Test fixture
also: test jig · production test station
Custom hardware that holds a board or product and connects it to test equipment, so every unit can be tested quickly and repeatably on the production line.
A fixture positions the unit precisely, makes electrical contact (through spring-loaded pins, connectors or clamps) and links it to the instruments and software that run the test sequence and record results. Fixtures range from simple clamshells for programming a board to automated stations that check radios, sensors and actuators.
Fixture design depends on design-for-test decisions made during layout: test-point size and spacing, board edges, tooling holes. Fixtures are NRE and have their own lead times, so they must be designed alongside the product, not after it.
Where it bites: late fixture design delays PVT, and fixtures without maintenance and calibration (worn pins, drifting instruments) produce false failures or, worse, false passes.
Founder takeaway
Start fixture design when the PCB layout is close to final, and include fixture maintenance and calibration in the factory's quality plan.
engineer review pending