Production Test Systems
Virinco designs and builds automated test equipment (ATE) that verifies electronics in production — fixtures, instrumentation, test software and per-unit traceability. We have done it for more than 25 years, as an authorized NI Partner and Keysight Partner, for products we designed ourselves and for products we did not.
- Experience
- 25+ years building automated test equipment
- Partner status
- Authorized NI Partner and Keysight Partner
- Test types
- Functional, in-circuit interface, boundary scan, HIL, end-of-line
- Traceability
- Per-unit records, limits, yield and process capability
- Sectors
- Defence, space, energy & maritime, industrial electronics
When should you bring test into a project?
Earlier than most teams do. Test access is nearly free to design in and expensive to add later: pads that a probe can reach, a connector that survives ten thousand cycles, a firmware mode that reports what the test needs to know.
When we are involved from the schematic, the test system tends to be simpler, faster and cheaper than the one we would have to build around a finished design. When we come in late, we say clearly what the design costs you in cycle time.
What you get
Test system
Rack or bench platform with instrumentation, control software and operator interface.
Fixtures
Mechanical interface to the product — probes, connectors, RF and thermal provisions.
Test program
Sequences, limits, calibration routines and pass/fail logic tied to your requirements.
Traceability
Every unit measured, recorded and retrievable — with yield and drift reporting.
Documentation
Operator instructions, maintenance procedures and acceptance protocol.
Handover
Training, spare strategy and support while the line takes ownership.
What we build on
Test platforms
- LabVIEW and TestStand
- PXI, CompactDAQ
- Keysight instrumentation
- Authorized NI and Keysight Partner
Electronics design & layout
- Altium Designer
- PCB design analysis and verification
- DC–GHz / mV–kV signalling
- 3D modelling
Mechanical design
- Test machines
- Test fixtures
- Custom interfaces
Turn-key test machines
- Complete ATE systems
- Virinco Test Platform
- Production line integration
Test strategy
- Design for Test consultancy
- Test specification review
- Platform evaluation and selection
- Test data management
Real-time test / HIL
- Hardware-in-the-loop rigs
- Test of complex real-time embedded systems
- Electrical emulation of sensors and actuators
How a test system gets built
Test strategy
Which requirements must be proven at which station, and what can be left to design verification. Written down before anything is built.
System design
Instrument selection, fixture concept, cycle time budget and cost per test point.
Build & correlate
System assembled and correlated against the reference units — measurement uncertainty quantified, not assumed.
Production handover
Acceptance run on your line, operators trained, documentation delivered, ownership transferred.
Verifying every unit before it ships
Some of Virinco's production test work is for defence, space and other high-reliability sectors, where every manufactured unit has to be verified before it ships. These systems replace manual measurement with repeatable, automated test — recording a result for every unit produced and giving the production line a clear, traceable pass or fail.
Questions we get asked
What is a production test system?
Also called automated test equipment, or ATE: a fixture, instrumentation and software package that verifies each manufactured unit against its requirements before it ships, and records the result. It replaces manual sampling with a repeatable measurement every operator can run.
Which test platform do you build on?
Most systems are built on National Instruments hardware and software — LabVIEW, TestStand, PXI and CompactDAQ — and on Keysight instrumentation, where Virinco holds authorized partner status with both. Where a customer already runs a different platform, we build on that instead.
Do you do hardware-in-the-loop testing?
Yes. For complex real-time embedded systems we build HIL rigs that electrically emulate sensors and actuators, so the control software is exercised against a simulated plant before it ever meets real hardware.
When should test be brought into a project?
During design, not after it. Test access — pads, connectors, firmware test modes — costs almost nothing to design in and is expensive to retrofit. Bringing test in at the schematic stage is one of the largest cost savings available.
Can you build test systems for a product Virinco did not design?
Yes. We regularly build test systems for products designed elsewhere. We start from your requirement specification and reference units.
Do you work with our existing test framework?
Yes. We build on standard instrumentation and existing test executives where they are in place, rather than replacing what works.
What happens after handover?
You own the system. We provide documentation, spares guidance and a support agreement, so the line has what it needs for ongoing operation and future product changes.