Project designation I iFixturing - New generation of Intelligent Testing Fixtures

Project code I NORTE-01-0247-FEDER-043922

Main objective I Strengthen research, technological development and innovation

Intervention region I Northern region

Beneficiary I InsideLimits, Lda; University of Minho; Center for Computer Graphics

Date of approval | 06/08/2019

Start date | 01/10/2019

End date | 30/09/2022

Total eligible cost | € 1.167.336,89

Financial support from the EU: € 899.707,22 (FEDER)

Objective: iFixturing aims providing INSIDELIMITS with the latest technologies to improve its products, a PCB’s ICT test system; by developing new products and tools to support the production of these systems (fixtures, test programs) as well as a significant improvement of its manufacturing process. These solutions will enable the testing system with a higher level of automation that will allow reducing manual intervention and increasing the quality and precision of the system, as well as guaranteeing repeatability of products (fixtures), reducing the time of production and cost to the company, favoring its competitive profile in the market. In addition, iFixturing will allow INSIDELIMITS to strengthen its competitive profile in offering test solutions on the market, in force both at national and international levels. The Project should also allow the reinforcement of the company's human resources structure, with three new highly qualified hires. In this sense, it is expectable an increased focus in the R&D area that will allow the company to increase its capacity to develop new products and, therefore, the creation of more added value in its markets and boost the increase of the customer portfolio. This Project’s innovations will be translated into at least one patent and eight technical and scientific publications, and in the requalification of INSIDELIMITS internal staff. For the execution of the Project, 10 highly qualified young staff will be hired for exclusive assignment to the proposed R&D work. These hires will have a positive impact on youth employment in the regions involved.

---

To achieve the defined objectives, a design and development of 4 R&D solutions (Projects) is proposed:
• P01: New system for automating the test equipment manufacturing process;
• P02: Nova wireless circuit test device;
• P03: New System for Simulation of Flexion Factors;
• P04: New ICT Test Support Software.

EPMQ is involved in the P02 and P04 projects.

In the P02 project, or EPMQ contributes to:
• a script to execute the connection of the electrical device interface such as shirts / needles;
• a PCB test point verification software solution for an electrical device, integrable with PCB development software

In the P04 project, EPMQ contributes to:
• New software to support ICT testing, a tool that allows the automated conversion of data received from customers to TRI test systems, as well as generating a report of components tested by specific test table.

---

Partners:

• INSIDLIMITS, Lda.
• Universidade do Minho
• CCG