With over 43 drilling machines globally, we make several thousand fixtures per month. That’s more than any other test provider, anywhere. This combined with over 20 years’ experience in making even the most complex fixtures, gives you the guarantee you need that your boards are defect-free.
Gardien Fixtures
Hassle-free
Gardien uses industry-leading UCAM test software and processes to ensure that your fixtures are optimized and built to your precise requirements. And no matter which test equipment you use, we ensure that it interfaces perfectly with your own systems for fast, hassle-free testing.
On time, every time
Whether you simply need your fixture programming, or drilled, or built from start to finish, we can deliver to your requirements wherever you are. With lead times from as fast as overnight, to 2-3 days, we will provide you with whatever you need, wherever you need it, within budget.
Guaranteed test confidence
With Gardien’s dedicated programming expertise, you get the optimum test coverage for your boards with the process throughputs you need. Read More
Leading edge capabilities
Gardien supplies Single Density (SD), Double Density (DD) and Quadruple Density (QD) arrays in fixtures up to 650mm x 650mm (25.6″ x 25.6″) in size. Our technology enables us to place as many as 60,000 pins down to just 150um for complex, high density boards.
Minimum marking
Gardien protects your PCBs from damage with a fixture design that ensures uniform pin pressure throughout the PCB, and minimal marking on the test points.
Quality materials, precision fixtures
We only use the best materials for your fixtures, ensuring their dimensional stability through careful temperature and humidity control around the clock , both while they are in storage and in use on the production floor.
Gardien’s 3-Tier Fixturing Programme
Tier 1 – CAM programming
Gardien generates an optimized fixture drilling program and Netlist from the client’s CAM data, from which clients can drill their own fixtures, assemble and load them for in-house testing.
Tier 2 – fixture drilling
In addition to the level 1 offering, Gardien drills the fixture plates for the customer, ensuring high precision pin placement. In this way, clients can keep their drills free for the important work of PCB production.
Tier 3 – total fixture solution
In this most complete Fixturing service, Gardien supplies the customer with an assembled, loaded and debugged fixture ready for testing. All reusable parts (including pins) can be purchased from Gardien, or alternatively they can be leased, reducing total fixture costs of the fixture, and simplifying storage for the client. Gardien will also de-pin, store and re-pin the fixture as required, managing the entire administrative cycle for the client’s Fixturing needs.
Fixtures explained
Every PCB design needs a new fixture.
From an electronics point of view, universal grids and dedicated testers are very similar. In both cases, the fixtures are made of two or more horizontal plastic plates that are drilled with numerous small holes precisely placed in relation to each other.
The test pins are guided into position by these holes, and held firm, either vertically, or at an angle in order to achieve higher pin densities.
During test, one end of the pins contacts the PCB, or Unit Under Test (UUT), and the other touches the tester grid. During test, the pins either send or receive electrical signals (current, voltage) through selected sets of test points, or nets, and the results are analyzed to check for breaks (opens) or shorts
in each net. The difference between the two types of tester lies in the way in which the pins are arrayed.
Universal fixtures are faster to build, and can use pins tilted to an angle in order to achieve higher pin densities.
The pins are arrayed in a uniform matrix on a universal grid, so that when the grid makes contact with the PCB, all of the pins touch the board but only some of them will be active in the test procedure.
A universal tester is more expensive than a dedicated tester, but its design makes it versatile enough to be used on various board designs. The universal fixture must be programmed for the board to be tested, and is less expensive than a dedicated fixture. This is more suited for use on small production runs and high mix environments.
Dedicated fixtures are ideal for low mix high volume production as they are more reliable and faster in production.
This is designed to be used on one board type only, the pins being placed to correspond with specific test points. As it is board specific, this is a more expensive approach than the universal grid tester, and turnaround is longer, but costs are somewhat offset by the high volume.