QSI Corporation
www.xjtag.com
www.xjtag.com
931
The boards for QSI’s HMI and MDT
products are assembled by a
manufacturing partner, which tests
the finished boards using fixtures
provided by QSI. However, if a defect
prevents the core logic from
operating, the fixture cannot be used.
QSI has overcome this challenge by
incorporating the XJTAG boundary
scan system into the test equipment
provided. The run-time-only XJTAG
variant, XJRunner, makes this a cost-
effective option. QSI is also using
XJTAG in their own technical
departments, including engineering
and product servicing.
Because the company’s products
are subjected to rigorous usage in the
field, QSI aims to provide responsive
service and repair facilities for their
customers. Using conventional test
techniques to diagnose faults in
returned units, service engineers
could expect to spend more than one
hour per board to probe all of the
data, address and control lines.
“Using XJTAG in our service
department has taken a one- to two-
hour task and solved it in 15
minutes,” explains Eric Anderson,
Electrical Test Engineer at QSI.
According to Anderson, two of the
most powerful aspects of XJTAG that
have enabled this dramatic speed up
are the XJEase high-level scripting
language and the graphical
environment that helps users set up
projects and visualize the circuit under
test. “The scripting language is a very
powerful feature that allows us to test
almost any device connected to the
processor. We are using it to test
components from LEDs to ROMs,”
Anderson continues. “Moreover, we
can test devices supporting interfaces
such as I2C and SPI without having to
buy expensive add-ons, which some
other systems require. XJTAG provides
online libraries that allow us to test
these devices at no extra cost.”
Describing XJTAG’s graphical
application, XJAnalyser, Anderson
highlights the control it provides as
being central to reducing test and
debugging time. “XJAnalyser gives us
complete control of most of the pins
of a processor,” he says. “We are able
to toggle individual pins, which has
helped trace obscure faults like bad
vias in minutes rather than hours.”
The QSI engineering group is also
using XJTAG to bring up new designs.
The company’s latest board has two
JTAG devices, and Anderson says the
engineering team has used XJTAG to
program and test one of the devices,
and then to test the remainder of the
product. “There is so much freedom
in XJTAG that other testers do not
provide. As engineers, we want to be
able to control every part and see
exactly what is happening at any
place in the system. XJTAG gives us
that freedom,” he concludes.
“
XJTAG has taken a one- to two-hour task and solved it in 15
minutes. The XJEase scripting language is a very powerful feature
that allows us to test almost any device connected to the processor.
We can test devices from LEDs to ROMs, and can also test I2C and
SPI devices without having to buy expensive add-ons.”
“
We can also toggle individual pins to trace obscure faults within
minutes. As engineers, we want to be able to control every part and
see exactly what is happening at any place in the system. XJTAG
gives us that freedom.”
QSI Corporation, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, designs and
manufactures rugged Human Machine Interface (HMI) modules and
Mobile Data Terminals (MDT) for industrial OEMs and commercial
vehicle systems integrators. The company’s products include character
and graphic terminals tested to comply with standards such as NEMA,
IP, MIL-STD, CE, and UL. The terminals withstand high levels of shock,
vibration, humidity, and other environmental conditions. They are
programmable, customizable, and feature many configurable hardware
options to match customers’ exact needs.
QSI Corporation Deploys XJTAG
® Through Development, Production and Service
In activities spanning board development, contract assembly, and after-sales service, XJTAG boundary scan is
enabling QSI Corporation, the American developer of rugged embedded systems, to shorten time-consuming test
tasks and pinpoint hard-to-find faults such as bad vias in multi-layer boards – and deliver powerful capabilities
without requiring expensive add-ons.
Company
QSI Corporation
HQ USA
Nature of
Design and manufacture
business
operator interface terminals
for industrial, commercial
and vehicle applications
Main
Rugged, configurable human
products
machine interface (HMI) and mobile
data terminal (MDT) products
Customers
Industrial OEMs and commercial
vehicle systems integrators
Location
Salt Lake City, USA
Incorporated
1983
Web site
www.qsicorp.com
opinion
Eric Anderson
Electrical Test Engineer
QSI Corporation