Regardless of any inherent complexities associated with testing a specific device (e.g., the importance of fit in headphone measurement), production line test presents its own unique challenges. The associated complexities can primarily be traced to one fundamental question posed by manufacturing test engineers around the world: “how do I test products quickly, and for the lowest possible cost, while ensuring no bad products are shipped?”
Underlying that question are a range of issues, including turn-around time (TAT, or throughput), automation and external control, use of reference units for pass/fail criteria, export of test data for statistical process control (and/or quality standards requirements), multiple device types for a single production line, test process repeatability and consistency, and correlation to testing done in R&D and QC.
Another challenge of manufacturing test is the consistency of measurements made on a production line with those made in the development lab, and/or by a quality control (QC) team. While the testing done on the production line may not be as comprehensive as that done in R&D, it is ideal that the same measurements are made, using the same test systems, in all three scenarios. Particularly when a problem is identified in manufacturing, it can be very time consuming to be troubleshooting a potential manufacturing defect while at the same time trying to solve unrelated discrepancies between measurement systems (possibly produced by different test equipment vendors) used in the lab compared to those used on the manufacturing line.
Axiometrix Solutions is ready to support your manufacturing test requirements along the entire measurement chain: from sensors to analyzers and data acquisition systems, and ultimately analysis software. By applying our application knowledge, innovative engineering, and operational expertise, we enable our customers to sense, measure, and analyze, all with the ultimate goal of achieving insight.
Our product lines—Audio Precision, GRAS Sound & Vibration, and imc Test & Measurement—are leading brands in their respective segments. For more information on specific solutions, please select one of our product lines (menu to left).