BLANKENLOCH, Germany - Digitaltest, a manufacturer of advanced PCB test solutions releases Condor MTS-500 Flying Probe Tester. Condor MTS-500 incorporates new drive technology, linear motors, and closed-loop technology that according to Digitaltest, results in 30% faster test speed than previous models while continuing to provide high accuracy in fine pitch applications.

It has options that include Digitaltest’s proprietary ‘Soft Landing’ technology, that according to the vendor guarantees damage-free testing of even the most delicate high-density boards as well as integrated boundary-scan.

The non-multiplexed system structure is able to emulate existing test programs and fixtures from other platforms like GenRad, Teradyne, Agilent etc. The ability to exchange programs and fixtures with other test manufacturers' systems effectively makes the MTS300 a 'neutral platform' that can save both time and money.

BEAVERTON, OR - Polar Instruments releases Speedstack 2.0, an automated PCB stack-up creation tool. Accoording to Polar the tool reduces the time required for electronic engineers or PCB fabricators to create and document multi-layer printed circuit board stackups.

Speedstack uses basic information such as the overall board thickness, number of layers and target impedance to generate a number of virtual stacks based on a library of generic or real-time material costs, availability and lead-times. Users then balance different criteria by ranking the potential stacks by cost, finished thickness, or the availability of materials. Speedstack 2.0 has an autostack VSR (Virtual Stack Realization) engine that performs a Monte Carlo analysis on 10,000 virtual builds of each stack to provide a statistical profile of board thickness and an accurate prediction of production yields.