Fixtureless in-circuit test

Fixtureless in-circuit test (FICT) is a method of testing a printed circuit board assembly. A traditional "bed of nails" tester for testing a PCB requires a custom fixture to hold the PCBA and the Pogo pins which make contact with the PCBA. In contrast, FICT uses two to four flying probes, which may be moved based on software instruction.^[1] The flying probes also allow easy modification of the test fixture when the PCBA design changes. FICT may be used on both bare or assembled PCB's.^[2]

Benefits of fixtureless in-circuit test

• Automatic optical inspection for presence of components, correct polarity, and letters or numbers on ICs.
• Value measurements on resistors, capacitors, Zener diodes and inductors.
• IC open circuit checker finds lifted legs and dry joints on ICs.
• Can test fine pitch printed circuit boards down to 0.3 mm with a repeatable accuracy of probe placement of ±0.05mm.
• Test program is rapidly prepared from printed circuit board CAD data.
• All major CAD platforms support FICT.

References

1. Stephen F. Scheiber (2001). Building a Successful Board-test Strategy. Newnes. pp. 303–. ISBN 978-0-7506-7280-1.
2. Keith Brindley (22 October 2013). Automatic Test Equipment. Elsevier. pp. 12–. ISBN 978-1-4831-0115-6.