The automotive industry plays a crucial role in the global economy, by job creation, economic development and technological advancements. Due to the competitiveness in the automotive sector, companies constantly need to adopt technological innovations and automation to remain competitive in the global market. Automated electrical testing of printed circuit boards (PCB) guarantees the reliability and performance of automotive systems. This work aims to develop a new modular PCB testing equipment, including the mechanical design, the construction of the prototype, and the cost analysis. The machine must operate autonomously in PCB production lines after the completion of component assembly, being capable of receiving different modules to enable in-circuit tests or functional tests on various PCBs. The construction of the machine consists of three main elements: a transport system (conveyor), a pressing system, and the interchangeable modules, containing the needle matrix, to provide the necessary flexibility to test different PCBs. The project followed the Design Science Research (DSR) methodology, and it was successfully completed and validated by the welcoming company. The financial analysis performed on the prototype of the test machine predicted a profit margin on sales between 79.6% and 169.4%.
Neves et al. (Fri,) studied this question.