PCB Equipment
Gardien provides a range of quality verification equipment for the printed circuit board industry. Our solutions include in-house designed and assembled flying probe machines and ground-breaking equipment partnerships with some of the industry's leading companies specializing in fixture based and optical imaging inspection systems.
Fixture Testers
Fixture based electrical testers are highly flexible from part number to part number. The tester requires a mechanical fixture to be generated for each part number. The fixture is used as a connector between the PCB and the electrical tester. The cost to produce these fixtures varies on fixture, tester, and PCB technology.
Fixture based electrical testers are excellent for medium and high-volume production lots. The production is processed quickly.
All fixture based testers can be manufacture with manual PCB load, manual load auto unload and sort, auto load auto unload and sort.
Partnership with Kaima
Gardien, a world leader in Electrical Test and Quality Assurance, is very particular in the equipment we use and offer. Kaima, with their robust, customizable equipment and varied options, has proven to be a strong ally. After each company considered the other's strengths, a partnership was formed, which has allowed us to become a great team.
Categories of Fixture Testers
Flying Probe Testers
Gardien has been present in the PCB industry since the advent of the personal computer. In our beginning as Mania, the company that pioneered some of the first electrical grid testers used by PCB fabricators. We still produce world class leading equipment to this day, such as our line of Gardien Flying Probe Testers and our Acceler8 Scanning System.
Gardien's flying probe equipment is designed and assembled at our Center of Excellence, located in Limburg, Germany. Our machines are the result of literally decades of PCB inspection know-how, and strike the perfect balance of functionality and affordability.
Options
4-Wire Kelvin
Embedded component test
HiPot
Insulation test
Inductance
Reverse Engineering (Self Learn)
Key Features
Enhanced Calibration
Increase Reliability Self Checks
Job Validation
Quick / hassle free setup
Electrical Test Sequences (Test Methods)
Multi PCB Testing
Multi Job Testing
Safe Thin Panel Processing
Probe Mark Reduction
Board ID Control
Secure PCB Management
Categories of Flying Probe Testers
Visual / Optical Inspection
AVI & AOI
AVI (Automatic Visual Inspection) is a camera enabled system that identifies defects in manufacturing, typically on outer layers of finished PCBs, such as scratches, discoloration, contamination, exposure errors, resist defects, etc… Basically everything that a Final QA inspector would be looking for.
AOI (Automated Optical Inspection) is a camera enabled system that scans PCB inner layers for errors such as damaged traces/pads, bridges between inner layer features, feature length and width, etc…
Typically, in a standard PCB manufacturing facility, there will be a department where people perform inspection of PCBs, utilizing a manual processes, such as visual inspection with magnifiers, microscopes, etc...
Multiple studies have shown that over time, the human brain and eyeballs get tired, and begin to miss obvious errors and imperfections.
An AVI system, which utilizes cameras and software to compare the manufactured PCB to CAD/CAM data, removes this burden from the employee, by identifying only those PCBs which require a deeper look, saving the operator from hours spent, and hours contributing to fatigue, from looking at what are mostly acceptable PCBs.
Partnership with Image Technology (Kaima)
Shenzhen Image Technology Co., Ltd. was founded in 2007 as the first AVI equipment manufacturer in China. Today, the company's primary focus remains PCB Visual inspection system solutions for the printed circuit board industry.
Categories of Optical Inspection
Equipment Upgrades
Our equipment upgrades provide a range of options and enhancements for both hardware and software on your existing Mania/Gardien equipment.
Flying Probe upgrades
While our machines are delivered to ensure a quality test out of the box, some options may have been passed over at the time of initial purchase. For example, a customer may not have foreseen the need to test at a higher voltage, or a requirement to utilize Kelvin, HiPot, or Induction testing. These are just a few of the available options and upgrades that can be added post purchase to the majority of our equipment. Depending upon the equipment, occasionally additional hardware will be needed. However, these enhancements can be added simply through the acquisition and/or upgrading of new or current software, utilizing the unique features and design of our FPX Test Software.
Miscellaneous Software (UCAMCO, FixGen, FPX)
If you are looking for complete autonomy in your test department, such as the requirement to handle data preparation, enhanced testing, and verification and repair, Gardien can provide solutions. We can provide complete software packages such as Ucamco data preparation software, FixGen fixturing software, FPX test software, and FaultStation verification and repair software, which utilizes barcoding technology to access log files from the test machine to enable an operator to quickly and efficiently identify and repair errors during test. Finally, our FPX test software, with its powerful user interface, can provide a plethora of data and reports. These can be tailored to your needs including detailed test reports, and database integration for SPC and lot analysis.
Categories of Equipment Upgrades
Handling Machines
A complete range of PCB handling machines includes resolving loading, unloading, manipulating, and in-factory transport to, from, and between the different production processes.
Partnership with Waxco Line, S.L.
Waxco Line, S.L. started up in 1965, experienced in service to the PCB manufacturing industry by developing WAXCO LINE: a complete range of PCB handling machines.
