Test & Measurement


Bed-of-nails PCB test fixture

1 January 2017 Test & Measurement Manufacturing / Production Technology, Hardware & Services

This mechanical bed-of-nails test fixture, according to its maker Test Fixture Technologies, is the most widely used solution for printed circuit board (PCB) testing in South Africa. It is built with a sturdy aluminium enclosure whose 350 x 300 mm footprint makes it especially suitable for benchtop use.

The fixture uses a sophisticated lifting mechanism to precisely raise a platen containing the spring-loaded test probes from below the unit under test (UUT). Unique tapered tooling pins precisely position the UUT and, together with linear guide pins and bushes, ensure highly accurate, repeatable and reliable contacting of test points down to 50 mil (1,27 mm) pitch and probe counts up to 300.

Experienced engineers carefully customise the design of each and every fixture specifically for the board that is being tested. Parts are CNC machined to perfectly support the board from both sides, thus ensuring that it does not experience any mechanical stresses during testing. Interfacing of power and data is usually done through panel-mount connectors on the rear face of the enclosure.



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