Connect the Dots: Designing for Reality—Routing, Final Fab, and QC
Target Condition: ‘Boomer to Zoomer: Do You Copy?’
Elementary, Mr. Watson From Classroom to Career—Bridging the Gap in PCB Design Talent
Revolutionizing PCB Testing: RoBAT's Journey from S1 to SCARA
January 7, 2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 1 minute
From the early days of simple continuity testers to the advanced SCARA machines, RoBAT's evolution in time-domain reflectometer (TDR) and test technology is a testament to the company's commitment to excellence and adaptation in a rapidly changing industry. In this discussion, RoBAT’s Bruce Nockton discusses the journey, challenges, and importance of automating testing solutions, and highlights how RoBAT has become a frontrunner in delivering high-precision testing equipment, setting new standards for the industry.
Marcy LaRont: Bruce, I am struck by what appears to be a culture of continuous innovation at RoBAT. From your first S1 machine to today’s suite of SCARA machines, what strikes you most about that journey and where you find yourselves today?
Bruce Nockton: Looking back, it seems like a long journey from our early S1 machines, which weren’t much more than continuity testers, to the latest TDR machines, but I think the most striking thing for me is how quickly we have had to adapt/develop our test equipment to keep pace with and try to stay ahead of PCB technology. As I mentioned when Pete Starkey visited our facility, we did not initially plan to develop a machine to carry out a fully automatic TDR test of high-speed PCBs.
For many years, RoBAT developed machines for testing assembled backplanes from shorts/continuity/AOI, then X-ray, and more recently, TDR. It was the test results from these machines that really surprised us. Whilst our assembly house customers were happy with the faults we were finding that were created in the process of assembling the PCB, the majority of failures the machines found were caused during the manufacturing process of the PCB. It was at this point we started to explore what high-speed TDR test equipment was available for bare PCBs, only to find it was very limited.
To continue reading this article, which originally appeared in the December 2024 issue of PCB007 Magazine, click here.
Share on:
Suggested Items
Yamaha Robotics Advanced Safety Package Eases Factory-safety Enhancement
03/04/2025 | Yamaha Robotics SMT SectionYamaha Robotics SMT Section has extended availability of the Advanced Safety Package, which contains optional features to elevate printer and mounter safety above and beyond mandatory levels.
Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2025: Insights from Andy Turner of Burkle North America
02/26/2025 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOWith the upcoming IPC APEX EXPO 2025, Andy Turner, from Burkle North America, introduces the InfoCube, a cutting-edge display designed to showcase Burkle's diverse product offerings, including a glimpse into the inner workings of their machines.
TSK Schill GmbH Closes 2024 With a Record Turnover
01/14/2025 | TSK Schill GmbHAt TSK, the course continues to be set for growth. Despite the turbulent market development, we were able to increase our turnover “EBIT”. We generated a large proportion of our turnover with Solution Business.
Revolutionizing Inner Layer Registration
12/26/2024 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007In this interview with Anthony (Tony) Faraci, founder and president of DIS, we delve into enhancing inner layer accuracy and yields, pivotal to boosting profitability in the circuit board industry. Tony has extensive experience in the development of tooling technology over the decades, which ultimately led to his founding DIS. From his beginnings at Multiline to tackling the challenges of registration accuracy, Tony's insights clearly lay out the complexities of modern manufacturing and the innovations in shaping the future of inner layer registration.
PCB Cleaning Machines Market Driven by Innovation to Achieve USD 2.6 Billion Milestone by 2034
12/16/2024 | GlobeNewswireThe PCB Cleaning Machines Market is driven by the need for efficient removal of harmful residues from printed circuit boards, ensuring reliability and performance of electronic devices.