Innovation and production – hand in hand. This is the Rohde & Schwarz motto for this year’s productronica, where the company will present itself as a reliable partner for electronics manufacturing needs. Rohde & Schwarz has determined five pivotal areas of interest, each reflecting its commitment to pushing technological boundaries: (1) secure production, (2) efficiency in RF component manufacturing, (3) electronic module and device production testing, (4) calibration and repair services and (5) electronic manufacturing services. In addition, visitors can experience a new T&M highlight at the booth: The R&S MXO 5 is the first eight-channel oscilloscope from Rohde & Schwarz.

Rohde & Schwarz, celebrating 90 years of ensuring a safer and connected world in 2023, welcomes visitors to this year’s productronica, the leading global trade show for the electronics manufacturing industry. The bi-annual event will take place from November 14 to 17 in Munich, the home city of Rohde & Schwarz. In hall A1, booth 375 of Messe München, visitors can learn about the company’s latest solutions for various aspects of production.

Secure production with cybersecurity

The rapid evolution of electronics development and production necessitates advanced cybersecurity measures to ensure secure production processes. Rohde & Schwarz will address this need for secure and stable industrial IoT (IIoT) shop floors with solutions from its subsidiary LANCOM Systems. Visitors can learn about SD-WAN industrial gateways with 5G for harsh environments as well as cloud-managed networks with LANCOM Management Cloud.

Other solutions on display cover private network testing, using the R&S 5G Site Testing Solution to monitor, for example, the signal quality and power levels of a network. In combination with the QualiPoc Android, users can also perform functional tests, such as voice, data and video streaming, to verify service availability at a site.

Efficiency in RF component manufacturing

As in all production, test speeds are crucial also in RF component manufacturing. Rohde & Schwarz solutions prioritize this while not compromising precision. The R&S PVT360A is a compact VSG/VSA single-box vector tester optimized for FR1 base station, small cell and RF component testing in production and characterization environments. Its two independent signal generators and analyzers enable fast parallel measurements. Demanding requirements of the test environment, such as minimum error vector magnitude and high-test throughput, are all fulfilled.

A test setup based on the four-port R&S ZNA vector network analyzer combined with the R&S ZN-Z86 switch matrix will showcase speed optimized parallel testing of multiport devices with up to 24 available test ports simultaneously.

Other demonstrations at the trade show booth will cover the characterization of both, voltage-controlled oscillators using the R&S FSPN phase noise analyzer and of Wi-Fi frontends using a combination of the R&S SMW200A vector signal generator and the R&S FSVA3050 signal and spectrum analyzer.

Advanced module and device production testing

Addressing diverse industries, Rohde & Schwarz will showcase a wide range of solutions at productronica optimized for testing electronic modules and devices in production. For wireless devices of various standards, the company will present its fast and compact radio communication testers: While the R&S CMP180 covers Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 7 and 5G NR FR1 standards, the R&S CMP200 will be shown in a test setup for ultra-wideband device production.

Other setups will focus on maximizing yield, optimizing efficiency and minimizing test time in automotive applications. The advanced automotive radar test system from Rohde & Schwarz is ideal for radar object simulation for R&D and production of radar based advanced driver assistance systems. It consists of the R&S AREG800A automotive radar echo generator as a backend and the R&S QAT100 antenna array for the front-end. Other automotive solutions on display will cover in-vehicle network testing with the R&S MXO 4 oscilloscope as well as battery management systems production testing with the R&S ExpressTSVP.

For precise and time-saving compliance tests of PCIe cables and connectors in line with PCI-SIG specifications, Rohde & Schwarz will showcase a fully automated solution based on a four-port R&S ZNB43 vector network analyzer. Visitors will also see demonstrations of how to automatically control and sort components using the R&S LCX LCR meter and of how to measure power consumption using a R&S NGU201 source measure unit. Conducted emission measurements for electronic device sample quality control will also be covered.

And for quality control in production lines, Rohde & Schwarz will present its solution for real-time material analysis based on microwave imaging technology. The new R&S QAR50-K80 complements current methods such as cameras, X-rays or scales to detect quality issues such as leakage or unwanted particles in closed packages. The solution leverages hundreds of receive and transmit antennas to quickly characterize materials. Using neuronal networks it detects abnormalities without opening containers.

Calibration and repair services with minimal downtime

Rohde & Schwarz recognizes that instruments eventually require calibration and repair and provides accredited services to keep purchased instruments at peak performance with minimal downtime. Rohde & Schwarz services are backed by an extensive global network, ensuring that requests are quickly processed by a local provider. Visitors at productronica will have the opportunity to learn about the company’s comprehensive service portfolio. Rohde & Schwarz experts will be available to answer questions about standard calibration and repair services but also the 24/7 hotline service and on-site support.

Electronic manufacturing services and after-sales service

Visitors can also learn about electronic manufacturing services provided by the Rohde & Schwarz group. The Rohde & Schwarz Memmingen plant offers a variety of production services for high-precision electronic components, and its Teisnach plant offers mechanical services, including complete assembly, 3D printing and production of precision mechanical components and waveguides. These services even fulfill aeronautical and military requirements, if necessary.

Evolved for more challenges: R&S MXO 5 oscilloscope with eight channels

Rohde & Schwarz just released the R&S MXO 5, the world’s first eight-channel oscilloscope that can detect 4.5 million acquisitions and 18 million waveforms per second across multiple channels. The instrument shows more of a signal’s activity than any other oscilloscope in both the time and the frequency domains. With a standard simultaneous acquisition memory of 500 Mpoints across all eight channels, it offers double the standard memory of competing models. As the first eight-channel oscilloscope with digital triggering, the R&S MXO 5 sets a new standard in signal analysis. It is also the first oscilloscope with 45 000 FFTs per second. Visitors to the Rohde & Schwarz booth will have the opportunity to experience this exciting new product in action.

Rohde & Schwarz will present these and more solutions at productronica 2023 in hall A1, booth 375, Messe München, from November 14 to 17, 2023.