Alfamation, a provider of turnkey test and measurement solutions, has announced a new test system for manufacturing quality control of in-car wireless chargers. The new tester supports different charging standards, including Qi, PMA and more, as well as Near Field Communications (NFC).
Due to its architecture, the in-line tester can perform parallel, or multi-site, functional test of up to four devices at the same time. This enables it to have a high throughput as required for automotive mass production, ensuring productivity is high and costs are minimized. The system is a standardized platform, thus simplifying maintenance.
Wireless charging will soon be present in nearly all smartphones, so cars will have to support it. This means that the automotive industry will need to thoroughly test chargers integrated into vehicles. Car manufacturers will need to support multiple standards used for wireless charging, and to handle the complexities of testing all variants quickly, reliably and cost-effectively. Additionally, not just the actual power transfer must be tested. Nowadays, chargers and batteries are smart and they communicate with each other to optimize charging, so this communication protocol must also be tested.
“The company has been working closely with customers to develop a completely automated solution based upon their use cases, capable of performing multiple tests with a pass/fail sorting control,” said Mauro Arigossi, CEO. “The tester will continue to be developed, and will soon be able to accommodate new features for higher test capabilities and wider standards coverage.”
The tester includes integrated infeed and outfeed conveyors, with integrated load/unload robot handling. It has up to four smart fixtures, which are quickly interchangeable and require only Ethernet, power and compressed air connections. It also simulates the charging cycle and loading, and allows for controlled antennas shift testing. A QR reader aids management and tracking, ensuring the tester can be integrated in a modern full-automated flexible production line, and be used in Industry 4.0 applications.
The system integrates automotive DUT communication, including CAN and LIN. It includes 64-bit Supernova 4.0 /NI TestStand test executive software, and test application development is possible by configuration and scripting.
