Integrating Mass Interconnects with SLSC and HIL Systems

The Customer

Virginia Panel Corporation (VPC) provides reliable handheld connectors with high cycle life, which serve as excellent breakouts to connect your bulkhead panel to your DUT. Experts who design and manufacture HIL systems, prefer VPC’s iSeries connectors for their reliability and high density. 

The Solutions

One designer of HIL testing systems created a solution that provides a simple, yet highly-flexible connection point between the DUT and resources in a Switch/Load/Signal Conditioning (SLSC)-based test system. The panel uses VPC’s i2 Micro iCon connector, a slim-designed connector capable of routing 160 DUT signals to multiple SLSC modules and other system resources. 

As an added feature,they elected to have the breakout functionality built-in to the panel to prevent removal for other projects/programs. While many customers will elect for the breakout functionality in a standalone interchangeable test adapter (ITA), industry culture finds the panel uses VPC’s highly-reliable, high-density i2 Micro iCon connector to route 160 DUT signals to multiple SLSC modules and other system resources.

Connections within the system are made with standard D-shell connectors. Each of the DUT's signals pass through a pair of standard 2mm test points which allows each signal to be disconnected, probed and patched for the ultimate in test flexibility. Unlike breakout boxes, which often get “borrowed” on a semi-permanent basis, the breakout functionality built into the system cannot be removed and is always available.