GENRAD'S JUNCTION XPRESS BREAKS NEW GROUND IN SURFACE MOUNT TECHNOLOGY FAULT DETECTION; Patent Pending Vectorless Testing Tool Part of Industry's Most Comprehensive SMT Test Toolsuite.CONCORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 21, 1995 -- GenRad, Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :GEN) today introduced Junction Xpress(TM), a breakthrough surface mount technology testing tool that detects and identifies faults using the industry's most accurate, timely and cost-effective vectorless technique. Junction Xpress is the centerpiece of GenRad's new Test Xpress Toolsuite(TM), a comprehensive set of software tools also announced today, which addresses the testing challenges of new packaging technologies while complementing traditional digital testing techniques. Patent applications have been filed and are pending. Junction Xpress not only detects today's most common faults in SMT (1) (Surface Mount Technology) See surface mount. (2) (Station ManagemenT) An FDDI network management protocol that provides direct management. Only one node requires the software. SMT - Station Management production, but also precisely distinguishes the location of each failure. This innovative vectorless technique saves users up to several weeks of time and expense during the testing program preparation phase. Overclamp fixtures, probes, additional circuitry and digital instrumentation are no longer required using this technique which leads to additional cost savings. Junction Xpress' sophisticated component pin signal analysis software, and automated test program generation capabilities, offer users the highest level of test productivity, accuracy and stability. Together with GenRad's other Test Xpress tools, Junction Xpress forms the industry's most comprehensive toolsuite to provide complete solutions for surface mount testing. In addition to Junction Xpress, the Test Xpress Toolsuite includes: Orient o·ri·ent v. 1. To locate or place in a particular relation to the points of the compass. 2. To align or position with respect to a point or system of reference. 3. Xpress(TM) for determining proper device orientation; Cap Xpress(TM) for testing polarized A one-way direction of a signal or the molecules within a material pointing in one direction. capacitors; and Opens Xpress(TM), GenRad's existing test tool for the detection of open pins in components, connectors and sockets. GenRad's Junction Xpress and other Test Xpress Toolsuite components can be used on an individual or collective basis with any of GenRad's GR228X systems -- including the newly introduced, cost-effective Stinger(TM) Production Test System -- offering users truly scaleable testing solutions. "The introduction of Junction Xpress and the Test Xpress Toolsuite is a reflection of GenRad's leadership in developing and delivering today's most advanced testing solutions for electronic manufacturing," said James F. Lyons, President and Chief Executive Officer of GenRad. "Junction Xpress not only represents a true technology breakthrough, but -- along with the Test Xpress Toolsuite -- also addresses cost of ownership by allowing our customers to expand the testing power and reach of their existing systems, without a significant investment of time and money." More About Junction Xpress The Junction Xpress tool utilizes innovative vectorless test techniques to provide users with highly accurate detection of today's most common faults in SMT production, while saving users time and expense during the test program preparation phase. Junction Xpress finds open pins and marginal solder solder (sŏd`ər), metal alloy used in the molten state as a metallic binder. The type of solder to be used is determined by the metals to be united. Soft solders are commonly composed of lead and tin and have low melting points. Hard solders (i. joints on integrated circuits Integrated circuits Miniature electronic circuits produced within and upon a single semiconductor crystal, usually silicon. Integrated circuits range in complexity from simple logic circuits and amplifiers, about 1/20 in. (1. of any packaging type including pin-grid arrays, ball-grid arrays and flip chips A chip packaging technique in which the active area of the chip is "flipped over" facing downward. Instead of facing up and bonded to the package leads with wires from the outside edges of the chip, any surface area of the flip chip can be used for interconnection, which is typically done , and is insensitive in·sen·si·tive adj. 1. Not physically sensitive; numb. 2. a. Lacking in sensitivity to the feelings or circumstances of others; unfeeling. b. to heat sinks A material that absorbs heat. Typically made of aluminum, heat sinks are widely used in amplifiers and other electronic devices that build up heat. Small heat sinks are the most economical method for cooling microprocessors and other chips. and spacers. "The Junction Xpress technique offers a more economical and reliable solution to vectorless testing than competing methods because it can be performed with a traditional bed-of-nails fixture An article in the nature of Personal Property which has been so annexed to the realty that it is regarded as a part of the real property. That which is fixed or attached to something permanently as an appendage and is not removable. without additional probes," said Gerhard Lipski, Director of Marketing for GenRad's Board Test Business. "Junction Xpress' unmatched fault detection capabilities lie in the tool's sophisticated software which analyzes the signals emanating from the component pins and provides a more accurate identification of faults. As a result, the test is extremely stable and overcomes component lot differences -- a significant limitation of other vectorless techniques on the market." With Junction Xpress, test programs are generated automatically, and in a matter of minutes A Matter of Minutes is an episode from the television series The New Twilight Zone. Cast
boundary scan - The use of scan registers to capture state from device input and output pins. IEEE Standard 1149.1-1990 describes the international standard implementation (sometimes called JTAG after the Joint Test Action Group which began the testing and GenRad's Opens Xpress. Test Xpress Toolsuite Components In addition to Junction Xpress, GenRad's Test Xpress Toolsuite offers users the only comprehensive and scaleable set of tools for meeting the unique challenges of surface mount testing. Test Xpress Toolsuite components include: Cap Xpress Cap Xpress is a newly devised test technique to quickly and accurately detect one of the most troublesome SMT production failures -- the reverse polarized capacitor capacitor or condenser, device for the storage of electric charge. Simple capacitors consist of two plates made of an electrically conducting material (e.g., a metal) and separated by a nonconducting material or dielectric (e.g. . Until now, the only way you had to uncover these faults was time-consuming, manual inspection. It is the first commercially available method that reliably identifies these hard-to-find faults. Orient Xpress Mis-inserted SMT components are the bane BANE. This word was formerly used to signify a malefactor. Bract. 1. 2, t. 8, c. 1. of production lines where the processing of multiple board types requires repeated changeovers of production and testing equipment. Now, Orient Xpress not only catches misoriented components accurately and reliably, but also provides corrective cor·rec·tive adj. Counteracting or modifying what is malfunctioning, undesirable, or injurious. n. An agent that corrects. corrective, n feedback to the production line to prevent the mis-insertion from reoccurring. The simplicity and integrity of Orient Xpress virtually eliminates false-fault failure. A patent application has been filed and is pending. Opens Xpress Up-front opens testing saves money and time. Opens Xpress provides a simple, reliable, and economical way to identify opens to the specific pin on connectors and sockets. The time and expense to generate device libraries or test procedures for those devices is no longer necessary because Opens Xpress testing is unpowered Adj. 1. unpowered - not having or using power; "an autogiro is supported in flight by unpowered rotating wings" powered - (often used in combination) having or using or propelled by means of power or power of a specified kind; "powered flight"; "kerosine-powered . Test procedures are automatically generated from a circuit description of the board. Junction Xpress/Toolsuite Availability Individual Test Xpress tools and the entire Test Xpress Toolsuite will be available in the fourth quarter of 1995. Delivery is eight weeks ARO. Company Background GenRad Inc. is a leading worldwide supplier of integrated test, measurement and diagnostic solutions for the manufacture and maintenance of electronic products. The Company offers products and services in two core business areas: electronic manufacturing test systems and vehicle diagnostic systems. Worldwide, GenRad employs approximately 1,000 people. -0- BY USING GENRAD, INC.'S INVESTOR RELATIONS Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. FAX-ON-DEMAND SERVICE, YOU CAN RECEIVE GENRAD'S MOST CURRENT SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION. PLEASE CALL 1-800-469-1261. CONTACT: GenRad Inc. Donna L. LaVoie Gerd Lipski 508-287-7432 508-287-7643 |
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