MTM Case Study: High Volume

“When you go deer hunting, you don’t need a bazooka. MTM is the right size tool for production tests.”

MTM/BrainStem technology allows easy integration of instrumentation directly into test fixtures. One major mobile OEM used Acroname technology to integrate a BrainStem power supply directly into their fixtures, saving over $20M in programmable power supplies and related line space.

The Problem

Programmable power supplies are typically required for high volume production testing to power the DUT and monitor power consumption. In this case, the customer required over 20,000 power supplies for a very fast ramp to high volume production rates. The power supply manufacturer was not able to supply this quantity of power supplies within the required lead time.

The Solution

Acroname’s BrainStem-enabled power modules presented a much more elegant approach than the originally specified external power supply. As a module and not a full external supply, the Acroname power modules could be manufactured in volume 80% faster than the traditional programmable power supplies - well within the deadlines to support the customer’s aggressive volume ramp.

In addition, the Acroname power module was 70% less expensive than the traditional programmable power supply and 97% smaller. So much smaller that the module was able to be integrated directly in to the customer’s test fixtures.

The Results

By using Acroname’s BrainStem-enabled power modules, the customer was able to meet their production schedule and completely eliminate the need for expensive external programmable power supplies, saving approximately $1000 per station or over $20M in capital cost. Since the Acroname programmable power module was able to be integrated directly into the production test fixtures, the Acroname solution also saved 20% of the total bench space for each station.