Contract Manufacturing

• Modular Design Based on Industry Standards
• Designed for Fast Test Throughput
• Reconfigurable for Multiple Test Applications
• Houses all Common Core Functional Test Instruments and Switching
• Considerably Reduces Capital Equipment Costs for Contract Manufacturers

The need for contract manufacturers (CM) has grown as primary manufacturers look to outsource production in order to cut internal costs and overhead. The number of facilities offering CM has grown with the increase in market potential, and CM houses must find advantages in the services they provide in order to stay ahead of competition. Production test readiness is becoming an important element in defining the capability a contract manufacturer has for taking on larger jobs.

The CM environment can be described as one of either high-mix or high-volume and quite often a combination of both. This means that the contract manufacturer will be pursuing business where there are requirements for large quantities of a particular item and/or many different items. The level of services provided can range from board stuffing to product assembly. More often than not, testing of the product is performed by the contract manufacturer. The challenge, then, is to develop a robust test system capable of testing the product being manufactured today, as well as providing a platform flexible enough for testing the product of the future. Successful companies will develop an automated test system with a core set of instrumentation, software and interfacing that reduces valuable development time and resources, which is often the difference between a winning and losing bid.