Fundamentals of Building a Test System: Mass Interconnect and Fixturing

Mass interconnects and test fixtures are where the rubber meets the road for automated test systems. After determining your instrumentation, the number of switches you need, and the location that your switches will reside in the test system, the next step is to choose a suitable mass interconnect system and design an appropriate fixture that seamlessly mates your DUTs to the rest of the system.

A mass interconnect system is a mechanical interconnect designed to easily facilitate the connection of a large number of signals either coming from or going to a DUT or DUT fixture. Rather than connect each signal one by one, a mass interconnect system connects and disconnects all signals at once. For automated test systems, a mass interconnect system usually entails some interchangeable mechanical enclosure through which all signals are routed from instruments, typically in a test rack, to the DUT, making it easy to quickly change DUTs or to protect the cable connections on the front of the instruments from repeated connect and disconnect cycles.

Ensure you’re creating a successful automated functional test system with this guide on Mass Interconnect and Fixturing.