Products

M. Hansson Consulting, Inc. works with customers to develop customized solutions where no commercial off-the-shelf product is available that meets project requirements. Some of these systems were subsequently proven to have universal appeal and are thus now being offered to other industrial customers, as mass-customizable standard products. These systems frequently require the development of customized embedded products in medium quantities, in order to provide cost-effective hardware functionality for specialized needs. The standard systems currently offered are the following:

MH Consulting’s factory monitoring system is a state-of-the-art online monitoring system that utilizes the latest in hardware and software technology to provide online, real-time factory-floor information at the touch of a mouse.

Shop floor data on number of units, yields, cycle times and equipment performance is gathered by special data acquisition modules (part number MHLM02D) which combine miniaturized surface-mount electronics with a micro-controller, a rugged PLC-like enclosure and an isolated data communications bus to measure the performance of handlers and testers and relay this data to a central production server. The production server may also communicate with other, existing, databases and barcode readers to provide production planners, factory managers, line supervisors and maintenance engineers with a complete picture of the factory’s performance, in real-time.

Using an internet browser on any LAN-connected PC, a remote user can tap into the system and receive up-to-the-minute color-coded maps indicating the real-time status of each machine, including data on MTTR (mean time to repair), MTBF (mean time before failure), Uptime, Downtime and Yield. Depending on the customer’s existing databases, information on work-in-process, scrap, production performance and operator performance can also be served up remotely.

By adding antennas at strategic locations and by providing factory tools such as test fixtures and solder stencils with tiny RFID (radio frequency identification) transponders, additional functionality can also be added. Such functions include automatic flagging of tools due for preventive maintenance, improved tracking of fixture usage and monitoring of operator adherence to production guidelines.

This mass-customizable table-top (part number MHFCT01A)  tester is a highly integrated, high-quality electronic tester for function- and final testing of low pin-count (less than 200 IO pins) electronic PCB assemblies and cased products. It is designed for use in a flexible, cost-effective production test environment where space is at a premium, where tester cost is critical but where relatively complex test specifications must still be implemented. It combines an extremely flexible controller with a test fixture that is removable and which is typically changed depending on the product tested. The controller and fixture mate together with alignment pins and a lockable ZIF (zero insertion force) industrial-grade connector.

The controller contains a state-of-the-art PC104 stack (for more on PC104, click here), which depending on customer requirements can be provided with a CPU ranging from a low-power 486 to a Pentium class processor. The CPU is provided with SVGA output, keyboard input, LAN, RS232, RS485, USB and IrDA. It also has on-board Flash memory and can be remotely booted over the network. The CPU typically runs either DOS or LINUX. The operator interfaces with the software via a panel-mount touch screen LCD, which is backlit. Large LED lamps provide further feedback to the operator in terms of the status of the DUT (device under test).

The PC104 stack also contains analog input channels, analog output channels, digital I/O channels and high-current relays that are isolated up to 500V. All analog input channels are calibrated to NIST-traceable standards. Fixed or programmable power supplies can be added, either within the enclosure or externally, depending on the current requirements. For high-speed signal processing or communications requirements, a DSP board and/or an FPGA board can also be mounted within the self-stacking PC104 stack.

The test fixture is composed of a universal press, with a handle and a bed-of-nails (probe bed) that is easily customized depending on the device under test. The fixture’s gull-wing design eases support and maintenance. Loadboards can easily be mounted within the fixture, which can also be automatically identified by the controller software using internal DIP switches.

For more information on these and other standard products, please contact us.