Technological Advances and Growing Need for Comprehensive Testing Solutions to Fuel Demand for Printed Circuit Board Automatic Test Equipment

Frost: The European electronic manufacturing industry is witnessing surging demand for printed circuit board (PCB) automatic test equipment (ATE) to identify defects in electronic assemblies and improve product quality. Hence, new testing technologies, strategies and rising demand for comprehensive and complete testing solutions are expected to contribute to the growth of the PCB ATE market.

The European Printed Circuit Board Automatic Test Equipment Markets earned revenues of $216.4 million in 2005 and estimates this to reach $278.3 million in 2012.

Increasing board densities and the growing requirement for PCBs to perform in high temperature and humidity environments have led to major concerns related to reliability problems. Hence, boundary scan techniques that facilitate testing without physical access are rapidly becoming a viable option for advanced technology end users, thereby supporting overall market development.

Boundary scan is expected to boost overall market demand due to the benefits of cost savings as well as its reusable options. Further, due to the growing emphasis on safety issues particularly in the automotive industry and the establishment of high standards, the functional test market is likely to exhibit exciting growth. The functional test and boundary scan segments will generate significant revenues in the next five years due to the growing requirements of safety and value for money

Over the past five years, the typical distribution of fault classes during circuit board assembly has undergone a considerable change. In addition, circuit boards are becoming inaccessible for ‘bed of nails’ fixtures. There is also a major discrepancy between faults occurring in the current board manufacturing environments and the capabilities of the installed base of testers. Thus, this shift in the fault spectrum signifies that while the occurrence of faults is declining, the cost of testing continues to remain high.

Moreover, shortening product development cycles and more responsive supply chain management have become elements that are considered critical by successful electronics manufacturers and ATE vendors will need to introduce test systems to reflect such market changes, states Ms. Vijayan.

New electrical products such as personal computers (PCs), notebooks, modules, camcorders and cellular phones are likely to become increasingly complex. Consequentially, the demand for advanced packaging and interconnect technologies will also intensify. Hence, test equipment vendors will need to concentrate on systems that are capable of testing such miniature and complex boards.

In recent times, while the majority of test equipment continues to be manufactured in North America and Europe, there has been a shift in focus towards countries in the Asia Pacific, primarily China. In view of the intensifying competition in the test equipment market, providing greater price cuts will become difficult due to low profit margins. As a result, European vendors will need to shift base to low-cost regions to sustain their profit margins.

PCB ATE equipment vendors are also facing competition from system integrators and end users such as contract manufacturers that develop in-house test systems. As a result of the increasing 'design-and-build applications' from contract manufacturers, test vendors would do well to forge alliances with these companies to increase their market share.

European Printed Circuit Board Automatic Test Equipment Markets is part of the Test and Measurement Subscription, which also includes research in the following markets: in-circuit testers (ICT), functional testers, boundary scan testers and manufacturing defect analysers. This research service includes detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews are available to the press.

European Printed Circuit Board Automatic Test Equipment Markets DRM? Wikipedia ; Red Viking Publ 20060426