Connect - ASSET InterTech

To increase test coverage on printed circuit boards (PCB), the most recent release of ScanWorks (Version 3.8) includes a new feature called External I/O Management. This new capability simplifies the extending of boundary-scan test coverage to signals that are routed off of the PCB through a connector. Since these signals are not routed as part of an on-board boundary-scan path which terminates in a JTAG test access port (TAP) connector, they can only be tested by boundary scan with a special hardware module. External I/O Management opens the ScanWorks environment to third-party suppliers of these hardware modules and it includes tools that simplify the testing of these signals and the implementation of these special hardware modules.

“What’s critical to ScanWorks users is test coverage,” said Alan Sguigna, ASSET’s vice president of sales and marketing. “The more test coverage ScanWorks can provide them, the better they like it. By opening ScanWorks so that it will function with technologies from other companies and third-parties we are extending the test coverage provided by ScanWorks and making it a more valuable tool for our users.”

External I/O Management gets around this predicament by linking the off-board signals back into ScanWorks by way of a hardware I/O module such as ASSET’s Boundary Scan 400 I/O module (BSIO-400), or other such modules that are available from third-party vendors, such as the AccessExtender™ family of modules from JEK-Tech™ (www.jek-tech.com) of Nashua, NH. Users could also design their own I/O module.

The new External I/O Management feature simplifies the use of third-party I/O modules by providing an easy-to-use graphical interface which helps engineers assign test resources to the off-board signals that are to be tested. ScanWorks 3.8 already includes electronic files that describe the BSIO-400 and the Access Extender family of modules so these modules can be quickly implemented to test off-board signals. In addition, users can easily create descriptive files of any I/O modules they have designed on their own. Because ScanWorks does not need a netlist of the external I/O module, any test coverage report compiled by ScanWorks focuses solely on the test coverage of the board-under-test, not the I/O module.

ASSET’s BSIO-400 provides 400 JTAG test channels which can provide ScanWorks access to a circuit board’s off-board I/O. Each channel is controlled individually and can be configured as either an input or an output. The AccessExtender family of boundary-scan I/O modules provides 100 bi-directional test channels at various voltage levels.

“My past experiences managing a boundary-scan test applications service organization showed me that users need flexible and cost-effective hardware options which can easily extend boundary-scan test coverage while easing its implementation,” said Joe Kadaras, founder and manager of JEK-Tech. “The AccessExtender family is one of our first product lines. Another is a family of scan test cable adapters.”