Research Jig Case Study
At Forwessun, we take pride in driving continuous innovation through dedicated research and development. By improving our testing solutions, we ensure our customers benefit from greater accuracy and reliability.
Guidance Plate Research Jig
This case study has been created to give you a detailed look into how we carry out research and development at Forwessun. In particular, it highlights a dedicated research and development project centred around a specialised research jig built at our UK facility. This research jig has played a key role in our ongoing research into the relationship between probe life and test accuracy. Through this research, we aimed to deepen our understanding of how to optimise both testing accuracy and longevity within our test solutions.
Case Study Outline
A research jig has been manufactured and set up to carry out high-volume actuation testing on Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), reaching from 15,000 to 50,000 actuations. The main purpose of this work is to establish updated parameters for the xProbe guidance plate. However, the wider objective of this study is to identify the most effective balance between probe life and testing accuracy.
By analysing the results of the repeated actuation tests, the aim is to better understand how the test fixture probes wear over time, how the guidance plate influences that wear, and which operating conditions provide the best long-term stability.
Why do we need to update parameters?
Different customers have different workload demands, so the correct probe parameters must align with their specific testing volumes and priorities, as these choices directly influence probe life, test precision, and overall cost efficiency.
Some customers may operate at lower test volumes and will consider maximising test accuracy as the primary concern, while others may run continuous or high-frequency testing where durability and reduced probe maintenance become more important.
Depending on the customer’s focus, we will be able to provide better support and insights, allowing for a more informed and analytical decision. This understanding helps support ongoing research and development that ensures each bespoke fixture offers reliable probe performance.
High-Volume Testing
Customers who perform approximately 10,000 or more PCB tests typically focus on keeping their ongoing operational costs as low as possible. For these high-volume testing environments, using frictionless parameters becomes especially attractive because they significantly prolong the lifespan of the probes, reducing the frequency and cost of replacements. This setup is well-suited for workloads where durability and efficiency are key. However, while this approach reduces wear on the probes, it also results in lower testing accuracy due to looser tolerances.
Lower-Volume Testing
Customers who test a comparatively smaller number of PCBs, typically around 2,000 units or less, often place less emphasis on maximising probe lifespan because their replacement costs are much lower. This gives them the flexibility to prioritise measurement accuracy instead of durability. By using tighter guidance plate holes, the test fixtures can achieve much higher positional precision, which is particularly important when working with dense test pad layouts where even minor misalignment can compromise results. The trade-off is that these tighter tolerances increase friction on the probes, which accelerates wear and ultimately shortens probe life compared with setups designed for longevity.
Conclusion
This test helps establish the most appropriate balance of parameters for each type of customer, ensuring that both performance requirements and cost considerations are met. The research jig provides us with a controlled environment that makes it possible to observe the long-term behaviour of the probes and guidance plates.
By analysing how different configurations behave, it becomes possible to tailor the setup to the customer’s priorities, whether that means maximising testing accuracy, extending probe life, or achieving a compromise between the two.
The data we have gathered allows us to give customers a more technical insight, along with being able to demonstrate evidence to help aid decision-making, resulting in a test solution that ticks all the boxes.
Partner with Forwessun
At Forwessun, we pride ourselves on delivering reliable, high-quality test solutions that help our customers bring products to market faster and with confidence. Each case study we publish demonstrates our commitment to precision, quality, and collaboration in developing test solutions.
If you’d like to learn more about our turnkey services or discuss an upcoming project, get in touch with our team today to see how we can support your testing needs.
