Expanded functional test system boosts productivity for Trafficmaster

Peak has been supplying test systems to Trafficmaster since 1997, but the latest IVU2-J test system, which complements three existing test rigs, at Elcan, Trafficmaster's contract manufacturing operation near Madrid in Spain, represents Peak's most comprehensive functional test solution installed to date.

Founded in 1988, Trafficmaster plc is an expert in intelligent driving services, providing high quality satellite navigation, traffic data and vehicle tracking systems. Trafficmaster's leading product is the Smartnav satellite navigation system, which uses live, incident, historic and predictive traffic data to calculate the optimum route at the start of a journey and will continue to monitor the route for delays until the driver reaches the destination.

The heart of the Smartnav system is the Intelligent Vehicle Unit (IVU), of which the latest version is the IVU2-J. This integrates all the ingoing and outgoing communications functions, receiving GPS signals, broadcasting location data back to the Trafficmaster control centre, and communicating relevant information to the driver.

In order to ensure reliability of the in-vehicle systems, a full functional test is carried out on each unit. This not only checks that the electronic systems within the unit are working correctly, but also looks at the audio and visual outputs from the unit.

The latest Peak test rig conduct realistic functional tests of IVU-J sub-circuits, so that Elcan can check that every PCB has been soldered and assembled correctly. For example, it is important for the IVU2-J modem to be able to read its SIM card correctly: something that would be inhibited by the presence of solder shorts or other assembly faults in the modem connector or SIM holder. Other key areas are ensuring that the IVU2 can 'talk' to relevant vehicle data via the automotive J-BUS system, and that the unit switches to a current consumption of less than 3 mA in 'sleep'
mode.

The latest Peak test system is based on a 19-inch rack which houses an industrial PC plus a number of programmable power supplies and test instruments. The unit also includes relay matrixes, positional sensors, and pneumatic solenoids for operating the test fixture. The unit under test is positioned within the test fixture itself via a 'drawer' arrangement, with the board being probed from both top and bottom. The system is driven and controlled by customised test software, the only human intervention being loading, bar-code scanning and unloading the unit under test.

A measure of the success of the Peak installation is provided by the fact that Trafficmaster has recently acquired TQA (Total Quality Assessment) approval under the Thatcham ratings system widely adopted as a standard in the automotive security sector. A key element of Thatcham ratings is quality assurance within the manufacturing process: something that the Peak test systems are able to provide.

With the introduction of the latest IVU2-J test system, the Peak systems are currently testing around 15,000 units per month, a figure which is expected to increase to 20,000 in due course.