Flash testing station maintains PCB quality

Latest testing technology using data storage and traceability features is helping an industrial metal detection systems maker comply with international quality and product standards.

New testing technology using data storage and traceability features is helping a market leading manufacturer of industrial metal detection systems to comply with international quality and product standards.

Salford-based Safeline manufactures specialist products and systems for the detection of metal contaminated products in a wide range of sectors including the food processing, bakery, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and paper industries.

Safeline supplies over 7,000 machines each year throughout Europe, the USA and Japan.

Because Safeline's metal detectors play a crucial role in enabling companies to meet rigorous quality standards, their own products must comply with various international industry and technical standards including CE marking in Europe and UL standards for the USA.

Recently, as part of the company's in-house manufacturing and quality management processes, the company upgraded its PCB assembly line safety testing system with the introduction of a new integrated flash testing station based on the new microprocessor controlled HAL tester from Clare Instruments.

To comply with product quality and safety standards the requirement was for the installation of a single test unit, capable of carrying out high voltage flash testing quickly and safely on any of four different types of PCBs used in the power electronics associated with all Safeline products.

In addition, to comply with the various record keeping and audit requirements of the standards enforcement authorities, Safeline also required a test solution capable of storing individual test results as evidence of due diligence and proof of testing.

Electrical safety testing specialists Clare Instruments responded to the challenge with a purpose designed test fixture used in conjunction with the advanced HAL Flash and Insulation Tester.

The test station incorporates a special safety enclosure into which any of the four PCB assemblies are placed.

Operator involvement is minimised with the customised design involving the simple loading and un-loading of PCBs in the enclosure, with the flash tests being automatically applied when the test enclosure lid is lowered.

Importantly, operation of the new instrument complies with the recently introduced EN 50191 standard for electrical safety testing.

A particular feature of the new test system is the use of bar codes to both identify the individual PCB under test and to set the range of test parameters to be applied, making the system ideal for ISO quality conformance.

At Safeline, the integral bar-code scanner identifies the product and the test to be applied is then quickly configured into the tester by scanning in another pre-defined bar code that operates as a test code.

Closure of the lid activates the probes attached to the HAL tester to carry out the 2-3kV flash tests in keeping with the specification of the board under test.

Specialist software and a large capacity database, which can store up to 6000 records, gives the HAL the ability to automatically store test details and results against individual equipment serial numbers.

Specialist software enables test reports to be downloaded directly to a PC or printer for the generation of complete test data records - with the use of an automatic bar code controlled system eliminating errors that can be associated with manual test systems.

In the busy Safeline manufacturing environment, reliability of testing and speed of throughput are crucial.

The new Clare flash testing system meets both of these requirements by providing an integrated test solution that maintains the highest standards of quality assurance and control.

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