Remploy Electronics, the specialist electronics division of Remploy, the UK's leading employer of people with disabilities, has introduced an advanced PCB testing service that is claimed to be among the most sophisticated in the UK. It represents a significantly higher level of testing capability than was previously available to small/medium sized customers of the contract manufacturer. The new test facility - opened as a response to increased customer demand - is underpinned by Remploy's investment in equipment that includes a Flying Scorpion FLS 450 in-circuit tester from Scorpion Technologies.

Remploy's facility enables PCB assemblies to be tested automatically and simultaneously on both sides for production in-circuit test and component faults. Simple and cost-effective to set up, it tests active and passive components and is particularly suitable for boards featuring fine pitch and flip chip technologies.

The increasing complexity of boards with fine pitch surface mount components, often on both sides, presents a major challenge for manufacturers. Inadequate testing leads to a risk of high failure rates on deployment. This causes damage to profit margins due to the costs of changing failed boards and to the company's reputation. Use of a double-sided flying probe, such as the FLS 450, enables defects including open and short circuits, dry joints and missing or incorrect components to be identified and rectified quickly. This leads to improved production quality and higher reliability of PCBs.

"The ability to provide this level of testing is becoming a high priority for more and more of our customers," observed Graham Denyer, project engineer for Remploy Electronics. "Companies invest a lot of money in the development and production of today's complex boards and it makes sound commercial sense to apply the same scrupulous approach to the testing process."

For less technically demanding boards, Remploy can offer a range of testing options including automatic optical inspection (AOI) as well as Wayne Kerr and Schlumberger automatic test equipment.