Microwave Journal
www.microwavejournal.com/articles/15109-aeroflex-4550-series-flying-probes-offer-new-features-to-increase-accessibility-and-minimize-damage-to-the-device-under-test

Aeroflex 4550 Series Flying Probes Offer New Features to Increase Accessibility and Minimize Damage to the Device Under Test

January 17, 2011
Birmingham, UK-NEPCON 2007-May 15, 2007-Striving for ongoing product improvement, Aeroflex has added soft landing and partial accessibility software options to its 4550 Flying Probe Test System. The 4550 is a powerful and flexible Printed Circuit Board (PCB) test solution designed to meet the test needs of today and with the continued addition of new features and capabilities, it will meet tomorrow's test needs as well. The 4550's Probe Soft Landing Option minimizes potential damage to the unit under test (UUT) caused by probing, which is especially important in 'safety critical' applications common in military, automotive and medical industries. It works by allowing the probes to travel at normal speed in the Z-axis, but decelerate towards the end of their travel, avoiding potential damage to UUT. The Partial Accessibility Option is an automatic process for the 4550 that allows components to be tested, even when some of the probes cannot access specific target points due to component heights, etc. The program development software will now create a test if as few as two probes have access, this technique takes advantage of a further. key development that enables accessibility to be maximized through the ability to switch probe angles between 0 and 8 degrees during program execution. The 4550 Flying Probe test system is a highly flexible, fixtureless test environment providing a "one-stop" test platform that is ideal not only for prototype applications but also provides the level of throughput required in a production environment. The 4550 is both 30 percent faster and lower cost than the previous generation 4500, which it replaced. The faster probing speed results in greatly improved testing throughput and is achieved without compromising probing accuracy and repeatability or the high levels of test coverage made possible by targeting access points down to 75µm. Pricing and availability For details on the price and availability for the 4550 Flying Probe test system, contact your Aeroflex sales representative at (800) 853-2352 or info-test@aeroflex.com