Flying Probe Setup Options

The Test > Flying Probe node of the Process Options Editor provides the following setup options:

Number of Measurements

By default, aPriori calculates Flying Probe cycle time under the assumption that the number of measurements performed per part is the result of rounding up half the total number of holes on the outer layers (that is, fist layer and last layer) of the board:

roundup((Number of Holes in First Layer +
Number of Holes in Last Layer) / 2)

With the setup option Number of Measurements (defined by the Test > Flying Probe node of the Process Options Editor), users can override the default on a per-part basis. Cycle time is directly proportional to the number of measurements.

Measurement Speed

By default, Flying Probe cycle time is calculated under the assumption that the number of measurements performed per unit time is specified by the machine property Measurement Speed. If the machine property lacks a value, the measurement rate is assumed, by default, to be the value of the cost model variable defaultMeasurementSpeed (50 measurements per second in starting point Digital Factories).

With the setup option Measurement Speed (defined by the Test > Flying Probe node of the Process Options Editor), users can override the default on a per-part basis. Cycle time is inversely proportional to measurement speed.

Number of Probe Pairs

By default, aPriori calculates Flying Probe cycle time under the assumption that the number of probes used is the maximum number of probes that the machine supports. The maximum number of probes that a machine supports is specified by the machine property Number of Arms. If the machine property lacks a value, the machine’s maximum number of probe pairs is assumed, by default, to be specified by the cost model variable defaultNumProbePairs (1 in starting point Digital Factories).

With the setup option Number of Probe Pairs (defined by the Test > Flying Probe node of the Process Options Editor), users can override the default and specify that fewer probes are used (for example, because the board is too small for the use of all the probes). With this setup option, users specify the number of pairs of probes in use (which must be less than or equal to half the machine maximum number of probes).

Each measurement is performed by a pair of probes (one probe for each side of the board). Multiple measurements can be performed by multiple pairs of probes in parallel, so cycle time is inversely proportional to the number of probe pairs.