SMT 2022: Seica

The new PILOT VX platform on display is the latest addition to Seica’s Pilot Next Series and it represents the new gold standard for flying probe test performances.

The Pilot VX has multitude of new hardware and software features are included, all aimed at addressing the fundamental concerns of electronic board manufacturers looking to optimise their investment.

Time is cost, and the new state-of-the-art mechanical performance and motion control enables a reduction of up to 50% in test time.

The Pilot VX has 12 multi-function test heads providing the capability to contact up to 44 points simultaneously, as well as technologically advanced measurement hardware, new microwave-based measurement techniques.

Optimised VIVA software management enables the parallelisation of different types of tests, saving even more time, and smart analysis capabilities together with algorithms based on the principles of artificial intelligence  can automatically optimise the test flow in run-time, while maintaining test coverage targets.

Flexibility is also key: optimising your investment, in terms of meeting more of your needs, is  important.  

For example, a flexible solution may allow you to meet your production targets with one system instead of two, or you could configure the line to optimise throughput by integrating multiple systems, each performing a different part of the test process in parallel to the others.

A vast selection of test performances means that the test process can be tailored to the specific requirements of the product being tested, whether it be a relatively simple bare printed circuit board, a complex wafer or PCB with passive and active embedded components. 

Seica’s flying prober can test fully loaded double-side boards with components that also need to be programmed, LEDs to be tested electrically and optically, flex circuits, and very small and very large boards with very small and very large components…. in short, the Pilot VX is a flexible, configurable test system with an unrivaled set of technologically advanced tools, able to provide the test solutions required by the huge diversity which characterise today’s electronics.

In order to meet the mechanical challenges of probing the extremely miniaturised circuits in multiple types of electronic products and to measure very small electrical values, high precision is a must. With a positioning precision of +/- 10µm, the Pilot VX is able to probe 20µm pads, measure values such as 0.05pF capacitance or 100 µohm resistance and, with a minimum spot of 200 µm, the integrated laser inspection tool can perform presence/absence checks of even 01005 SMDs.

Going beyond the ability to store the test data, the Pilot VX has the capability to collect and store the data regarding the mechanical pressure applied by the test probes on every point on the board under test, making it available for visual, graphical and statistical analysis. Seica’s software gives you complete visibility of the test process and provides full traceability, allowing you to certify the quality of the product and to improve yields by utilising the analysis of the defects found to diagnose problems in the upstream manufacturing process.

Automation ispervasive in today’s factories and in most production lines, creating the need to manage not one system, but rather a series of machines and handling modules, including robots, in a fluid, optimised manner.

The Seica Asset Manager (SAM) software suite is a configurable platform that can simply perform basic functions such as the connection of a test system to the factory MES, but it also has the potential to supervise all of the assets in a roboticised line according to the MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) Broker IIOT standard, which can then be monitored on a remote PC, tablet or mobile device via the customisable Seica Dashboard Application.

Visitors to Seica’s booth at SMT 2022 will also see the Compact Digital XL Test system. Equipped with a vacuum-type receiver designed for manual or automated loading/unloading of the UUTs, the Compact Digital system, is a configurable, full-range test solution: from MDA/ICT up to full functional tests of complex digital boards, boundary scan test and on-board programing.

Like all of Seica’s solutions, it is based on the VIP platform (Viva Integrated Platform) and includes the technologically advanced hardware and software capabilities, in a completely integrated, user-friendly environment, which provide the high-level test performances required by today’s electronics.

Seica’s VIVA Next> 64-bit  software provides a complete set of utilities and tools specifically designed to easily manage all aspects of test as well as a Test Studio, that allows the user  to develop functional test sequences using whatever software is most familiar or preferred (e g. VIVA VL, VIVA Quicktest, VIVA Flylab,  TestStand, Labview, MS Excel, Python). 

VIVA NEXT provides intelligent integration with all aspects of the customer’s manufacturing processes - data collection, traceability, interaction with MES, repair operations – and all of the Next> series systems have Canavisia’s Industrial Monitoring solution on board, with the potential for remote monitoring of current and voltage consumption, mains supply, temperature, light indicators and other parameters useful to indicate correct operation, provide information for predictive maintenance and, in general, to render the systems compatible with today’s Industry 4.0 standards

In fact, visitors to booth A4-139 will be able to see, firsthand, Canavisia’s Industry 4.0 solutions for the acquisition and digitalisation of data coming from machines, factories and buildings with the goal of optimising processes, maintenance and intelligent energy management on-site, over the web and from the Cloud.

The system Dashboard and APP provide a real-time view of the connected resources as well as statistical reporting, and the solutions are compatible with the most widely used protocols and management software, for easy integration into existing infrastructures.