Automated Test Bench

Abstract

Printed Circuit Boards are used to electrically connect components that are soldered onto the board in order to perform a function or task. They are manufactured by etching out copper traces from the copper layer that is adhered to a non-conducting substrate. Testing a PCB by manually applying and measuring signals is a very time consuming process. However, designing and building a specific automated functional test for one PCB could be expensive and could become obsolete if another board design needs to be tested. To solve this problem, a software interface will be designed that initializes and completes a test using commonly found, laboratory electrical equipment. The program will allow users to input a PCB’s functions and pass/fail criteria and then to run the test to receive a test report, indicating the result of each function’s test status.