COMMENT
• Medical devices such as glucose metres, blood pressure monitors and pulse oximeters
• IoT devices, including smart speakers, smart door locks and home security systems
• Mobile devices such as smartphones, wearables and tablets
Panelising PCBs not only assists smaller boards in conforming to standard production procedures, but also enhances PCB panelisation include saving time and
How does parallel panel testing
A parallel test method enables testing approach of parallel panel testing facilitates in-circuit tests to meet high-volume production demands effectively (Table 1 For example, if a single board takes six seconds to test, meeting the high-volume production demands necessitates a throughput of four boards every six seconds, necessary throughput, the manufacturer faces two options:
Purchase four testers, which would demand Invest in a single tester capable of testing all four boards in parallel
Testing four boards sequentially using one tester would require four times the single- testing four boards in parallel reduces the overall test time to approximately six savings of 10 seconds over the testing of four
requires a test system that can conduct ICT, Massively parallel board testing can test multiple boards at the same time using
In traditional setups, in-circuit testers typically limit testing to up to four boards and throughput are paramount, the demand rises for the ability to test a larger quantity of
Table 2. PCBA test time for sequential versus parallel test
capable of testing 10 to 20 boards in parallel
Given their simpler and smaller board designs, low-complexity products can accommodate 20 boards on a single capable of massively parallel testing are with test cores to execute tests for all boards in
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In response to this shifting landscape, themselves at the nexus of a transformative to produce electronics at a lower cost and achieve
Furthermore, massively parallel testing can lead to an increase in the density of panel Consequently, there is a reduction in the Overall, massively parallel testing provides advantages over standard parallel testing, especially in the realm of high-volume Table 2 shows the benchmark conducted on individual boards, panels of four and
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panels of six, demonstrating that throughput increases as the number of units on a panel to the simultaneous testing of multiple units, In contrast, sequential testing, which evaluates one unit at a time, inherently operates at a slower pace due to the leads to bottlenecks within the testing process, consequently impeding the overall parallel testing, where we assess multiple units simultaneously, we reduce the time
To optimise the testing process for high- volume, low-complexity manufacturing of PCBs, a panelisation technique is employed facilitates the integration of smaller, less intricate boards into manageable panel sizes, enhancing cost-effectiveness while notably the implementation of massively parallel testing allows operators to simultaneously test multiple boards, ensuring swift test throughput, streamlined functional test measurements and a cost-effective approach to overcoming the challenges associated with high-volume manufacturing testing emerges as the quintessential solution for high-volume board test production environments, delivering prompt
MARCH 2026 | ELECTRONICS FOR ENGINEERS 9 Test method
Sequential testing Parallel testing
Single board test time Number of boards Total test time 6 seconds 6 seconds
20 20
Table 1. Sequential versus parallel test time
120 seconds 30 seconds
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