Vol. 4, No. 3
DiagnoSYS Systems, Inc.
808 North Hoagland Blvd.
Kissimmee FL 34741
800.788.6219 . 407.846.6202
Fax 407.846.6416
{We've Moved!} |{Tech Tips from the Pros} |{Expanding Staff?} |{Spotlight On}
{Editor's Note/Your Comments Welcome} |{Important Links}
The Knights of Labor organized their first parade on September 5, 1882 in New York City to celebrate the economic and social achievement of workers. Little did they realize their special day would also mark the official end of the summer for millions of children, teachers and parents alike.
This year, the holiday has an added meaning for DiagnoSYS, and the start of the trade show season.
September traditionally brings us AUTOTESTCON and ASSEMBLY Technology Expo/SMTA International in consecutive weeks, or with a week of breathing room between shows. However, a funny thing happened on the way to the shows this year. Both events are scheduled for the same week in different cities.
But wait, there's more! DiagnoSYS supplies test and inspection products and services to the transportation sector. With this comes a new event to attend, the International Public Transportation Expo 2005 (IPTE 2005), also held the same week.
Always up for a challenge, DiagnoSYS will be displaying products at all three events. We invite you to stop by our booth at any of the three conferences to find out what's new, ask a question or simply say hello.
AUTOTESTCON 2005
September 26-29 - Orlando - Booth 404
ASSEMBLY Technology Expo/SMTA International
September 27-29 - Rosemont IL - Booth 5523
International Public Transportation Expo 2005
September 26-28 - Dallas - Booth 245
You may have heard Dave Miller's name if you've been around the test industry for more than a couple of years. He's been in the business for more than 30 years. Dave recently joined DiagnoSYS as the Southeast Sales Director, bringing a wealth on knowledge about the business with experience in chip, bare board and semiconductor test areas.
If you're located in the Southeast, Dave's the man to help you identify a solution to your test needs.
An official announcement is in the works, so stand by for a news releases about Dave joining DiagnoSYS.
DiagnoSYS Systems, Inc. has put it all together with its move to larger quarters in Kissimmee. The new facility at 808 North Hoagland Drive, Kissimmee, is just four miles from the old Park Place Boulevard location, but it's double the size, increasing the company's ability to serve its customers. DiagnoSYS offers comprehensive test, inspection and programming solutions along with contract testing services from the new offices
"The new offices allowed us to consolidate from several buildings into a single location to provide faster delivery of product and support with everyone under the same roof," said Tim Webb, President, DiagnoSYS Systems. "We now have the room to continue our growth in the new building, and options to expand our space as we increase the size and scope of our product and service offerings."
The expanded space includes a self-contained training facility, complete with multimedia presentation Final machine configurations, systems calibrations, refurbishment and repairs take place in an ESD lab adjacent to the training facility. A CCR 2000 conformal coating removal system rounds out the lab area.
You've finished entering the board layout into TestVue32. You've attached the clips to the last device. You're ready to view the schematic. You click the button and receive "NETLOAD ERROR . . . can not find pinAttr Pin X." Your retrace your steps to make sure everything has been completed in the correct order, still no schematic.
Congratulations. You may have made a very common mistake when you defined the board layout.
TestVUE 32, like most software, looks at the 'black and white' of the information. In this case, it's literally the black and white of a block diagram of the board.
Defining active devices on a board is a straightforward process. Each component has a part number that becomes the unique identifier needed by Net Gen to successfully build a schematic of the board. Definitions of most components reside in the device library that's part of TestVUE 32.
Using a standard name when you are entering the board layout allows the software to cross reference the information against the library to find the correct device definition. You have successfully reverse-engineered the board down to the circuit level.
Errors occur when you use the same name for multiple unknown devices. This happens frequently with connectors. A board may have two or more different types of connectors, with different pin counts. We're tempted to identify e ach connector with the same name - conn, connect or connector.
One way to avoid this trap is to add the number of pins to the name or use the reference designator as part of the name. For example, if we have a two-pin and a six-pin connector on the same board, we can use the names conn2p and conn6p as the identifiers. Or, if we use the reference designators, they may be called connJ1 or connJ2. Either way, you are using unique names for each connector.
Bring newbies up to speed with Factory-Based Training. We hold basic classes monthly at our Kissimmee offices. Let us know how many people you want to train and which month is best for your schedules. We'll do the rest!
Here's the schedule for the rest of this year:
- October 10-14
- November 14-18
- December 5-9
Look for the next edition of eTESTtalk for 2006 training dates.
Class size is limited. Contact us today to request a spot in the class.
Need more in-depth training? Try our advanced class! Contact Rob Profeta today for more details.
Editor’s note: The Spotlight On section of our newsletter will focus on one of our distribution partner, direct staff or an end user of DiagnoSYS products and services. This issue features one of our Kissimmee based staff members.
The Spotlight is on DiagnoSYS' own Rob Profeta based in the Kissimmee office. Rob joined the DiagnoSYS team in 1998 as an applications engineer, also helping Engineering Manager Terry Harvell as a part-time trainer. He moved into more of a full-time training role in 2003.
Rob was no stranger to the test industry before joining DiagnoSYS. He spent 10 years testing chips and bare die, sorting out known good die (KGD) for use in military, avionics and other non-fault tolerant products. One thing lacking was the challenge of testing complete boards, a challenge offered with his move to DiagnoSYS.
The transition to training was a natural for Rob. His drive to help others started back in school at Widener University (Chester, PA) where he was always helping his friends and dorm mates with their studies. Earning his BSEE was just a step along the path to his current duties at DiagnoSYS.
Working in test for Rob, has always been about finding the hidden "Easter egg" — the missing part or fault. He looks at test challenge like a "whodunit" mystery, with all of the intrigue surrounding a hidden fault. The satisfaction of fixing something declared unfixable or not easily done motivates him daily.
Speaking of satisfaction, two of Rob's most memorable training trips involve the Navy and visits to two aircraft carriers in the Pacific. The trips afforded Rob an opportunity to help with our national defense by providing onsite training to the ship board techs.
Each training class presents a different set of challenges due to the varied background of his students. Rob tailors each session to accommodate every student's abilities and talents.
"Somebone can know something, but that doesn't mean they can explain it that well to others," Rob said. "Sharing the knowledge sometimes is a challenge."
His motto is: "If people aren't having fun, they aren't learning."
Thanks, Rob, for a job well done.
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