product recall events, ultimately improving brand reputation. But doing so has traditionally been both difficult and costly.
- Q&A: the pros and cons of renting T&M equipment (13/09/2017)
  
  As technology evolves, even everyday devices are becoming ever more complex, with electronics, connectivity and intelligence being built into ‘smart’ versions of virtually everything we own or use. This increases demands on R&D and test functions, necessitating a wide range of specialist test equipment and making it vital that it is kept up to date and fit for purpose. This can be a challenge for companies investing in T&M kit – and renting can provide an alternative option.
- Experience solves legacy test problems (25/08/2017)
  
  The test function has always been among the most challenging processes in electronics manufacturing. How can test equipment keep ahead of the sub-assemblies it needs to validate? In theory, it should be easier when testing legacy products, but successfully developing futureproof solutions requires not only knowledge of the new, but also experience of the old.
- Are you in safe hands? (17/08/2017)
  
  If you had to nominate a safe pair of hands, healthcare and medical practitioners might rank at the top of your list. However, the medical technology (MedTech) they rely on is in a vulnerable state.
- Identifying RF interference sources with automatic IQ capture (17/08/2017)
  
  IQ (in-phase/quadrature) capture is a feature of modern spectrum analysers that helps engineers with in-depth analysis of RF signals. However, while it allows engineers to analyse the signal type being captured, it doesn’t always easily meet user requirements for triggering the capture in an automated way. This article explains how SCPI programming can be used to capture signals that exceed specified thresholds to help identify sources of interference.
- The role of DevOps in electronics design and test (28/07/2017)
  
  Turn the pages of any IT publication right now and it’s hard to avoid the term ‘DevOps’. An increasing number of firms in the electronics and semiconductor industries are also beginning to adopt this software development methodology.
- Accuracy in aerospace (18/07/2017)
  
  During the late 19th century, the Wright brothers began experimenting with the concept of air travel. After years of research, observing the angle of birds’ wings and the engineering of bicycles and motors, they finally succeeded in 1903.
- Testing MIPI interfaces with the R&S RTO oscilloscope (15/05/2017)
  
  Many components in modern smartphones communicate with each other via interfaces standardised by the MIPI Alliance. R&S RTO oscilloscopes can analyse these interfaces’ signal integrity and data content with maximum efficiency to quickly locate errors.

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