RF TEST EQUIPMENT
Test assembly and implementation of RF Test Benches require heavy investments for device and system manufacturers. A reliable solution capable of testing innovative products is a guarantee of quality that reduces costs and time to market.
AMCAD offers innovative RF Test Equipment directly inspired by the connected objects methodology. The hardware status used by the test bench is monitored in real time to optimize test speed without compromising on safety. Coupled with IQSTAR, they form a complete turnkey solution.
Our proposal in a few words
Ease of control: Standardizing the various communication protocols between instruments to facilitate high-level control.
Accessibility/efficiency/safety: Our test bench gateway serves as a bridge between the specific needs of each instrument and the constraints imposed by the high-level software application
Safety: Additional safety functions such as the management of a punch stop, the management of temperature and humidity sensors, sequencing of operation between instruments during an alarm
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Automatic Test Equipment
Our original solution comprises different types of test equipment with specific functionalities.
Part of the equipment directly fulfills the RF functions necessary to test the product using several commercial instruments and is supplemented with test frames designed and customized by AMCAD to meet the customer’s requirements.
All these instruments are interconnected through a test bench gateway acting as the bench’s brain, standardizing the dialogue between the various heterogeneous instruments connected and facilitating high-level control of the final application. Such a configuration ensures a high level of robustness, efficiency, and security of the overall solution.
The hardware is advantageously completed by the IQSTAR software, which coordinates different test stages through the test bench gateway, offering the end user a double advantage of having an adapted solution to the customer’s needs while being robust and easy to handle.
Typical Use Case
Via the test bench gateway, IQSTAR can, for example, take indirect control of a complex test bench, including the control of more than 10 different benchtop instruments, two specialized test drawers, a cryostat, temperature sensors, and different security signals and alarms.
– Standardized software interface for harmonized hardware control: regardless of the brand of the benchtop instruments to be integrated into the test rack, IQSTAR software provides the same user experience to the person in charge of operating the bench minimizing the need to learn and adapt to different instruments user-interfaces. The standardized man-machine interface eliminates the manufacturers’ specific control of the instruments, greatly simplifying the operator’s work..
– Standardized hardware interface for harmonized building block control: In order to enhance the measurement experience in a complex environment, the test bench gateway filters out the low-level monitoring actions of the peripherals (operating parameters, electrical consumption, tests environment conditions, specifications drift, etc.). This data filtering avoids cluttering the communication buses by reducing the amount of data to be interpreted by the application software, simplifying the overall operation without reducing the level of security required.
– Real-time monitoring of hardware performances (RF Power, T°, Voltage, current supplies) for optimal and stable operating conditions.
Success Stories
AMCAD has provided a turn-key measurement solution to THALES AVS FRANCE, to test multi-channel RF amplifiers designed for space telecommunications.
A new measurement bench architecture has been developed to speed up and automate the testing of multi-channel Solid-State Power Amplifiers. In addition to bench control, the system under test can be managed with power control, telemetry, and remote-control capabilities. This architecture is designed to support different stages of amplifier development, from prototyping to final qualification, while ensuring comprehensive test reports.
AMCAD reached another milestone.
The new AMCAD engineering team based in Toulouse, the city of Aerospace Industry, delivered and installed a new RF solution to Thales Alenia Space.
In the 19-inch chassis, different RF building blocks where assembled to provide optimized specifications as defined in the Statement of Work provided by the end user.
What sets us apart ?
All of our equipment is tested and verified by our engineers specialized in RF tests. AMCAD has a measurement laboratory equipped with recent and calibrated test equipment. The modules are delivered with a complete test report.