Put the most powerful instrument on your board – the CPU – to work performing structural and functional diagnostics, debug routines and tests all in one pass.
Embedded in that CPU on your circuit board are the instruments that are critical for overcoming today’s design challenges. Given the complexity of board designs and chips, you need access to this on-chip technology to diagnose, debug and test your designs. One of the tools that makes up the ScanWorks platform for embedded instruments is Processor-Controlled Test (PCT). It takes advantage of the CPU’s debug port for access to the circuit board so it can perform board debug, device initialization, at-speed functional test with structural diagnostics and much more. PCT is just one of several ScanWorks tools which address every stage in a product’s life cycle.
With the PCT Development software, design or test engineers can debug prototypes using low-level control of the processor, as well as develop test and diagnostics tools for manufacturing and repair facilities. Testing platforms designed with Intel® Architectures (IA) can be extremely difficult and testing memories near impossible, however PCT targets Intel Core® and Intel Xeon® to provide better (no BIOS), faster (automated), and precise (bit level) functional tests.
Memory testing for Intel-based Core and Xeon designs is automated, using unique methods within PCT tool
Memory diagnostics to rank, device and bit-level
For Intel customers, BIOS independence is a key value, and no BIOS is needed to use PCT in any product life-cycle phase
I/O tests for Intel-based Core and Xeon design are automated with PCT automation test generation
User Control - Create additional bus tests, other memory tests and I/O scripts, using standard TCL scripting language
With the PCT Manufacturing software, test operators with minimal training can apply structural and functional tests to circuit boards on the assembly line. The return on investment is very fast due to the lower costs for hardware, software and labor. Re-use of tests developed during prototype stages also keeps engineering costs down.
With embedded PCT, information about difficult-to-reproduce failures in the field can be captured for analysis.
The ScanWorks platform for embedded instruments is supported by a wide variety of hardware controllers and accessories with which engineers can connect ScanWorks to their unit under test (UUT). Hardware is available for development, production and repair environments. The test platform required for ScanWorks is either a standard PC or a system with a built-in (embedded) JTAG controller.
