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Questions You May Ask When Developing Multiple-Board Fixtures.

Question:

Questions you may ask when developing multiple-board fixtures.

Answer: 

(Date: May 97: Version: B.02.XX)

General Test Development Process:

1. Create different board directories for each individual board that is going to be placed on the fixture. These directories will contain the initial board files: board, board_xy, config, and any custom libraries. (NOTE: DO NOT run the fixturing software (within IPG Test Consultant) on the individual directories).

2. Start IPG Test Consultant

  • Click on "Fixture Format" and select "Multiple Boards/Panels Per Fixture"
  • In the "Selected Directory" field, type the full pathname of the fixture directory and click on "Set Fixture Directory". The fixture directory is the directory that will be associated with all the boards on the fixture (referenced later as the "linked" fixture directory)

    NOTE: To see the resulting directory structure of a multiple board fixture, refer to your Agilent3070 Series II Users' Manual: Test &Fixture Development - Create the Board Directory for a Multiple-Board Fixture.
  • Then, in the "Selected Directory" field, type the full pathname of each individual board directory (that was created in Step #1), and click on "Add Board". Repeat for each individual board that will be placed on the fixture.

3. Run IPG. The software will then generate multiple board directories and testplans simultaneously, and multiplex all information into one common fixture directory that you specified previously, with "Set Fixture Directory".

How can I control how my boards are placed on the fixture for a multiple-board fixture development?

If you are developing a fixture that supports multiple boards, you will receive the following error message if you try to view the fixture in Fixture Consultant: "Fixture Consultant is not capable of loading multiple boards per fixture at this release"

However, there are a couple of options forworking around this limitation in order to see where your boards are placed on the fixture.

OPTION I:

  1. Create separate board directories and copy each board to its own individual directory. Copy all the files that are located beneath each board subdirectory with the exception of the "linked" fixture directory. The placement information in the fixture file is located under a PLACEMENT heading and looks like:

    PLACEMENT      &ltx-offset>, &lty-offset> &ltrotation>

    Add the above placement specification from the "linked" fixture file for each board into each corresponding board_xy file immediately before the OUTLINE section, using the same syntax shown above. Be sure that you copy the PLACEMENT syntax exactly.

  2. Enter pathname of first board directory in IPG. Run test consultant completely. Repeat this procedure for each individual board directory.

    By adding the board placement into the board_xy file, the Board Placement software will not attempt to override the original placement of the board.

  3. IPG will create individual fixture files which will enable you to run Fixture Consultant for each board. You can then view each board placement separately. However, you cannot automatically modify anything. Fixture Consultant modifies the wirelist and fixture file of the particular board directory that you are currently in. Therefore, if you make changes, you aren't modifying the appropriate "multiple boards per fixture" linked fixture directory.

  4. When you get the desired placement, save the information. This will add the placement information into the fixture file for that individual board's separate directory. Copy the PLACEMENT information from the individual fixture files into your multiple-board fixture "linked" fixture file. Be sure that you copy the PLACEMENT syntax exactly.

  5. Run IPG on the multiple-board fixture board directory. This will generate fixture files based on the individual board placements that were just specified. You can then pull up the "linked" fixture file in hpglviewer to view the board placements of all the boards on the fixture.

NOTE: hpglviewer is a user contributed utility that can be found in the directory /usr/hp3070/contrib/bin. For more information on executing this utility, refer to the following document on your Agilent3070 system: /usr/hp3070/contrib/doc/hpglviewer.doc.

OPTION II:

Assuming you have two boards per fixture, define the board as a two-up panel with different board types. This will then treat the boards as a panel, allowing full use of development tools, specifically Fixture Consultant. You will need to customize your testplan to ensure that the operator does not select both boards on the panel since only one board will betested at a time.

Are there any additional considerations if I also want to use the "dual-well" feature?

Currently, there is no way to specify to the system that you have a dual-well fixture. You simply need to develop the board as a "multiple-board fixture" in Test Consultant. Since there's nothing in the fixture files to indicate dual-well to the fixture vendor, it is up to you to inform your fixture vendor that you will be using a dual-well fixture.

When you use dual-well shared wiring, you need to manually modify the testplan and testmain for that board directory. The correct procedure and an example testplan displaying these modifications is shown in the Agilent3070 Series II Users Manuals: Options - Testplan and Testmain for Dual-Well Shared Wiring.

Do I need to do anything with the autofile when developing "multiple boards per fixture"?

Test Cell Manager reads the autofile and presents all board options to the user in theform of softkeys and operator touch pads. The operator then simply selects the board of choice. For multiple-board fixtures, you need to edit the autofile (/hp3070/autofile/&ltautofile_#>) to include a listing consisting of the board name and full pathname of each directory for each board on the fixture. If you have more than seven boards on your fixture, see the related FAQ: Creating More Than 8 Operator Widgets. When a softkey is selected, the appropriate board and directory are selected and the testplan is run as usual. An example autofile for a multiple-board fixture with two boards on the fixture looks as follows: 

board_1    
/hp3070/boards/board_1 
board_2 
/hp3070/boards/board_2