The New Wave in Test

C&H Technologies, Inc., as a part of its custom test systems business, has evolved over a number of years a unique and cost effective approach to Product Life Testing, Module Conditioning, Environmental Stress Screening and other applications where a "tester per product" capability is required. Our Tsunami™ system utilizes the company's MiniTester™ product described below, along with all the necessary support software and the National Instruments Test Stand™ test executive to accomplish testing of multiple product simultaneously.

Concurrent Multi-Product Analysis:

-Product Life Testing
-Module Conditioning
-Environmental Stress Screening
-Product Aging

C&H's Integration Services:
C&H Technologies' Systems Group can provide a variety of integration services for your Tsunami MiniTester system ranging from simple assembly of standard components through total turn key systems with software, hardware, fixtures and installation. The company has extensive experience in World Wide support of large scale ATE, training, and multi-vendor equipment integration as well as in design and development of all types of hardware and software necessary to fully integrate test systems. To date the company has delivered over 60 custom and semi-custom MiniTester and VXI based test systems for automotive electronics, computer peripheral, and defense based applications.

Support for Customer Integration:
The Tsunami system architecture is such that components of the system may be purchased by the customer for integration with the customer's existing equipment, items of proprietary design, or items procured form other vendors. Systems level documentation, Test Executive software, and Lab Windows applications software development environment are provided to help the customer with his equipment integration process and training classes are held regularly at C&H. Alternatively, C&H can provide on site training and assistance to help the customer with this process thereby allowing the customer to make the best use of his own engineering resources. This approach is made possible by the use of standards for hardware modules, communications interfaces, and control and systems level software.

Leveraging Standard Technologies:
The C&H Tsunami System is structured so as to allow customers to take full advantage of existing technologies that may be applied to their testing requirements. First, the MiniTester provides carriers for both Industry Packs and M/MA Modules. These VITA/ANSI standard mezzanine modules include analog I/O, digital I/O, motion control, bus interfaces (including automotive, avionics, computer and telecom), various instruments and numerous other functions. Note that choosing these mezzanine interfaces allows the same hardware to be used in any VXI or PXI based functional test set by using C&H's VXI or PXI IP and M-Module carriers. Second, applications software is developed using National Instruments Lab Windows environment. Third, communications between the host and the MiniTester is via either RS485 or USB. And fourth, mechanical and electrical packaging of the system makes extensive use of off the shelf components. All of this gives great flexibility along with reasonable costs.

Custom Design Services:
C&H Technologies, Inc. can provide custom hardware, software, and fixture design for Tsunami System components necessary to meet a customer's unique requirements. When a small number of UUT's are involved, C&H recommends that custom interfaces be designed around the VITA/ANSI standard IP and M Modules technology to reduce non-recurring costs and allow interfaces to be used with function test sets as well. When the number of MiniTesters in a system exceeds 50 it may become cost effective to consider custom personality cards to reduce recurring costs. C&H has extensive experience with both approaches.