5 In-Circuit Board Tester Manufacturers in 2024
This section provides an overview for in-circuit board testers as well as their applications and principles. Also, please take a look at the list of 5 in-circuit board tester manufacturers and their company rankings. Here are the top-ranked in-circuit board tester companies as of November, 2024: 1.HIOKI E.E. CORPORATION, 2.REINHARDT System- und Messelectronic GmbH, 3.Keysight Technologies.
Table of Contents
What Is an In-Circuit Board Tester?
In-Circuit Board Tester is a testing device used to evaluate the electrical characteristics of individual electronic components mounted on an electronic circuit board inside an electronic device.
For an electronic device to function properly, the internal electronic circuit board must operate properly. In-Circuit Board Tester inspects the board with the electronic components mounted on it.
In-Circuit Board Testers can test the electrical characteristics of individual components mounted on the board with a very small amount of power. They can locate defective parts without damaging the board, and can reliably detect defective parts that are difficult to detect with the naked eye.
In-Circuit Board Tester Applications
In-Circuit Board Testers are widely used in the inspection process of development and mass production lines in factories that handle electronic circuit boards with electronic devices and components. There are two types of In-Circuit Board Testers: press-type In-Circuit Board Testers and Flying Probe Testers.
Press-type In-Circuit Board Testers are capable of high-speed inspection and are suitable for mass-production boards. They are also used for inspection jigs. Flying Probe Testers do not require inspection jigs and are suitable for low-volume, high-mix boards, while handling fine patterns.
Specific inspection items include short/open defects of solder mounting components, defects due to wrong constants of capacitors, coils, and resistors, defects of missing components such as capacitors, coils, resistors, diodes, and transistors, and lead float defects of ICs and connectors, photocouplers and digital transistors. The test is also used to check the operation of photocouplers, digital transistors, and Zener diodes.
Special tests include image inspection of electrically inaccessible components, adhesion (solder) defect inspection of SOPs, QFPs, etc., and simple function tests.
In-Circuit Board Tester Principle
In-Circuit Board Tester extracts defects such as component constants and functions, as well as open or short signal lines including internal vias, by applying a probe to the required location on the electronic board and causing a very small electrical signal to be applied separately from the bias during normal operation.
The system has the internal configuration necessary to smoothly perform various types of inspections, and usually consists of a measurement section for electrical inspection, a scanner section for capturing and recognizing measurement lines, a probing section for bringing the measurement lines into energized contact with specific locations on the board to be inspected, and a control section for controlling these sections. The scanner is used to capture and recognize the measurement line.
The constant of an electronic component is measured from the values of voltage and current when a measurement signal is applied to the probing unit. Since electric circuits generally form a network, it is difficult to measure the constants of individual elements. However, many In-Circuit Board Testers are equipped with various functions to improve inspection accuracy.
Other Information on In-Circuit Board Testers
1. In-Circuit Board Tester Functions
Guarding function
This function electrically isolates the effect of errors caused by current due to parallel connections.
Phase Separation
When an AC signal is applied to a circuit network composed of resistors, inductors, and capacitors, a phase difference is generated between the current and voltage. This phase difference can be used to accurately measure the constants of each element.
2. Flying Checker
A flying checker is one type of In-Circuit Board Tester, which is an inspection device that primarily applies a probe to determine open-shorts of mounted components on a board. It takes longer to inspect than a standard press-type In-Circuit Board Tester, but is used when the emphasis is on the fact that it does not require preparation of a program or pin board.
Also called a flying probe checker, it creates a net list from Gerber data and uses that data to inspect for broken wires by applying a probe to the beginning and end of the board. It then inspects for shorts by applying a probe between one of its nets and an adjacent net.
Many types of flying checkers are modified from bare board checkers and can be used as general in-circuit tests after mounting. The specific inspection method involves clamping the board from both sides with two or four probes. This testing equipment inspects the open and short-circuit conditions of a printed circuit board. There are two types of testing equipment, one that checks electrical continuity and the other that measures C-capacitance to find short circuits, with the C-capacitance method generally taking less time.
3. Function Tester
A Function Tester serves a distinct purpose compared to the In-Circuit Board Tester, despite often being compared in the context of inspecting similar boards during the board manufacturing process. While the primary role of the In-Circuit Board Tester is to examine the board's assembly condition, including components and circuit continuity (such as identifying open or short circuits), the Function Tester is designed to verify whether the circuit's functionality, such as input and output operations, is operating correctly.
This test is usually called a function test, in which electrical signals specified in the specifications are applied to the input terminals of the board to be tested. The purpose is to verify whether the board functions correctly by checking if the specified output signals are generated in accordance with the specifications. Other tests are also performed for components such as switches and LEDs that are difficult to check with just an open-short test using In-Circuit Board Tester, as well as for integrated circuit operations and software writing for MCUs and various types of ICs.
In general, when comparing in-circuit testing and function testing, function testing is more important from the perspective of confirming product operation, and most products prioritize function testing.
List of 5 In-Circuit Board Tester Manufacturers
*Including some distributors, etc.
Sort by Features
- Default
- Company Size: largest first
- Year Founded: oldest first
- Year Founded: earliest first
Sort by Area
- United States of America
- Germany
- Japan
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Keysight Technologies
In-circuit test system
Company Overview
Keysight Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1939 and headquartered in Santa Rosa, California. Keysight is a global developer and manufacturer of electronic design and test solutions to communications, networking, aerospace, defense, and government, automotive, energy, semiconductor, electronic, and education industries. Keysight’s communications solutions group solutions include electronic design automation software; radio frequency and microwave test solutions, hardware and virtual network test platforms and software applications, as well as optical laser source solutions. Keysight’s electronic industrial solutions group offers various design tools and verification tools. Keysight offers product support, technical support, and training and consulting services. It sells its products through direct sales force, distributors, resellers, and manufacturer's representatives.
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REINHARDT System- und Messelectronic GmbH
Incircuit and functional test system
Manufacturer Overview
REINHARDT System- und Messelectronic, founded in 1976 is a manufacturer of automatic test systems for in circuit test and functional test for testing electronic devices, PCBs, modules and hybrids based in Germany. The company’s product portfolio is composed of test systems, software modules, electronic component counters, cable test system, and weather station & sensors. REINHARDT System- und Messelectronic GmbH serves a wide range of applications in different fields of electronics manufacturing and development including automotive, avionics, industrial electronics, sensors, and EMS.
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GÖPEL electronic GmbH.
JTAG / Boundary scan
Manufacturer Overview
GOEPEL electronic, established in 1991 in Jena, Germany, operates as a manufacturer and supplier of test and inspection solutions for electronic and mechanical components. Its offerings encompass boundary scan test systems, automotive test systems, embedded JTAG solutions, optical inspection systems, and X-ray inspection systems. These tools are pivotal in fault detection, diagnosing issues, verifying functionality, and upholding quality standards across applications like printed circuit boards, automotive electronics, industrial automation, and aerospace. The company has been certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001 by TÜV Rheinland since 1996.
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HIOKI E.E. CORPORATION
In-circuit tester
Company Overview
Hioki E.E. Corporation was founded in 1935 and headquartered in Ueda, Nagano. Hioki provides testing & analysis, manufacturing & inspection, and equipment maintenance to industries including mobility, battery, motor, energy, electronic components, and infrastructure. Hioki’s has 10 primary product categories which are: recorders and data loggers including oscilloscopes, LCR/Resistance Meters, safety testing including signal generators and calibrators, power meters including power quality analyzers, probes & sensors, optical & PV maintenance & telecommunication, environmental measuring, DMM & testers & field measuring, IoT & new solutions & meter relay, and bare board & package testing.
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In-Circuit Board Tester Manufacturer Ranking
*Including some distributors, etc.Ranking as of November 2024
Derivation Method| Rank | Company | Click Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HIOKI E.E. CORPORATION |
27.1%
|
| 2 | REINHARDT System- und Messelectronic GmbH |
23.3%
|
| 3 | Keysight Technologies |
18.8%
|
| 4 | Egro Burge Co., Ltd. |
15.8%
|
| 5 | GÖPEL electronic GmbH. |
15.0%
|
Derivation Method
The ranking is calculated based on the click share within the in-circuit board tester page as of November 2024. Click share is defined as the total number of clicks for all companies during the period divided by the number of clicks for each company.Number of Employees
- HIOKI E.E. CORPORATION: 1,009
- GÖPEL electronic GmbH.: 240
- Egro Burge Co., Ltd.: 104
Newly Established Company
- GÖPEL electronic GmbH.: 1991 (33 years ago)
- Egro Burge Co., Ltd.: 1990 (34 years ago)
- REINHARDT System- und Messelectronic GmbH: 1976 (48 years ago)
Company with a History
- REINHARDT System- und Messelectronic GmbH: 1976 (48 years ago)
- Egro Burge Co., Ltd.: 1990 (34 years ago)
- GÖPEL electronic GmbH.: 1991 (33 years ago)
In-Circuit Board Tester Manufacturers in United States
*Including some distributors, etc.
Global Distribution of In-Circuit Board Tester Manufacturers by Country
*Including some distributors, etc.
| Country | Number of Companies | Share (%) |
|---|---|---|
Japan
|
2 | 50.0% |
United States of America
|
1 | 25.0% |
Germany
|
1 | 25.0% |
List of In-Circuit Board Tester Products
1 product is listed.
Shin -Electronic Co., Ltd.
Focus on accuracy and speed Ins and Testa ESI-2020
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Inserkit Testa with a focus on accuracy and speed For more than 40 years, Ins and Testa appeared as an inspection machine for the implementation c...
