From Design Development to Production, One STE to Test Them All

Test equipment used to support engineering design development typically differs from the test equipment used to perform acceptance testing in a production factory. Because the timeframe in which engineering and production test equipment are needed during a product lifecycle is staggered, a program will develop two sets of test equipment for a single product. The primary driver for this strategy results from the long development cycles typically required of production test equipment or Special Test Equipment (STE). This drives the product design engineers to develop their own test benches, or lash-up equipment, so that they can begin integrating and testing their hardware as soon as it arrives. However, what if the barrier for the long STE development cycle were removed? What if a program could deliver test equipment within a 10-month timeframe, from when detailed physical block diagrams and requirements for the product were available to when the test equipment was built and ready to be integrated with the Unit Under Test (UUT)? With the right planning and test strategy, the need for unique engineering test benches would be eliminated. This paper explores the strategy for developing a single STE, which can be used throughout the entire life of a program from development to design verification to production. Additionally, the paper explores the methodology for implementing a 10-month STE development cycle through the use of a common core test capability, composable test capabilities for product unique capabilities, and product artifacts required to interface the test equipment to the product.